In what will hopefully become a weekly treat gifted to us for the rest of time, #weakwednesdays has presented us with two new tracks over the last fourteen days from William Weak, the project of Falmouth duo Charlie Fairbarn and Josh Spencer-Fletcher (The Black Tambourines / Harley).
While immediately mellifluous and full of the energetic force we’ve come to expect from the best of the Kernow kids, Will Weak offer up something totally different from their peers in the same process. While there are hints of the punk raucousness that will always habit within, it’s laid out more in the mid-seventies NYC of the early days – a controlled curiosity thats warm and uninterrupted. There’s a clarity and meticulousness to their off-kilter guitar lines, Fairbarn lashing another unrestrained coo from afar on ‘Horrible Fear‘ as the subtle ticking rhythms reveal a pulsing vitality. It’s at times restless and uneasy – but made undeniably gratifying by its harmonious hooks.
In a rare treasured interview with the group, Henry Young discusses with Willy Weak the fictional leadman’s tenacious beef with Trump, plans for world domination and keeping the local pubs and takeaway joints firmly in business.
Q: So how do you see this project? Are you channeling elements of other Fal bands or striding boldly into new waters?
Josh: Its all natural baby. We don’t think about it too much.
Charlie: It’s all premeditated; I’ve been scripting this thing for a long long time now.
Q: If I was to say I’m getting vibes of Joe Strummer heading down to the coast in a van with his head out the window and his cares left behind in a 70s bar, what would you make of that?
J: Sounds pretty fucking rad to me.
C: I’d love to affirm that image but given our circumstance it’s probably more like rolling a rusty road bike down the hill to the nearest late night kebab joint, all after a night of one too many WKD’s, lovingly poured out by the artisan staff at our local spoons. We would probably get there after 3am and be denied the chance to purchase the classic fish cake/mushy pea combo. Maybe then we would head to the coast. With our cares left nowhere behind, we’d be holding onto those puppies all the way.
Q: If you had to explain the genre of the tracks to a dude from space what would you say?
J: Earthman teencore
C: Selfrighteousroughdemogospel
Q: How did the video for ‘Escape The Body’ come about?
J: We really needed a video for this song so we could drop it, and I remembered Charlie had a bunch of really awesome footage from the past year. I thought I would be cool to make a montage of it. I just got as many of our friends in the video as possible.
C: Josh did everything.
Q: I should probably also get a line on your decision to release that track the other week on Trump Wednesday…
C: Question is, why did the electoral system of the United States decide to hold their election the day before William Weak dropped his first track? Big mistake on their part – I think we stole T’s thunder.
Q: And finally what are your aims? Where does our boy William see himself in a year?
C: He’s probably going to try and change his name a lot, but the right side of his brain just won’t let him.
J: The obvious thing really is it to just kill the game. Take over the world. Diamond encrusted Will Weak chains. That sort of thing.
C: He’s going to put out music every week until he’s the UK’s last hope for a Eurovision win.
Here’s to celebrating #weakwednesdays for a long while yet. Listen to ‘Escape The Body‘ and ‘Horrible Fear‘ below.
Interview: Henry Young
Introduction: Ross Jones