The band released their album, Alone Aboard The Ark, in 2013 through Full Time Hobby. The album is being supported by an eleven date tour of the UK, commencing on April 12 at The Kazimier in Liverpool and ending on April 25 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The new LP - recorded at Kinks frontman Ray Davies‘ Konk Studios - is the follow up to 2011’s lauded Into The Murky Water, which the band toured in ever distinctive fashion, including a date at the London Barbican backed by the 40-piece Heritage Orchestra.
Fittingly, Alone Aboard The Ark sees the band expanding their arcadian, Baroque pop sound with a more diverse array of sounds and inventive orchestration. Following a summer of rehearsals beside the River Ouse in Befordshire, The Leisure Society decamped to Konk Studios to begin recording the tracks that would become Alone Aboard The Ark. Having declared himself a fan of The Leisure Society, Kinks frontman Ray Davies (owner of Konk) originally sought out the band to help him arrange and record his new solo material, and also included the band in his curation of 2011’s Meltdown Festival on the South Bank.
The genesis of The Leisure Society spans back to the friendship made by Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy in their hometown of Burton on Trent. When the pair relocated to London they fell in with the Brighton-based Wilkommen Collective, and with Helen Whitaker, Mike Siddell and Sebastian Hankins, came to form The Leisure Society. The single 'The Last of The Melting Snow' from their debut LP The Sleeper was nonimated for a 2009 Ivor Novello (alongside heavyweights such as Elbow & The Last Shadow Puppets), and the band joined an incredibly select group when a year later, 'Save It For Someone Who Cares' was also nominated for an Ivor.
Lyrically, Alone Aboard The Ark is an album informed by a palette as eclectic as it's musical flesh. Album standout 'The Sober Scent of Paper' is a hair-raising, elegiac waltz informed somewhat unconsciously by the demise of Sylvia Plath: 'When I began writing‘ says Nick 'I didn’t know what it was going to be about. For some reason, the first line 'Chains dredge the great lake around you / Pull you along by the knots in your hair‘ made me think of her. I guess it’s quite a dark desolate image‘. Yet there's light to this shade, with 'Tearing The Arches Down' marrying a wryly observed narrative 'The boy with the bloodshot eyes / A legend in your lunchtime' to an ebullient chant.
Over the summer, Nick’s 8 hours a day Olympic TV habit manifested inself in 'Fight For Everyone‘, which whilst celebrating British success, also considers those who also 'had this spine-tingling roar of support, but could only ever be an also-ran'. The track also marks The Leisure Society’s first foray into synths, utilising as it does six different vintage synth lines, layered up by Helen and Christian.
Having recorded both The Sleeper and 2011's follow-up Into The Murky Water in home studios, the range of technology both old and new at the band's disposal at Konk proved to be the perfect foil for The Leisure Society's ambitious designs. Alone Aboard The Ark was recorded on a 2“ tape machine and a 1970s mixing desk, and the value of recording live, coupled with the band's minimal approach to arrangement, is borne out across the album. Nick Etwell’s (trumpeter to Mumford & Sons) brass lines permeate 'One Man and His Fug', whilst the electric guitar lines heard on 'The Last in A Long Line' were the product of Christian and Mike‘s two Gretches recorded playing at opposite ends of the studio. Even the piano part for 'We Go Together' underwent a nocturnal reinvention when Christian had 'a moment of inspiration, whilst deeply drunk at midnight listening to the playback'.
Ask the band what makes them most proud of Alone Aboard The Ark though, and the answer is likely to be 'a gang mentality'. Say Christian and Nick, 'There’s no question that this is 'the one' in terms of us five working together to create something. As a result of the camaraderie and everyone having their say, we’re all at our absolute peak on this album'.
Into the Murky Water
The Leisure Society Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fire in the sky
A crack in the cloud where the misshapen moon is
Alone again or
A piece of the whole
Following on from the beat of the music
You live for the city
Where the bourgeoisie are a pink sea of humans
Positioned above
Evading the fog
A great white animal everywhere, breathing
Wringing the cracks out of our fingers
Folding them back into the murky water
Pinching the flesh free from the bruising
Pondering on this life and how we use it
Or abuse it
TImber and tide
Creep through the night
A slow black crawl from the sleeping sirens
Modesty wrapped
Till we do the collapse
A bitter retreat into the heat of pleasure
There may be more, there may be more
But at the side of the road
You'll find your ghost
Evading the call
Of tortured voices
The lyrics of The Leisure Society's song Into the Murky Water describe a bleak, apocalyptic world where blood is on the rocks, fire is in the sky, and the moon is misshapen. The singer seems to be alone, pondering the meaning of life and how it is both used and abused. The chorus speaks of living and dying for the city, where the bourgeoisie are positioned above the fog and the great white animal is always breathing. The verses paint a picture of a world in collapse, with sirens sleeping and modesty wrapped until the bitter retreat into the heat of pleasure. The song ends with a haunting image of a ghost evading the call of tortured voices on the side of the road.
The lyrics of Into the Murky Water offer a dark and brooding meditation on the state of the modern world. The haunting music and poetic lyrics evoke a sense of loss and despair, highlighting the destructive tendencies of society and the fleeting nature of human existence. The imagery of blood, fire, and the misshapen moon all suggest a world in turmoil, while the references to the bourgeoisie and the great white animal speak to power struggles and the exploitation of the vulnerable.
Line by Line Meaning
Blood on the rocks
A scene of violence in nature
Fire in the sky
An ominous sign in the heavens
A crack in the cloud where the misshapen moon is
A surreal and unsettling sight in the sky
Alone again or
Uncertainty and indecision about being solitary
A piece of the whole
A sense of belonging to a larger humanity
Following on from the beat of the music
Finding companionship and rhythm in song
You live for the city
The allure of metropolitan life
Die for the city
The danger and sacrifice of urban existence
Where the bourgeoisie are a pink sea of humans
The masses of privileged people, almost like a homogenous mass
Positioned above
Social hierarchy and power structures at play
Evading the fog
Escaping the confusion or deception
A great white animal everywhere, breathing
An elusive and intimidating presence lurking in society
Wringing the cracks out of our fingers
Trying to recover from something that's damaging or harmful
Folding them back into the murky water
Returning to a state of uncertainty or confusion
Pinching the flesh free from the bruising
Healing from emotional or physical pain
Pondering on this life and how we use it
Reflecting on the meaning of existence and purpose
Or abuse it
Considering the consequences of one's actions, which may be negative
Timber and tide
The natural world and its forceful influence
Creep through the night
A sense of danger or uncertainty in darkness
A slow black crawl from the sleeping sirens
A difficult and perilous journey from a state of rest
Modesty wrapped
Covered or hidden, like feeling vulnerable or bashful
Till we do the collapse
Until exhaustion or failure hits us
A bitter retreat into the heat of pleasure
Seeking refuge in hedonism and indulgence
There may be more, there may be more
Holding onto hope for better times or more opportunities
But at the side of the road
Facing life's unexpected obstacles and setbacks
You'll find your ghost
The haunting memory of past actions or selves
Evading the call
Resisting the temptation to relive the past or recreate former glory
Of tortured voices
The inner turmoil of one's psyche or past experiences
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Last Mouse Left
This song is wonderful! It always brings me joy.
Mentor of Men
It's been so long that I've fallen in love with a band instantly...
Richard Wyland
YES...!!!
Claire C
genial...
TheCrazedMadman
SO FUCKING GOOD!
Dave Casey
Excellent