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'.
We Go Together
The Leisure Society Lyrics
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And pour ourselves into bed
The afternoon repeats in perfect form
That spot in the devil's shade
Exploded in light again
And even now, the night is caving in.
Sleep just an hour to sing
We go together.
We go together.
We're burning the midnight oil.
Three cheers for the human form.
We celebrate it's beauty and it's pain.
And what lies in store for me now?
What violence will I sizzle out?
A little bit of all I ever craved.
It's just like you always say,
We make such a perfect mess.
We go together.
We go together.
Each parting kiss
The daylight's out of me.
And endless Sunday slump.
Just waiting for the moment
We have got.
Believe me, believe me
It's all that we've got.
Full bloom on the autumn breeze
We shed the desire to please.
And ever more reveal a paler shade.
Those words that were never said.
Unfurl in an endless list
The sun will rise again on nothing new.
Then as our bodies twist,
You do what you do again.
We go together.
We go together.
The Leisure Society's We Go Together is a melancholic, introspective track about two lovers spending a day together until the night comes, and they go to bed in each other's embrace. The first verse sets the scene with the couple smoking a final cigarette and laying down to rest as the afternoon repeats "in perfect form." It seems as though they've been enjoying each other's company, as the "spot in the devil's shade" (perhaps an allusion to some sort of mischief they got into earlier) "exploded in light again." However, the night is slowly caving in, and the tone of the song shifts to a more somber one.
The second verse further delves into the couple's relationship, highlighting the beauty and pain that comes with being human. The singer wonders what lies in store for them and what "violence" they will have to face, but ultimately seems content with the messiness of their love, saying "it's just like you always say, we make such a perfect mess." The following lines describe the couple's routine, including their parting kiss and the "endless Sunday slump" they both experience. However, they have each other, and that's all they need.
The final verse brings in the changing of the seasons, with the autumn breeze symbolizing the change and transformation that the couple may be going through. The singer reflects on the words left "unfurl[ed] in an endless list," suggesting that there may be things that they've never said to each other. Nonetheless, the song ends on a hopeful note with the assurance that "we go together," repeating the phrase as a mantra.
Line by Line Meaning
We smoke a last cigarette
Before going to bed, we indulge in one last cigarette
And pour ourselves into bed
We get into bed, exhausted from the day's events
The afternoon repeats in perfect form
Every afternoon seems to be the same as the last, in a perfect way
That spot in the devil's shade
A shadowy area with malicious intent
Exploded in light again
Suddenly, light illuminates the previously dark area
And even now, the night is caving in
Despite the sudden change, the darkness of the night remains overwhelming
Sleep just an hour to sing
We sleep only briefly in order to wake up and sing
It's great when you cut back in
We enjoy it when someone joins in and adds to the singing
We go together.
We are in this together, as a team
We're burning the midnight oil.
We are working hard into the late hours of the night
Three cheers for the human form.
We celebrate the beauty and imperfections of being human
We celebrate its beauty and its pain.
We appreciate both the positive and negative aspects of life
And what lies in store for me now?
What does the future hold for me?
What violence will I sizzle out?
What negative energy will I release?
A little bit of all I ever craved.
I have finally obtained a small taste of everything I have ever wanted
It's just like you always say,
This is exactly what you predicted
We make such a perfect mess.
Our chaotic lives seem to work perfectly together
Each parting kiss
Every time we say goodbye to each other
The daylight's out of me.
I am drained of energy, as if the day has been sucked out of me
And endless Sunday slump.
I am in a never-ending state of lethargy
Just waiting for the moment
I am simply waiting for something to happen
We have got.
We have each other
Believe me, believe me
I am telling you the truth
It's all that we've got.
Our relationship is all we have, but it is enough
Full bloom on the autumn breeze
The leaves are at their peak on a breezy autumn day
We shed the desire to please.
We are no longer worried about pleasing others
And ever more reveal a paler shade.
We become more transparent as time goes on
Those words that were never said.
The things left unsaid between us
Unfurl in an endless list.
The list of unspoken words seems to never end
The sun will rise again on nothing new.
Tomorrow will be just like today, with nothing new to offer
Then as our bodies twist,
As we move and dance together
You do what you do again.
You behave as you always do
We go together.
We are in this together, no matter what
We go together.
Our bond is unbreakable
Writer(s): Nick Hemming Copyright: Music Sales Corporation O.B.O. Campbell Connelly & Co. Ltd., Campbell Connelly And Co. Ltd.
Contributed by Avery J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.