The Nostalgia of Summer with Chris Pidsley
Whilst we all outwardly focus on what defines a season in terms of temperature or relevant bank-holidays, so much of a time of year is a feeling. There’s happiness, but different kinds of happiness. Chris Pidsley’s new EP ‘Daisies’ focuses on the nostalgia of summer and why that makes him happy.
We previously wrote about Chris Pidsley in January this year where we reviewed his single ‘Quirky’, released in April 2020. We also wrote about the lead single on ‘Daisies’ entitled ‘Listen To Your Mum’. Since then, Chris has been busy recording multiple projects, including a series of pop-punk covers for his YouTube channel which feature tracks by Simple Plan, Fall Out Boy, Sum 41 and Blink-182. Pidsley released a standalone single called ‘Alex’s House’ in March with a home-produced music video and accompanying performance take. A session for HotVox recorded in December 2020 has also been uploaded, where Chris played a cover, some old songs and showcased a new track from the EP in ‘Tie Dye T-Shirt’.
The crackle of vinyl and the sound of mid-frequencies project Chris Pidsley’s vocal and guitar in Tie Dye T-Shirt’s opening. ‘You wear your t-shirt back to front and inside out, but you still look good somehow.’ The sparseness of these strummed chords and the purity of Pidsley’s voice is quite possibly closer to how the entirety of the track sounded in the writing stage, which is changed up with the addition of drums and synths. Even before the natural sound of brass augments Tie Dye T-Shirt, I can picture this song playing while driving with the windows down. The sun is shining, the air is clear, and life feels good.
‘Listen To Your Mum’ is the EP’s second track, which we wrote about here. Every young man knows the feeling of their Mum vetting their love interests. Nothing gets past Mama. Chris’ take on this emotional assault course is precisely why I wanted to write about his music in the first place, and musically fits right in with the rest of the EP.
The early stripped-back sound of ‘Daisies’ centres around acoustic guitar and layers of Pidsley’s voice, all recorded in his bedroom. His touch on the piano isn’t overbearing, but it’s the tiny extra details that make this one special. Once the drums kick in, you’ll hear glockenspiel and the sound of woodwind. If you took the vocals away, I’d expect to hear this in a relaxing video game, which is no easy thing to compose. With ‘Daisies’ as the EP’s centrepiece, Chris Pidsley creates a mood, encapsulating everything that is wonderfully carefree and optimistic about the summer months.
The feel is entirely different for ‘Skinny’, where Chris Pidsley becomes the whole band. As well as lyrically driving the point home that there are unrealistic beauty standards for men too, Skinny is all indie electric guitar and showcases Pidsley’s musical range. Whilst Chris’ pick flicks across a six-string, the bass guitar too has much to say, and later through programmed drums there’s also an array of backing vocals to be heard. With a full live band behind him, this song could be the one that people leave a gig still singing.
Perfectly sequenced, the lyrical outpouring of ‘Rosie’ is expressed in a rawer form than Skinny, stripping the sound of the band away and going back to basics. With just a vocal and acoustic guitar, Chris Pidsley recorded Rosie in one complete take. The bathroom-esque reverb not only opens up the two instruments, but works well when Chris interprets his melody into a whistle. Rosie has the feel of summer coming to an end, of memories thoughtfully recollected, only heightened with the intimacy of the live take.
Though each song on the Daisies EP can hold their own, these tracks also work well as a cohesive collection of songs. The tracklisting has been carefully chosen to reflect this journey, encouraging the listener to sustain their attention through all five of the EP’s compositions. And maybe indulge in a little summer nostalgia of their own, too.
1. Your new EP 'Daisies' is such a summer EP. What do you like most about summer?
Love it all to be honest but this EP is focusing on summer nostalgia. I always feel a wave of memories when Summer comes around and the sun is always a great time to relax and reminisce. Also everyone just seems a lot happier in the sun!
2. What about the title of 'Daisies' sums up this collection of songs?
Just the idea of Summer nostalgia and memories made. I suppose if you wanted to look deeper into it you could argue it’s a metaphor for growth or re-birth… but that might be being too pretentious!
3. With 'Listen To Your Mum', you did all the recording in your bedroom studio, then sent it away to Ross Western to tweak. Is that how the rest of the EP was produced too?
Yeh all the songs were recorded in my room and then Ross produced it all and made it sound great! I don’t know much about production so he really helped to tie this EP together.
4. 'Rosie' was recorded in just one take, what prompted that approach? Were there many attempts before you got the finished track?
I was inspired by The 1975’s song “She Lays Down” and how the emotion really came through. It’s just Matty Healy singing with an acoustic guitar. That’s how all my songs start and I really wanted to capture that emotion of the song and trip it back to the bare bones of it.
5. 'Listen To Your Mum' features trumpet from Ryan Bunce, is that him playing on 'Tie Dye T-Shirt' too?
Yes! I’m lucky enough to know a lot of incredibly talented musicians. He played the lines perfectly and I’ll definitely be using his talents again as he can play pretty much everything amazingly!
6. There's a lot going on in 'Skinny', how did that song begin life?
This song is actually the oldest on the EP. I wrote it years ago about a girl who would always complain I was too skinny and not muscly enough. At the time it used to bother me and make me think I needed to change but then I realised there’s nothing wrong with me and actually i’m pretty ok being “skinny” as it were. I wanted to make this more of an indie pop bop with guitars and drums and catchy guitar riffs. A real mix of everything!
7. Your follow-up single to 'Listen To Your Mum' called 'Alex's House' didn't make it onto the EP, how come?
With Alex’s House it was actually the product of a series of rewards I offered as part of a fundraising gig campaign with the promoter HotVox. I offered a whole host of rewards for any donations and a personalised song was one of the ones purchased by my friend Alex. So with that song I just wanted it to be its own project and really have fun with it.
8. Venues have started to open up and festival season has truly begun, have you been out to any gigs this summer?
I know it’s great to see! Unfortunately I was meant to go to Truck festival which was one of the few that got cancelled. I have however been to see Thomas Headon in Colours in Hoxton which was awesome! Felt surreal to be amongst live music with that great energy again.
9. Could there be some gigs from Chris Pidsley too before the end of 2021?
I have an intimate EP launch show on the 13th August to celebrate its release at Lion Coffee & Records in Clapton which I’m really excited for! I’m also playing with a backing band for the first time at Spice of Life in SOHO on the 21st August. Can’t wait to play these new songs live!
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Purchase Chris Pidsley’s ‘Daisies’ EP from his Bandcamp page here.
Reserve your place for the EP launch show at Lion Coffee + Records, London on the 13th of August.
Follow Chris Pidsley on Instagram and Facebook @chrispidsleymusic, and on Twitter @musicpidsley.
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