Exclusive: The Keepers new single “Another Night” + Q&A

On 15 December, Northampton retro inspired indie band The Keepers will release their newest single, “Another Night” b/w “Cerise.”

To celebrate this milestone, they will play at local venue The Pomfret Arms on December 15 at 8 PM.

If you’re in the area and on a tight budget because of Christmas shopping, don’t worry as entry is free!

Opening for The Keepers are four-piece vintage indie band Presley Johnson. You can find their music video for “Do It All Again” below:

The Keepers were generous and gave me a sneak preview of the new single, so here’s the first look:

Another Night:

“Another Night” begins with a 90s-esque shoegaze/dream pop guitar intro that lasts about 30 minutes before the vocals begin. As always, Jordan Jones’ vocals fit the retro/indie vibe of the band. If you’re a fan of the sounds of Oasis, The Stone Roses, and psychedelic distortion-heavy music of the late 60s/early 70s, you’ll love this song. The ending of the song reminds me a bit of the trippiness of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” and their other Sgt Pepper era songs as well as The Who’s “Armenia City in the Sky” off The Who Sell Out.

I can visualise this song in a soundtrack of a movie taking place in either the 70s or the 90s.

Cerise:

The b-side, “Cerise” begins with a more r&b influenced rhythm section intro that segues into a more surf/psych guitar. The organ is a nice touch, bringing the listener into the mid 1960s. The guitar between the verses is also very nice. If you like Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets, and the Allah-Las, you will like this song a lot.

Q&A:

Angie Moon: What are “Another Night” and “Cerise” about?

Jordan Jones (singer/guitarist): Another Night is quite a sad song, mainly about feeling isolated and alone. It’s about how in a group of people there are a few couples, you’re always the third (fourth, fifth) wheel, and they’re taking drugs and high, and because you don’t take them you’re not in that place, so a night out turns out to be quite depressing.

Cerise is a song that Liam wrote and I sang some random lyrics over the top so I wouldn’t say there’s a particular meaning behind that song.

AM: What inspired you to write those songs?

JJ: “Another Night” is based on true events! About 6 months of being that person it all just came out in song.

“Cerise” was just a bit of a jam, we were at the rehearsal space one day, Liam picked up the bass, and it came together! It first sounded a bit Last Shadow Puppets, so Liam told me to sing some sort of Alex Turner-esque lyrics with a bit of I Am The Walrus and it sounded great!

AM: What was recording those songs like?

JJ: It was great recording Another Night, adding all those layers of harmonies and the mellotrons, we were really heavily influenced by Strawberry Fields and decided to try and move away from any association with the term “indie band” – it ended up more like some sort of Psychedelic Art Pop track!

Cerise was great because we only ever played it live once and it didn’t work – so compared to Another Night which had a lot of harmonies, guitars and keyboards, this was very stripped back. Vocally it had a very gentle approach, I was originally going for a Francois Hardy sort of thing, but it wasn’t working. Oli put on Strange Days by The Doors, and that worked perfectly for the song!

AM: How are these songs different or similar to your earlier work?

JJ: Ironically Another Night has been with us for about a year and a half! We knew it would be a single at some point so we decided it would be a good idea to record it for the next single after Here Comes Spring.

I’d say Another Night is fairly similar to Here Comes Spring but a step up, that very 1967 Mellotron driven based song, but it’s a level up from Here Comes Spring! But ultimately it still has that Beatles influence.

Cerise is totally different to anything we’ve ever done because Liam wrote it! And we’ve never attempted to anything so spacey texture wise.

AM: How did you know Presley Johnson?

JJ: Presley Johnson have been around on the music scene for years! Jon Martin who produces all our music is the guitarist and vocalist, his Brother Joe is in The Mobbs who supported us at the last single launch, I think it was Liam who suggested we should have them support and it made perfect sense!

AM: How do you think the fans will receive the new single?

JJ: I think it will divide opinions because of how out there and how mental it is! I think people will like it, hopefully they will relate to the lyrics of Another Night which would be nice for me.

Cerise, I think everyone can have a good dance to that!

AM: Is there going to be a music video?

JJ: There will be for Another Night which I will be directing as I personally loath music videos! If I do it myself it might make it more enjoyable!

You can follow The Keepers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can follow Presley Johnson on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. “Another Night” will soon be available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and iTunes.