The follow-up to 2015's Moth Boys, will be out on October 1st via their own Moth Noise imprint, featuring the new single "Catch You On The Way Back In". Pre-order it here.
Spector started work on Now or Whenever in the Spring of 2020. With band members locked down in different cities and countries, the core duo of Fred Macpherson and Jed Cullen opted for a more collaborative process than usual, working with friends and contemporaries both online and in the flesh where possible. An improvisatory approach to music and lyrics was encouraged, and in the absence of gigs the songs took on the idea of a theoretical concert of new material, delivered in the spirit of their impassioned live shows. The final songs were recorded in January 2021 at Coastal Sound, Liverpool by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, The Coral) who emphasised performances overproduction and heavier, stripped-down arrangements.
Inspired by the vocal stylings and layered harmonies of British folk-rock (Strawbs, Steeleye Span), the drunken riffs of American eighties alternative (The Replacements, Husker Dü) and the raucous energy of Antipodean pub rock (Th’ Dudes, The Radiators), Now or Whenever is the sound of Spector at their irreverent best. Lyrics explore themes of time, memory, hope, the near future, cars and emotionally repressed adult friendships, but a sense of positivity shines through the fatalistic musings the band have become synonymous with.
Speaking about the record as a whole, the band said it was inspired by the “paradoxically mundane/extreme present” that people the world over are currently living through. “In some ways this is our first proper guitar album”, said Fred.
“And the first album we’ve made in one studio in one sitting which is crazy. Next year will be the tenth anniversary of ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ which feels like forever, but I think it’s taken us that long to work out what’s good about us and how to capture it. Which kind of makes ‘Now Or Whenever’ both a sequel and a reboot. Had last year unfolded differently, maybe this would be our big depressing opus, but when positivity’s taken away you have to create your own, and somehow that’s left us with our most upbeat record yet.”
Speaking about the new single, Fred Macpherson said: “Catch You on the Way Back In’ is a 160bpm bon voyage: An “until next time” for when you don’t know how long the next time might be. It's music for closing and music for opening, and strangely both the first track we started for the album and the last before we didn’t see each other in the flesh for six months. It’s more of a drinking song than a thinking song, so it will probably make most sense when we’re all allowed in the same room again.”
Check out the album's tracklist and listen to "Catch You On The Way Back In" below:
Now Or Whenever tracklist:
01. When Saturday Comes
02. Catch You On The Way Back In
03. Do You Wanna Drive
04. Norwegian Air
05. Funny Way of Showing It
06. No One Knows Better
07. I’m Not Crying You’re Crying
08. Bad Summer
09. D-Roy
10. This Time Next Year
11. An American Warehouse In London
Tags: Spector
