PAVEY ARK: TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF
Pavey Ark extended their 2017 EP into debut album, Close Your Eyes and Think of Nothing. Tammy has a chat with Neil Thomas about the album and what it means to him.
Fronted by the talented singer songwriter, Neil Thomas, Pavey Ark are the fastest rising alternative folk band from Hull. Their debut album is the perfect body of work to close your eyes and think of nothing during this chaotic period in history, so much so that the album title shares the sentiment. Close Your Eyes and Think of Nothing dropped 20 March to a wave of rave reviews and Thomas could not be happier.
“We worked so hard on the album so it’s definitely a wonderful feeling that it’s finally out in the world. I couldn’t be any happier with the way it sounds and looks and we’ve been getting some wonderful feedback,” he says.
With singles “Cuckoo” and “Wallflowers” dominating the airwaves, Pavey Ark certainly extended themselves on Close Your Eyes and Think of Nothing. In fact, the album is a direct extension of their 2017 EP, Leaf by Leaf, all five tracks being recycled.
“The EP was almost like a demo for me personally. If felt incomplete in places and it didn’t have the depth / warmth I wanted. But those EP songs are some of the best songs I’ve ever written so I absolutely always wanted them to be on the album. I’m extremely happy with how the new and old songs gel together as a single piece of work,” Thomas explains.
“We reworked most of songs which were on the EP. Many of the songs were re-recorded with string quartet compositions and we also re-recorded vocals and drums and a few other bits. We wanted the album to have the same feel/sound throughout for new and older songs.”
They have achieved that. The flow of the body of work is seamless and the escapism dreamscape picture painted within is consistent. Despite the material and writing process being spaced across a vast time period, the album messages, themes and sonic arrangements are very much pertinent in the current landscape.
“Many of the songs have a theme of escape and dreaming of better things. The string compositions throughout the album are really beautiful and quite dream like. So I hope that it is an album people can use as an escape from what’s going on [in the world].”
In particular, lead single ‘Cuckoo’ touches on these very ideals and was also conjured within Thomas’ own dream setting. The context of the song, however, pertains to that of the Trump presidency inauguration period, but the lyrics are fluid, washing into our current global climate.
Thomas details, “Very occasionally tunes/melodies/songs come to me whilst I’m dreaming and that’s what happened with ‘Cuckoo’. It was just after Donald Trump arrived in the White House. In the dream I was floating over a map of the US looking down on a lake and a place called Cuckoo. In the background the chorus to the song was playing in my head. I got out of bed and grabbed my guitar at about 4am and quickly worked out the chords for the chorus.”
He continues, “It’s a song about the times we live in. It’s an accepted norm that the truth is no longer that important; paint a more colourful alternative picture and we are happy to consume. The scribbled line of progress: knee jerk policies with no long-term design, only the short-term perpetuation of wealth. Someone who thinks differently to this narrative, or who dreams of a fairer world, is painted as being strange or weird (A cuckoo). It’s also a song about meeting someone on the same wavelength as you, who can also see through the painted picture to the reality behind; someone with a shared longing to escape and dreaming of a fairer society.”
Thought-provoking stuff, right?
Close Your Eyes and Think of Nothing, as named after a line from Jam song, ‘Private Hell’, not only showcases the introspective nature of Thomas’ songwriting skills, it also shows off the impeccable talent of the atmospheric band. If you’re looking for a song to start your Pavey Ark journey, you can start with Thomas’ favourite, one from the Leaf by Leaf catalogue, ‘Breaking Out’.
“‘Breaking Out’ has always been my favorite. It’s one of those songs that came to me really quickly, all in one day. When I listened back to it at the time I actually couldn’t believe I had written it. I was in a massive rut at the time and it’s a song about escape and a renewed determination a break out from the situation I was in.”
Pavey Ark have delivered the perfect transportive album to escape your isolation pod. Just Close Your Eyes and Think of Nothing.