Kidderminster's The Space playing with "heavier fire" - unsigned column
They talk about releasing a "heavier fire" within themselves through their music, and Kidderminster indie-rockers The Space are hoping their brand new single does just that.
The teenagers - Jack Crutchley, Max Milner, Liam O'Connor and Alex Ionita - have just released their third official track, called Retire From Love, available via all the usual digital outlets.
And Crutchley, aged 17 and from Kidderminster, who provides guitar and lead vocals, says it was just the right time to get it out there.
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"When we play live we would consider ourselves on the heavier side of indie rock - for example more Arctic Monkeys than The Kooks," he says. "Yes, we have songs that vary across different moods. But at the time we all felt every section had just melted together perfectly and wanted to evoke this heavier fire we’d been hiding on our recording tracks.
"We’re very excited to share this new song with our fans as it’s our heaviest one yet. Our inspiration was drawn from our love of early UK indie rock, but our modern approach to songwriting means we’ve put our own stamp on that sound."
Crutchley is joined by 19-year-old drummer and backing vocalist Milner, from Birmingham, baby of the band O'Connor, 16 and also from Kiddy, on lead guitar - and they are rounded off by 18-year-old Kidderminster native Ionita on bass.
And their Kidderminster roots go even further. For the band have close ties to MAS Records, based in the town's college. They are a non-profit music development programme founded in 2001 by Kevyn Gammond, formerly of Band of Joy. Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, West Bromwich-born Led Zeppelin icon and Wolves fanatic Robert Plant and Karl Hyde of Underworld signed on as its patrons, and it runs in partnership with local education authorities in artist development centres across the country.
Their aim is to provide emerging artists with a bridge into the wider industry combining expert music industry knowledge and experience with conventional training and education with things like recording, touring and managing finances. They effectively work like an artist development branch of a major record label - but without charging a penny.
And that's where they have helped The Space. The band recorded Retire From Love in Base Studios, Stourbridge, and it was produced by Simon Henley; who also worked on their previous two singles. And with the backing from MAS Records they plan to record more music in the coming months.
"MAS allow us the opportunity to record our music in a studio we otherwise wouldn’t have the budget for," Crutchley continues. "They also give constant mentoring which, personally, I feel has taken me to the next stage in my career as a musician. I would highly recommend MAS Records to any upcoming bands."
Even with the backing of an organisation like MAS Records, the process isn't an easy one. It's a lot of hard work, even if somebody finds the songwriting and creative part of the process comes to them naturally. But the end product is all that matters, and with Retire From Love they couldn't be happier.
"The release process is rewarding, from hearing our track fully mastered for the first time to receiving feedback from all our fans," Crutchley adds. "I’d be lying if I said it was easy to promote your own music nowadays, in such a wide sea of content online it's harder as artists to cut through the noise.
"But our approach to indie-rock is different to normal. We love to incorporate influences from other genres at stages to aid us in songwriting and creating our sound. As well as that, we cover lyrical content not all young bands may cover.
"I hope our fans enjoy the energy of the track and I look forward to seeing the crowd's reaction when we play it at our headline gig."
That took place last night at Birmingham's The Sunflower Lounge backed up by Luna Orchid, Headwired and The Mood - courtesy of Birmingham Promoters - and the band were able to showcase their new release for those who have been backing them since day one as well as some newcomers to The Space's sound.
They've been pretty busy recently on that front, enjoying a tour which included dates in their hometown, Stourbridge, Dudley, Worcester, Stockport and Manchester. And they loved every second.
"The tour went great, we loved playing up north - especially as the reception was so warm and they really got behind our music and the whole indie-rock vibe.
"Behind every single lyric I write there is a meaning to me, so expect passion when we perform our songs. We are all young lads still, we live for this genre, we love evoking what we have written to every single member of the audience and we’re there to have a good time."
So with a view to songwriting like that, who do The Space look to for influence and inspiration?
"To pinpoint a main influence for us in terms of an artist would be hard," Crutchley continues. "I would say groups like Oasis play a part in the development of our songwriting and I would say bands like The Night Cafe, Foals, Arctic Monkeys and The Smiths have inspired us.
"But we always have our own take on continuing this sound and we adapt it to what suits our vibe and our personalities.
"We have plans for 2020 unlike anything we have done prior. I can’t give away many details yet but next year we’re going to send a message."
So there is one blindingly cliché sign-off that we just cannot resist using here...to find out what that message will be - watch this Space.
The Space can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, while they can also be emailed at thespaceband2016@gmail.com. The new single, as well as their previous releases, can be heard on Spotify.
