New release – On the Walk from the Picturehouse by Camens
Camens make “honest indie rock and roll” and they do it with a relentless work rate. Hailing from glamorous Stoke-On-Trent (UK), the band are an increasingly important part of the UK’s thriving indie scene and have hefty plans for the rest of 2023 and beyond.
Their upcoming single ‘On the Walk from the Picturehouse’ is three minutes of irresistibly off-kilter indie-pop. Taking its cues from ‘60s pop as well as the band’s usual alt-guitar world influences, there’s an air of romance and a flair of the cinematic.
“We love the idea of creating worlds with words and then trying to pick the listener up and take them there and this approach definitely bleed into Picturehouse. The first lyric of the song written was the first pre-chorus: “Your trailer got me going now, the final cut it let me down”. The song plays around with the idea that seeing someone you like and then taking them out can be similar in many ways to seeing a trailer before you watch a movie. In both situations, it’s not until you take the plunge that you’ll know if you both “click”, or if the film is all you hoped it would be. I thought that was a pretty interesting idea to write around, so I ran with it.”
“The song is not particularly autobiographical, although it is set on a first date to the pictures, which we’ve all done. So there’s some authenticity there. Then it also leans more towards it not being the best first date, which again, we’ve all had. So yeah, there’s truth in there for sure. Write what you know. If it’s real for you, it will be for other people too.”
“I’m always looking for interesting things to write about. I try my best to avoid tropes and clichés… I think there’s so much scope for creativity with words, themes, ideas etc. So anytime I fall on something that feels fairly original, that’s a good day. I really like the idea in this. Hopefully that carries. I mean, you’ve got to write a good pop song first or else what’s the point? No one’s gonna listen if there are no hooks. But, if you can get both… that’s an even better day!”
“The song started as a piano piece. There’s a couple of videos of it knocking around still from a few years ago. The words were always really nice but it wasn’t quite a ‘band’ kinda thing. At some point mid-Covid we fell on a chord progression in the jam room that sounded great and just needed words. So I wrapped the words around the new vibe and it just went from there. It came together pretty quick.”
“We worked with students from Staffs Uni in Stoke to create the video. We booked the date and then our drummer dislocated his shoulder, meaning he had to play through the song about 30 times on the day with an injured shoulder, taking the sling off for each take – ouch! The concept is quite simple – it’s a performance video with the added elements of old animations and cinema projected onto the band as we perform. We also used large TV cameras as props to create a documentary vibe as if the band were being recorded while being recorded. It all circles back to the cinema and film narrative within the song, echoing the idea that everything in life is a performance – without trying to sound too pretentious.”
‘On the Walk from the Picturehouse’ is out 5th May. Pre-save the song here.
