Music: We Were Promised Jetpacks

DOWNLOAD: We Were Promised Jetpacks -Quiet Little Voices (Live)

Edinburgh-based fourpiece We Were Promised Jetpacks (Adam Thompson (Guitar/Vocals), Michael Palmer (Guitar), Sean Smith (Bass) and Darren Lackie (Drums)) have exploded on to the music scene of late, captivating audiences with their unabashed indie outpourings which follow closely in the musical footprints of fellow Scots Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad. Fresh from an appearance at SXSW, and with a debut album “Four Walls” tucked under their belt and ready for a May release the esteemed Fat Cat Records, I caught up with lead guitar and vocalist Adam Thompson, who answered these questions while sitting in a library, not reading a book. Fact.

MS: “You were recently at SXSW. what was that like? how did your music go down over there?”

AT: “It was a lot of fun. We got asked to play a KEXP radio benefit night (at) Bowery Ballroom in New York before we went to Texas which was amazing. We got a holiday in New York! During SXSW we stayed with a Texan friend called Hunter who we met while travelling in the summer. He made our stay extra enjoyable. Our music seemed to go down pretty well. There were lots of mid-set ‘whoops’ which is something we are not that used to. Americans really dig the Scottish.”

MS: “Did you get to meet The Proclaimers?”

AT: “I didn’t! The rest of the boys did and they got a nice photo with them. I was out in the venue speaking to my brother (the last time I’ll be doing that). I had a story for them as well as my mum and auntie went to the same high school as them! We did watch them warm-up backstage before they went on though!”

MS: “Congrats on getting signed, garnering a load of press attention and other positive things you’ve achieved lately. What advice would you give to a young band trying to do the same?”

AT: “Practice a lot, work hard, be nice to people, write songs that you love and don’t wear leather jackets and shades.”

MS: “What can we expect from your debut album? Does it have a title yet?”

AT: “You can expect 11 tracks. It’s actually a lot more mellow and relaxed than I thought it was going to be. We recorded it live in a room together without using headphones so all of our instruments were picked up in all the microphones in the room. I think it sounds pretty live and raw. Our first album is called ‘These Four Walls’.”

MS: “What do you think of the ressurgence in bands using a Scots accent. It’s always lingered around in folk scenes but why do you think it’s becoming prevalent now?”

AT: “I’m not sure what to say about Scottish accents in bands. I’ve never ever ever been a fan of folk using an American accent when singing and singing in your own accent makes music seem a little more honest. Sometimes it’s just fun to rrrrrroll those r’s. I used to sing like a posh choir boy whos baws hadn’y dropped.”

MS: “Could you shed some light on Jetpacks’ lyrical content and tell us a bit of a story behind one of your tracks? Even if it’s made up…”

AT: “Mostly the lyrical content is about how much of a useless human being I am and a desire to find some sort of happiness. I wrote the lyrics to our album opener ‘It’s thunder and it’s lightning’ after seeing some chav on Bebo comment someone saying ‘Check it ootside. It’s pure thunder and lightning.’”

MS: “What bands / artists are influencing WWPJ right now?”

AT: “I listened to the Bon Iver album a lot for a long period of time. I’m just starting to work through The National’s back-catalogue after falling in love with ‘Boxer’. There is also this band called Born Ruffians from Canada who we think are just the bees knees. A band from edinburgh called Dupec are making us jealous and annoyed as they keep writing songs that we wish we wrote.”

MS: “Is there anything you’d like to add? I noticed you guys use Twitter.”

AT: “Yeah someone at FatCat/One Little Indian set us up with Twitter. It’s alright i suppose. I must admit to checking up on Lily Allen’s status pretty frequently. We all fancy her.”

The lead single from ‘Four Walls is ‘Quiet Little Voices’ and is out on on Fat-Cat Records.

myspace.com/wewerepromisedjetpacks
We Were Promised Jetpacks @FatCat Records

Posted in Interviews & MP3 & Music by Martin Skivington on April 17, 2009.

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