TRACK REVIEW: The Mysterines: Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much)

TRACK REVIEW:

The Mysterines

Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much)

9.3/10

The track, Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much), is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfG5b8pW3pU

ORIGIN:

Liverpool, U.K.

GENRES:

Rock/Alternative

LYRICS:

Lia Metcalfe

MUSIC:

The Mysterines

The Mysterines’ album, Reeling, is available now. Buy here:

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/the-mysterines/reeling

RELEASE DATE:

11th March, 2022

LABEL:

Fiction

PRODUCER:

Catherine Marks

__________

ONE of the problems…

with reviewing a band is that their membership might have changed through the years. Because of that, you get old photos and interviews you can’t use. I am finding more and more bands are losing members or replacing old ones. In the case of Liverpool’s The Mysterines, they have added to the fold. I don’t think I will stumble on old interviews or include photos that are of the old line-up. In their case, the original line-up consisted of Lia Metcalfe and bassist George Favager. It is Metcalfe’s band; she is their electric and wonderful lead. Making up the quartet are drummer Paul Crilly and guitarist Callum Thompson. I am going to come to a review of a song from their album, Reeling. The album was recorded live with Catherine Marks. She is a producer I have interviewed before and have a lot of respect for. Before getting to specific aspects of The Mysterines, I want to start with an interview from DIY. The way they describe meeting the band and the way they set up their aesthetic and operations. This is a talented and promising young band who could have come from the classic fold in the 1990s:

“young PJ Harvey gazes out across The Mysterines’ Liverpool rehearsal space. The framed photo of the iconic rocker from around the time of her early ‘90s emergence is propped against a wall, waiting to be mounted; it was a birthday present from the photographer Steve Gullick, to the band’s singer and key creative force, Lia Metcalfe. Steve shot the fledgling Liverpool outfit recently, and would probably tell you he sees in Lia some of what marked out Harvey as a special talent around the time he first met her.

You’d imagine Polly Jean would approve of what she’d hear if she could gaze out of the frame and into the room, too. The Mysterines’ debut record ‘Reeling’ shares its title with a song on ‘4-Track Demos’, the legendary raw takes that paved the way for PJ’s breakthrough LP, ‘Rid of Me’. It’s that album that The Mysterines’ own ‘Reeling’ recalls; slick but emotionally turbulent, polished without rounding off the cutting edges from the singer’s razor-sharp writing. Its release marks the end of a winning road for the group’s two remaining founding members, Lia and bassist George Favager, one marked by lineup changes and COVID-enforced inertia.

Drummer Paul Crilly arrives first today to the industrial estate about a mile north-west of the city centre that the band currently call their base. He’s marvelling at some bizarre prospective footage that the singer has put together for the video for their next single, the incendiary ‘Life’s a Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’, which looks like what you might expect a tour documentary directed by David Lynch to be.

As the group’s principal songwriter, and with a keen handle on every aspect of their output, The Mysterines is very much Lia’s band - a commanding presence onstage, with a line in conversation that’s thoughtful one minute and wisecracking Scouser the next. If the group started out as a vehicle for her writing, you get the sense it’s because going down the traditional singer-songwriter route was never an option. She seems invested in the idea of what it means to create with like-minded people, particularly when she talks about the additions to the lineup in 2020 of Paul and guitarist Callum Thompson, as well as in the opportunity to build a mythology around her songs that tends to come more readily to bands than to solo artists.

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Gullick

Her position as the brains of the operation perhaps explains why the arduous process of putting together ‘Reeling’ seems to have been harder on her than anybody else; today, she talks about the recording with the occasional wince. “We spent three weeks in the studio,” she says. “But they were months apart. July, November, and then March. So there were these long drawn-out months in between where the lockdowns meant we couldn’t really do anything. So that was kind of intense.”

“It was a bit of a double-edged sword,” adds Paul, “because it gave us time to write a few more songs. If we’d done three straight weeks before COVID happened, this would be a very different album.” As much as he’s able to see the positives, Lia isn’t so sure; in contrast to the freewheeling rock’n’roll of their band’s live shows and her dominant presence as frontwoman, doubts crept in during the recording process, something she said she “resented” at times. “Some of these songs were written when I was 16, so I have a lot invested in them,” she explains.

“When something means so much to you, it can be hard to have resistance against it. To introduce it to this new lineup, to then be taking it to London, there’s a lot of pressure on,” she continues. “You get signed, there’s singles to think about, then the album, it’s like, ‘How the fuck did we get here?’ And things have moved so fast since the beginning of 2020 after moving so slow for a few years for me and George. So that was overwhelming. I had some resentment towards the album at times that made me not enjoy it. With a little bit of distance from it, I’m proud of it now. It’s a good snapshot of that time”.

For The Mysterines, life in the pandemic has been particularly strange. Although they did not get chance to gig and play out there much, there was this enforced confinement that allowed them to focus on writing Reeling. I feel a lot of artists had that opportunity to concentrate on an album without the distraction of outside activity or anything else. Upset Magazine chatted with The Mysterines in November last year about their pandemic experience:

“2020 might have been a chaotic one for most of us, but for scuzz rock newcomers The Mysterines, it was an opportunity like no other. A year away from the temptation of touring gave the Liverpool foursome, helmed by the inimitably cool Lia Metcalfe, a chance to focus, and to write and record 'Reeling', their explosive debut album just announced for next year.

"As distressing as lockdown was for the whole world, it was actually really, really enjoyable for me. Got dealt a good card there in terms of writing an album," Lia explains over Zoom. "I don't think a lot of those songs would have been written without that time, which is interesting because it was such a freak moment in history, Covid occurin'. There's nothing I've ever experienced in my lifetime that's been anything like that."

Pre-pandemic, The Mysterines - completed by bassist George Favager, guitarist Callum Thompson and Paul Crilly on drums - were trending upwards and gaining speed. 2019's 'Take Control' EP introduced the then-trio as hooky rock virtuosos while tours alongside The Amazons and Royal Blood gave their already massive sound the stages to match. They'd just ticked off their first headline run in February last year when... well, you remember.

"Everything looked like it was really on a great run, and then a month later, everything closed!" laughs George.

Time away hasn't dampened their momentum at all, though. The first taste of the record, 'In My Head' is a grisly, prowling affair with monster riffs à la 'AM' era Arctic Monkeys and Lia's most commanding vocals to date. It dropped back in July and went straight onto BBC 6 Music's A list”.

I want to go back to that DIY interview. For Paul and Callum, it was an especially odd time. Their first time with this new band, they then were locked down and were not sure when they could play again. In the DIY interview, we also learn about some of The Mysterines’ influences:

“Initially Lia did, in her own way, enjoy the derailment of the band’s plans. After finishing up a UK tour - Paul and Callum’s first - in March 2020, she found herself living alone for the first time, and the isolation suited her: not just because she had nothing to do but write music, but because she had nothing to do besides listen to it, either. More of her heroes have been honoured with photos on the wall, including Bob Dylan and her biggest lyrical inspiration, Tom Waits - although it’s worth noting that not all legends are revered here, not even local ones. ‘BRING ME THE HEAD OF PAUL McCARTNEY ON HEATHER MILLS’ WOODEN PEG’ reads a scrawling on the space’s back wall, with Lia and Paul both quick to deny responsibility.

More time digging into those influences, as well as more contemporary ones such as Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Strokes, meant that Lia was able to retool lyrics and look for new thematic avenues to wander down. “I didn’t worry about running out of inspiration,” she says. “It was kind of the opposite, because I’d never had that sort of time on my hands since we started the band. I had time to try to craft a definitive story on the album. Just asking myself questions - ‘What else can I say now? What else can I think about? How far can I take my ideas?’.

I am actually reviewing Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much) in a bit. I wanted to spend some time discussing producer Catherine Marks. She is one of the most respected and amazing producers in the world. At a time when women account for such a small percentage of producers (I think there is still a culture where women aren’t respected in studios and encouraged), she is giving inspiration and hope. Marks’ work is always incredible! She brings something special from anyone she works with. Able to bond with artists easily, it is no wonder that there is so much love out there for her. As we learn from the interview in Upset Magazine, Marks not only took control of a group largely comprised of men. It must have been great for Lia getting to work with a woman as producer:

“To achieve a sound that really gnashes its teeth, you call Catherine Marks. The esteemed producer has helmed the control panels for Foals, Wolf Alice and plenty others; with 'Reeling', she adds The Mysterines to her success story portfolio. You hear Catherine's influence on 'Hung Up', the record's relentless latest single which attacks from all angles.

"She's fucking amazing. She's helped us create the album in a way that no one else could have, and we're all very proud of it, so we've got her to thank for that one," lauds Lia.

"I do think that she's fuckin' boss, like!" adds George, whose Scouse accent is as fine as his basslines.

Working with the seasoned hitmaker taught Lia patience, she says. "And that it takes more than one woman to control a group of men!"

But for George, there was a more practical takeaway: "Don't concuss yourself on the last day. I hit me head off the cupboard door!”.

Marks is most definitely one of the greatest producers of her generation. There are interviews with her that give you more of an idea of how she got to where she is and the messages she is sending out to any other producers (especially women). When NME spoke with the band, they discussed Marks as a producer. Over the course of a year, The Mysterines made three week-long visits to producer Marks at London’s Assault & Battery studios to put together the album. It was quite an intense period and, as there were lockdowns, they recorded in bits – having a lot of time to think about the album meant that cabin fever set in:

“All this works thanks to the decision to record ‘Reeling’ live. “It would’ve been easy to go into an expensive studio to build all kinds of crazy synths and guitar sounds, but when you come out of that studio, you don’t sound like The Mysterines anymore,” Crilly says, emphasising the encouragement Marks gave the group to create exactly what they wanted.

The relationship built over the weeks spent together turned into a real friendship. “There was no ego at all,” he adds, explaining that Marks’s expertise came into play when she encouraged the quartet to balance acoustic numbers against the full band tracks. He continues: “[Catherine] was exactly who we needed. She let us play out all of our ideas, and only intervened when she felt like she needed to. By the end [of the process], she trusted us – and we trusted her too.”

“Catherine put in as much emotion as we did,” says Metcalfe. “There are parts of the album that were hard to deliver and perform, but it was just as hard for her to hear and record them. It made for these emotionally intense moments that aren’t something I could ever recreate live again.”

Being bold and giving it their all isn’t something new for The Mysterines, though. They refused to include their older tracks on the album – such their last pre-Covid single, ‘Love’s Not Enough’ (despite its two million Spotify streams) – and picked the heavy-handed ‘In My Head’ as the record’s lead single, even though it was first demoed just a week before they finished the album. The trust they have in each other’s opinions and instincts is unfounded”.

The Mysterines will be more relieved than most bands to know that they have Reeling out in the world. As a relatively new four-piece, most of their life together has been spent during a pandemic. It is only really now that they have been able to get and really hone themselves as a unit. Today (13th April), they play Rough Trade in Nottingham. If you can get out there and see the band, I would recommend it! HMV spoke to The Mysterines about their progression, and how they selected material for Reeling:

“Obviously you’ve released a couple of EPs and you’d had a sold out UK tour just before the first lockdown, then everything stopped. How did that delay shape how your album has turned out, do you think?

Lia: “I mean, it gave me more time to write, and I appreciated that time because we’ve never really been granted that much opportunity to spend time writing anything, really, because we’ve been gigging so much right from the start of the band. We had months on end to think about the songs so it definitely affected the process, but because it’s the first record we’ve done we don’t really know any different. For me that’d be a normal way to make a record now so I’ve got nothing to compare it to, I suppose.”

How far back do the songs on this album go?

Lia: “I think the oldest song on the record is probably ‘Under Your Skin’, actually. When I wrote it it didn’t sound how it does on the record, we’ve changed it quite a bit lyrically, but that riff I’ve had since I was probably about 16. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, pretty much."

What kind of music did you bond over when you were starting out?

Lia: “Me and Paul both love Radiohead and Arcade Fire, Nirvana, but I suppose in terms of our sound we’re closer to Nirvana than the others on that list.”

Paul: “Nirvana would be a big one for me. Queens of the Stone Age would be another, but I suppose there’s loads of different things that we referenced, The Desert Sessions, that kind of thing, Pixies, there was loads of stuff that we were all into at the time but they’re probably the main ones.”

Was there any key track on this album that set the direction of the record as a whole?

Lia: “I reckon the song ‘Reeling’ is probably the one that best summarises the record, which is why it’s also the title of the record. I think it’s probably the biggest summary, lyrically, of what I’m trying to portray, and I think the sound is probably something that people would associate most with us.”

Is it Lia that handles the lyrics for the most part?

Lia: “Yeah, pretty much, then I bring the songs to the lads and we work them out like that, really”.

Prior to getting to a review of an awesome track from Reeling, there is another interview I want to include. Why Not spoke with them recently and noted how there is this dichotomy. The band are charming and effortlessly breezy when chatting, and yet their music has this intensity and energy that you might not expect:

“There’s a real multipolarity to your music. What other artists and mediums do you draw inspiration from?

Lia: Songwriters. I really liked Paul Simon, when I was growing up and listened to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel. My mum and dad were quite young when they had me and were in their prime during the early 2000s, so I grew up hearing a lot of The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Verve. The 90s as a decade massively influenced the band.

In terms of films, I love the surrealist director Alejandro Jodorowsky. The Holy Mountain’s one of my favourites, and Santa Sangre. I love David Lynch too – I tried to show Paul Mulholland Drive once.

Paul: I think I fell asleep! We’d had this really heavy weekend and she put that on and I woke up to the most bizarre scene I’d seen in my life.

Lia: Oh yeah you did fall asleep. Then he had a nightmare about the film. A fever dream. I took him to Mass once as well when he was horrifically hungover. I wanted to go and purge my soul, you know, after the weekend, to get rid of all my sins!

Paul: I had to leave and lie down on a bench outside.

Lia: Well I had a great time. I’ve been back since, got some friends there now.

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Gullick

You’ve all known each other for a long time, since you were teenagers. Who met who first?

Lia: I was with my mum in Home Bargains when I was 14 and spotted George, our bassist, in there. I thought his jacket was nice, a green parka, and I’d just watched Quadraphenia, so I was enthusiastic about the mod subculture. I half-knew the person he was with an so stalked him on Facebook and asked him if he could play an instrument. He said he could play bass, which was a real rarity back then, and things just took off from there.

Your album, Reeling, is out this Friday, 11th March, what’s behind it from a songwriting perspective, Lia?

Lia: Without getting too spiritual, I channeled all this emotion, energy, influence into songs hidden behind characters. The best example’s probably ‘Old Friends Die Hard’. But in essence it’s supposed to be a funny story, I hope people don’t take it too seriously!

Our aesthetic’s simple – we chose red, black, and white for everything because everybody agrees on it. The overall tone of my songwriting darkened and became more introspective years ago when I started to write more and more and started listening to Tom Waits. I suppose I could really relate, as a 17-year-old girl from Liverpool, to a 50-year-old whisky drinking man from Detroit!

I could identify with the exploratory nature of him, not so much his direct sadness, or his theatricality, but his playfulness. The character manifestation and description. Artists like PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, they all do the same thing.

You’re about to embark on a big American tour. Are you all prepared?

Lia: I don’t think we can prepare for it, which is the exciting part and the scary part.

Paul: We’ve done our job now. The album’s done, we’re giving it to the people, and there’s nothing left to do but go out and tour it. Obviously there’s a bit of nerves and apprehension but that’s normal. Most of all I’m looking forward to it”.

Let’s get to reviewing Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much). I have not been able to see any lyrics for the song posted online, so apologies to the band if there are any misquotes at all! The song starts by giving a nice little riff in the left-hand side (ear) of your headphones. The song starts in that ear, and then also joins the right as I get this full experience. A gnarly and cool riff with powerful bass and drums. There are relatively few Rock and Alternative bands out there who I would match to the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, or a band who are renowned for something meatier and more intense. A lot of the new breed seem watered-down, more angular and do not have that ability to write killer riffs, hooks or project much weather. That is not the case with The Mysterines! Right from the get-go – and what you will note throughout Reeling – is that they have this kinetic understanding. Although they have not recorded a whole lot as a quartet, they are instantly in-step and locked together. With each band member giving it their all, Lia comes to the microphone with some wordless vocals. I am not sure who directed the video for Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much), but I like the filming and editing style. It is in black-and-white, but there are pauses, nice cuts and this stylised look that works well. I would say to the band that, if they could produce the lyrics or make them available somewhere online (or the YouTube video description). That said, Marks’ production means the vocals are very much at the centre. Even though there is a nice balance of the instruments, Lia’s voice never gets buried in the mix or is shouted over. She has this lyrical personality where it is quite conversational and personal. Almost like we are in a room with her, she talks about life being a bit crap but all good. There is this sort of mix of the good and bad. I get the feeling this might have been a nod to lockdown and strange times. Perhaps written at a time when there was uncertainty and things were sort of ‘meh’. We did not really know what was going to happen.

In a larger extent, it could be more personal and pertinent to a physical relationship. The video does not give any story and revelation away. Instead, the band are performing on a stage without an audience. That gives me the interpretation that The Mysterines are referencing lockdown, isolation and the constant unpredictability we have endured since March 2020. Lia sings “It’s always the same” as she is joined by thunderous support from the band. One of the most captivating band leads, Lia reminds me of Shirley Manson of Garbage. There is that same power, charisma and allure. A stunning singer who has this ability draw the listener into the song and keep your attention focused on her! Not a slight against the rest of the band, but the gravitas she possesses is cosmic! There is repetition to the lyrics that is befitting of a song that is about routine and this cycle of good and bad. Kudos to Catherine Marks’ production. She manages to make the song sound raw and stripped but packed with layers. The way Lia’s vocals are processed gives them this sort of echo and rawness. When it comes to the composition, it is not too polished, nor is it lacking in punch and sonic weight. It is testament to her instinct and the close relationship she has with The Mysterines. The video does actually switch between black-and-white and colour. Again, that contrast between bad and good; light and dark. It is a great filming style that gives the song personality, energy and plot – without any other actors or participants. An instantly memorable and hook-y song, Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much) is, I think, the best cut from Reeling. You can get the album and decide for yourself.

The opening track of Reeling, I think the band also love the song, as this is the first thing a lot of people will hear! Coming in at under three minutes, it is relatively brief and gets its message across quickly. Showcasing their obvious chemistry and talent, George, Paul and Callum fire things up with Lia. There is this thunderstorm of broken glass, barbed wire, fire, ice and every other weapon, element and bodily fluid! I usually refer to artists by their surnames, but there is this closeness and relatability with The Mysterines that means I shall make a rare exception for them! In any case, some of the words do get lost in the rubble and whirlwind towards the end, which does make another case for having lyrics posted. Lia is singing about life being a struggle, but it is sort of what you make it. Not necessarily a detriment or thing to pull you down, I wonder if she has talked about Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much) in an interview? I would love to know what it is about. I really like the video and song. I keep coming back and watching, as the band are hard to look away from! I have not seen them live, though it seems like it is a sensational and unforgettable experience. Even though there are elements of bands like Queens’, Savages, and Soundgarden, The Mysterines very much have their own sound. Throughout Reeling, they present thirteen tracks of originality. A song with an instantly quotable chorus, this is one that live fans are going to be chanting soon enough! One of Lia’s strongest and most moving vocals, she reminds me of the iconic women of the 1990s. Someone who can be tender, brutal and utterly possessed but still have this vulnerability, it is a mixture of qualities and emotions that come through in her vocal. Life's a Bitch (But I Like It So Much) is a sensational opening track from The Mysterines’…