Rollin’ and tumblin,’ THE 2:19 get their mojo working
HAVING fallen short with their first two albums, Belfast blues rockers THE 2:19 have finally produced their magnum opus in ‘Keep My Will Strong,’ a loud, proud, confident, mature ‘don’t fuck with us’ statement from a band at the pinnacle of their powers.
Led by founder and frontman Chris Chalmers (vocs/guitar/harmonica), the five piece have captured the pain, angst, and desperation of the Deep South. Lyrically evocative, ‘Keep My Will Strong’ proves not only white men can sing the blues, but they can do so accompanied by a smooth undercurrent of the sweetest soul music.
Album opener, ‘One Thing I Figured’ sees the band play as if their very existence depends on it, a song with a message, Chalmers delivery – from its subtle beginnings – descending into venomous meltdown.
“I suppose I’m talking there about the NI music scene generally,” he said, “Which isn’t always terribly friendly, supportive or helpful, especially when you’re over twenty-five.”
Standout tracks ‘Go Blind,’ and ‘Hawthorn Black’ justify the decision to allow all five band members to contribute to the songwriting and vocal duties on a 2:19 album for the first time – ‘Go Blind’ a song drenched in emotion, heartbreak, vulnerability.
“Ady Young (guitar) came up with the chorus when he was recording himself on piano on a new microphone to test it out,” explained Chalmers. “He just sang the first thing that came into his head. Ady never has any confidence in anything he writes but he’s fucking brilliant. I wrote the rest of the words and Marty Young (bass) and I wrote the rest of the music. I had originally written the words for a song which was intended for our first album, but it didn’t make the cut, thank God.”
With its gut punch tale of betrayal, ‘Hawthorn Black’ veers – slightly – towards a new Americana desertscape, one previously ruled over by the masters of storytelling, Neil Young, and Natalie Merchant, every word made to count, the resulting pain like a dagger to the heart.
“’Hawthorn Black’ was conceived alone, beside a dwindling campfire on a night I’d cut down a black hawthorn hedge and been stabbed in the forearm by a massive thorn which embedded itself and caused an alarming spurt of blood when I pulled it out,” explained guitarist, Paul Wilkinson. “I thought it made for a nice metaphor – and the line ‘All the secrets that your lips would keep your eyes will always betray‘ is one that anybody who’s had a long-term relationship with a serial liar can relate to.”
“Although Paul wrote ‘Hawthorn Black,’ I first sang it fifteen odd years ago, ten years before The 2:19 existed,” added Chalmers. “I always wanted to get it on a record so I’m glad we finally have. I sneaked in and recorded my guitar and vocals when nobody was looking, then we overdubbed everything else.”
And the highest possible praise to drummer Monty Sneddon for his razor-sharp observational qualities of ‘Dead Dogs and Bee Suits,’ the blues without doubt, but with a glimpse into a John Cooper Clarke-esque world of the bizarre. A crazy, almost unbelievable window into his Kilbirnie childhood.
“The words are really just a literal translation of stuff I saw when I was growing up, or happened to me or my friends, plus the bee suit is an actual suit made of bees when that guy was swarmed!” he said. “The chorus is really there as an acknowledgement that some of it sounds pretty far-fetched, but it’s all true.”
‘Who Do They Think They Are?’ was written in response to claims a radio DJ allegedly made about the band with regards to them being difficult. The song also merits mention for not only squeezing ‘Mephistopheles’ into it – something not heard in a song since the Police dropped ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger,’ – but more importantly for including the spirit of the late, great, Scott Gorham, a welcome presence, audible throughout.
“I love mid period Thin Lizzy and Scott G was a massive influence on my guitar playing,” added Wilkinson. “That’s what I tried to do on ‘Who the Hell…’ I loved all those Americana, Allman Brothers elements he brought and thought his sense of melody and phrasing was perfect for those classic songs like Southbound and Dancin’ In The Moonlight. His live solo on ‘Still In Love With You’ was the most replayed tape in my VHS collection.”
‘Keep My Will Strong’ was recorded at Start Together Studios in Belfast, with Michael Bell serving as engineer, and mastered by Dennis Blackham at Skye Mastering. Notable musical contributions include backing vocals from Suzy Coyle, and piano/organ by John McCullough, renowned for his work with Van Morrison.
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