Just a little over a year after their second album, Courting from Liverpool return with a third album, titled ‘Lust for Life, Or ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell A Story’. This work represents the band’s blend of indie, experimental rock, and electro pop, developed throughout their seven-year journey.
CLASH had a conversation with lead vocalist Sean Murphy-O’Neill about the creation of the new album, his songwriting methods, and what lies ahead.
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CLASH: We last spoke backstage at the Reading Festival, where you hinted at another album. You kept your promise!
Murphy-O’Neill: We’re just really fast. Once we learned about a tour scheduled for October—initially set for February 2024—we realized we needed an album ready before then to avoid delays. So, we worked extremely hard to get it done. Since it’s largely handled in-house, it’s manageable. We’re thankful to have a management team and label that trust our creative process without trying to dictate direction. We jumped into the studio, completed the project, and had everything ready before Reading and Leeds. It’s all about timing; finishing music quickly allows for easier planning rather than rushing at the last moment to revise mixes or masters.
You mentioned this album represents a shift in your approach. How so?
For the last album, our aim was to explore a broad thematic scope, creating something theatrical and concept-driven. With this new album, I wanted to avoid concerns about elaborate concepts. It felt more natural to write songs exactly as they came to us, allowing the record to stand on its own. It’s more straightforward in contrast to the previous album’s narrative complexity. The songs are generally shorter, getting to their point more quickly.
Each song on the album has a ‘twin’?
That concept stemmed from a songwriting exercise. As artists, we continually seek fresh approaches to writing. Sometimes the typical idea of “here’s a riff, here’s some lyrics” can lead to uninspired work. I believe that creating something interesting requires interesting methods. So, whenever we felt stuck on a song, we’d decide to pair it with another. This technique led us to explore unexpected directions. For example, 'Stealth Rollback' and 'Lust for Life' share instrumentation and samples, adding an element of creativity. The connection between the titles developed before even considering the album’s concept, and everything evolved from that dual title idea.
There aren’t strict rules governing the pairing. Songs are only truly twinned when we want to take them in a new direction. Tracks like ‘Eleven Sent’ and ‘Namcy’ are more traditional and don’t require too much borrowing from others in terms of style, as they align with the same musical world. We didn’t impose any rigid rules; it all flowed naturally.
And of course, ‘Lust for Life’ is a well-known title…
I enjoy playing with or twisting rock clichés. It’s such a classic title, associated with Iggy Pop and Lana Del Rey, so the connection is interesting. The idea was to adopt the first half of a title rooted in rock history, then subvert that cliché by making it lengthy and elaborate. It almost feels like cheating—if we simply named the album ‘Lust for Life’, people might have high expectations but could also ridicule it as being too simplistic. By taking this route, we achieve a balance. It reflects our artistic approach: while the title is ambitious, we also include more straightforward rock songs.
On our debut album, ‘Guitar Music’, we focused extensively on experimenting with production. The last album represented a shift towards incorporating what we had learned, utilizing traditional song structures, or playing with pop song forms. Now, we’ve practiced enough to blend pop structural elements with unconventional production, merging the best parts of our artistic growth over the years.
You also make references to older songs in the new album.
I enjoy lyrically weaving in references to past works. It creates an interesting setting where all the characters from our narrative can coexist. We naturally circle back to similar reference points and imagery in our songs, resulting in an interconnected feel across the albums due to previous setups.
Do you avoid writing about global issues, or do you find yourself drawing from personal experiences?
I haven’t incorporated references to major themes in five years. I prefer to focus on small details, then expand those into broader narratives. Many of my lyrics originate from advertisements or old sitcoms, where you can find beautifully crafted one-liners in unexpected places, which I then twist into something unique. In the first two albums, I’ve included lines from ‘Friends’ at least once.
Writing about unreal situations is not something I find enjoyable or easy. While anyone can write a political song, crafting a genuinely good one is exceptionally challenging. Nuanced political songwriting requires deep understanding and exceptional lyrical skill—transforming global events into melodic prose that isn’t cliché
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Just as the dust begins to settle on their second album, Courting from Liverpool returns with a third release just fourteen months later. (Deep breath) ‘Lust