Fightstar on Be Human: track-by-track…

Fightstar - Be Human

It is a revelation of epic guitar and string melodies blended with the vocal talents of both Charlie Simpson and Alex Westaway who have the distinct ability to lend their voices to a wide and diverse range of sounds and songs. This latest offering suggests that after much experimentation throughout previous releases, they have finally reached a sound that could honestly be described as remarkable. The album is a 12-track compilation that offers one of the widest ranges of sounds and styles that has been on offer from any artist. Cinematic is the key word here, every song tells a different story and each one is individual and memorable.

We discussed the album with Fightstar to gain a greater understanding of the process, concepts and ideas behind each track…

‘Calling On All Stations‘ - “It’s one of the dark horses of the record”

‘Calling On All Stations’ is a compelling and individual track that unravels and soars, exhibiting the deep level of progression that the band have achieved over the last eighteen months since their last album One Day Son This Will All Be Yours. With a strong orchestral element and a layering of sound that fuses with the heavier rock element, it makes the ideal statement making intro for an album…

Charlie: There was discussion about whether this should be the opening track, it was always going to be ‘The English Way’. But I think that because this album has progressed into what it has progressed into, having a good old string element, we wanted to open it with something that would represent that. And obviously ‘Calling On All Stations’ starts with strings and it’s just a nice way to lead people into what’s to come. I think that ‘The English Way’ would have been a too obvious choice, so we decided to go with that one. It’s one of the dark horses of the record that one actually. Half way through making it, it was a difficult one to record, but in the end, in the mix it really came up trumps. It’s actually one of my favourite songs on the album.

Dan: Also, when you listen to the singles, the singles are not necessarily representative of all directions on the record and hopefully that allows listeners to be like “hey this is the kind of thing that’s also on the record” and putting it at the front also means that these tracks are also on the same level or should be considered as much as the others.

‘The English Way’ – “I think it’s going to become a crowd favourite you know”

This track was the first single release from Be Human and offered a slightly more commercial and lighter sound to the public but still with a classic Fightstar sound. It combines a choir for a middle eight that intricately blends their vocals with the rougher edged voice of Simpson. Its subject is patriotic and it is, simply put, catchy.

Charlie: This one was the first that had single potential. The first one that we thought yeah, that could be a single, and then when we recorded it, it just came out really good you know? And we wanted to put something about before Christmas to give the fans something to chew the fat on really, because it was such a long time between us going into the studio and the album being released, we wanted to just put something out there for the fans to listen to. I think it’s going to become a crowd favourite you know; that song’s going to become a Fightstar anthem, like ‘Paint Your Target’ was, I think it’s going to overtake that now. The crowd reaction has been brilliant.

War Machine – “It’s a song with a big heart”

‘War Machine’ has been warmly received by the national press and it is not hard to see why. With gargantuan choruses and guitar riffs it is a Fightstar anthem. The cinematic element truly comes into play, with drama and depth that draw on the key elements of past tracks like ‘Build An Army’ and ‘Deathcar’, but mix them with an orchestral element for a whole new sound. This is arguably the biggest success of the album, the title describing perfectly its huge sound.

Charlie: I think lyrically it gives off a really positive message. A lot of our last two records had a negative slant on society, a finger pointing at certain political agendas, and ‘War Machine’ is more about washing your hands of anything to do with conflict and war. Having love and trust in people is a good thing and we don’t need to fight and take agendas to war because that is the last place it is going to be solved, as is proved by most wars that have ever taken place in history. Musically I think it is really portrayed as this new element of sound that we are going for with the big orchestration. We’ve got the choir in obviously. It’s a big song and it’s great that the press really have picked up on it because I think that it is one of the most triumphant songs on the record, one of the ones that we are most proud of. It’s a song with a big heart.

‘Never Change’ – “It’s a nostalgia track”

‘Never Change’ is an upbeat and untypical Fightstar track, different to the sound that we have come to know them for thus far.  The chorus is catchy with a saturated upbeat sound, positive and heart-warming. This is just one of the surprises on Be Human, and if it was missing the depth and orchestration, particularly the middle eight that breaks things down it could potentially have gone a little too far into the realm known as Pop, but incredibly it works so well. The contrast between this and ‘War Machine’ is huge, already challenging the listener on any preconceptions that they may have had about this band.

Charlie: Pop is the wrong word, but it is more upbeat and happy . It’s the happiest song that we’ve ever done. We were listening to a lot of The Cure at the time and that kind of bouncy feel, we wanted to create something happy. Lyrically it’s just about getting back to your teenage years, sipping cider on the hill, smoking a couple! It’s a nostalgia track.

‘Colours Bleed To Red’ – “There’s gonna be a good pit moment at the end of that song”

This track was released last year as a B-side to ‘The English Way’ single. It’s probably the most typically Fightstar track on this album, blending monstrous riffs with hidden melodies and a huge chorus that seeps into the brain. The warming vocals of Westaway in the verses is placed in stark contrast to Simpson’s screams behind, peaking with a dramatic fury filled finale.

Charlie: Yeah that was one of the first songs we ever wrote as a band. That chorus was taken from the fifth song we ever wrote. It was a track called ‘Too Much Punch’ which if we put that on the album it wouldn’t really fit. Me and Al were listening to it about a year ago and we said man we’ve gotta put this chorus back in a song, it’s one of my favourite choruses. So we just wrote another song around it. There’s gonna be a good pit moment at the end of that song, good for Download. It’s more of an out and out rock track, harping back to the Fightstar of 2005

Dan: But I’d say that that song was the first time that a Fightstar chorus was ever written. ‘Too Close To The Sun’ didn’t really have that. It was the first big chorus that we ever wrote, so it was good to actually put it out.

Is it quite difficult when you’ve done a track like that, that you’ve used as a B-side and then you put it on the album, so you can’t use it as a single?

Charlie: No – the decision to do that was done before. We knew that it was going to be on the album before it was even a B-side. We decided to do that really just to give a bit of a teaser for the fans of what was to come, it was as simple as that. We always knew it was going to be an album track.

How do you normally go about making that decision as to what is going to be a B-side?

Al: It’s always hard to find the time to do B-sides and we’ve always taken B-sides quite seriously. It is nice that we were able to, not that we wanted to release Alternate Endings quite so soon, it was more of a label push for us to do that, but it was a collection of B-sides that we collected up over the years and we are obviously quite proud. The fact that we can put out a record like that and it can still sound pretty good, obviously not as much production has gone into it, but to be able to give that to the fans is really cool.

Charlie: I think that the songs stand up themselves as well. A lot of B-sides are just outcast failed songs that never materialised and weren’t given the light of day.

Al: I suppose there were a couple…

Dan: B-sides is when we’re at our most experimental, it just doesn’t matter you can do what you want and have fun. We kind of did that on this record and B-sides have come from areas like that before. It’s like that whole general taste curve you get as a fan, like a slice of the crazier aspects of that curve.

You did a cover of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’ recently, that was quite an interesting decision to make…

Charlie: I think it’s probably one of the best songs ever written, so I just wanted to pay homage to it really.

Al: That was a quick one to record, just Charlie and a piano.

Charlie: Obviously she has the whole vocoder thing; I just wanted to represent the melodies in their natural form. Regardless of all the effects and crazy wizardry she puts on that song the melodies are just genius.

‘The Whisperer’ – “I think it’s the grooviest song we’ve ever written”

‘The Whisperer’ is the biggest surprise on Be Human. To the point where we almost wonder if there has been some mistake. With an intro that boasts a mouth organ and clapping this is clearly Fightstar at one of their most bizarre times. The question is how does this song work so well? The vocals still manage to capture a certain darkness as do the lyrics but hidden within a swinging rhythm. The two lines after the chorus are the most bizarre as the backing is stripped back for a sedated and tranquil harmony that makes this track a real statement maker. First impressions, a bizarre concoction of influences…

Charlie: It has thrown a lot of people that song! People I’ve spoken to haven’t got it at first. It has this whole kind of ’70s swinging style riff, it kind of bowls off into this ’60s Beach Boys style vocals and then it kind of comes back… It went through so many stages. Originally that song was going to be really slow, like that song ‘Sexy Boy’ (by Air) it had that real kind of pace but then we just sped it up and it sounded funky. And then we started recording us kicking boxes to add over the drum beat and it just kind of turned into this sultry ’70s whisky bar sound effect.

Al: It’s quite like Weezer

Omar: I think it’s the grooviest song we’ve ever written.

‘Mercury Summer’ – “The one that has the most commercial appeal”

This is a perfect summer track, upbeat and lively but with a good fistful of rock thrown in for good measure. One of the less surprising tracks on the album, combining sounds that echo sunny days and feel good vibes it’s a good sing along song that will surely attract some attention.

This is the second single to be taken from Be Human, but on an album that is so vast and eclectic, why was this chosen as the second single?

Charlie: I think it was just probably the most instant. When you’re looking for singles you’re obviously by nature going to release the one that has the most commercial appeal, that’s just the way singles work. ‘Mercury Summer’ is by far the most commercial outfit on the record, it just felt right. It was a difficult one to record, to get right, to get the mix was difficult but I think it came out really good in the end.

And the video was quite different compared to what you’ve done in the past?

Dan: It was all carefully geometrically mapped out. You know the Indians have rain dances? Well this was like a summer dance. And the only reason we made that song was so that we would get a mercury summer. If you look outside it’s working because it’s getting aired on the radio and it’s still winter! It’s still winter but we’re getting some sunshine. So when they stop playing it I predict that we are going to go straight back into cold times. So yeah, let’s not let them do that!!

‘Give Me The Sky’ – “A euphoric style”

Euphoric is the perfect word to describe this song. With a more acoustic side to it, it is a love song with tender melodies and lyrics. Occasionally Fightstar create gems like this that are such a contrast to their anthems like ‘Palahniuk’s Laughter’ and ‘Build An Army’ but compliment them perfectly and show just what this band are capable of. ‘Give Me The Sky’ allows Charlie Simpson to demonstrate the softer side to his vocal abilities, creating a vast and spine chilling sound. An elegant juxtaposition of light guitar strings and huge synths.

It’s more of a Fightstar ballad, an interesting contrast to the other songs on the album….

Charlie: A ballad is a good word!

Al: We wanted to have a song with massive synth riffs…

Omar: I think it was a throwback to the tracks like ‘Mono’.

Al: Actually one of my most favourite bits on the record is probably the middle eight to the end of that song.

Charlie:The ending is the real moment you can put your fist in the air and say we’ve made something cool here. It’s weird that kind of went through a lot of changes as well, it was going to be kind of Deftones-like at the beginning with riffs that went into a heavy chorus, and we really drew it back

Al: For a long time people weren’t feeling it at all. It was even gonna be cast aside because we didn’t feel it was going anywhere…

Charlie: The original chorus didn’t work at all, the drum beat was totally different. We just decided to strip it back and take it much slower, add all these big synths.

‘Chemical Blood’ – “We wanted to make a song that went completely off the wall”

This is a multi-faceted track that blends harmonious beautiful vocals with screamo injections. The track shows a very ambitious side to Fightstar and is a true indication of what they are capable of. It combines drama, cinematic strings and smashing cymbals to give the album one of its most dramatic tracks. “Give me your strength so I can go further”

Charlie: It’s my favourite.

Al: I’d say it’s probably the best mix on the record.

Charlie: I think it’s the greatest song we’ve mastered. It might not necessarily be the best song but it is the best coordination of song if that makes sense?

Al: It’s the most complicated song!

Charlie: It was the fact that we wanted to make a song that went completely off the wall into this literal cinematic…I wanted it to feel like you were suddenly listening to a film soundtrack and that’s what we managed to achieve in the middle eight of that song. Plus I love the melodies, the strings sound unbelievable on that, Audrey really came up trumps with the string arrangements.

Al: It’s also quite a funny one because it comes across as quite a heavy track, but the chorus is actually clean, but everyone associates it with being a heavy track…

Charlie: Because we’ve got screaming in the bridge.

Do you think that is going to be quite hard to translate live on stage?

Charlie: Could be. Yeah I’m a bit worried about that actually. It will be quite interesting to see if we can. I think we can do it, there’s just so much going on, it will be hard. I think it will be a crowd favourite actually. I think it’s our new ‘Build An Army”

Is that something you’ve had to consider quite carefully when doing the album? How that is going to translate live without bringing two choirs and a sixteen piece orchestra on tour?

Dan: We’re probably not that clever to contemplate that!

Al: How are we gonna do that live?!

‘Tonight We Burn’ – “The first Fightstar song that you can really dance to”

Along with ‘The Whisperer’, this is the most surprising track on Be Human. It is upbeat and bouncy, a trait that Fightstar have not really been associated with in the past. You can even dance to it!

The bridge breaks things down for a more chilled out element, then breaks into a chiming beat which is rather endearing. A real move on for the band from the negativity to a more positive note…certainly very unusual and not what we were expecting from them?

Al: We’ve always been a fan of kinda trip-hop songs. It’s a funny one because it is quite different to the rest of the songs.

Charlie: Obviously because of the electronic nature of it, but then I guess that song kind of takes off where ‘Unfamiliar Ceilings’ left, that we had this kind of trip-hop vibe. It’s definitely a different sound, but it’s one of my favourites, it’s one that could be a single as well. It just came together nicely, it came together pretty quick. Al had the original ideas and we took it to the studio and it literally just sucked together.

Dan: It’s probably the first Fightstar song that you can really dance to. And we did say that on our goal list at the beginning “let’s have a song that you can really dance to” because we’ve never really done that before. I think it’s probably my second or third favourite track on the record.

Charlie: ‘Unfamiliar Ceilings’ was dancey in a far more secluded way, it wasn’t happy, this song is happy. And lyrically it’s just about you and your girlfriend going out on a night out, very simple. That and ‘Give Me The Sky’ are the first two proper love songs we’ve wrote.

Al: Very simple lyrics, just descriptive.

‘Damocles’ – “pretty brutal”

The darkest track on Be Human, paying homage to previous heavy Fightstar classics such as ‘Deathcar’, with its screaming verses and more tuneful choruses. This is an interesting track about knife crime and clearly demonstrates how passionate they feel about their subject. This is probably the track that is most predictable as a follow on from ‘One Day Son This Will All Be Yours’.

Al: It’s a funny place on the record after ‘Tonight We Burn’ which is quite electronic and chilled out. ‘Damocles’ is pretty brutal and then ‘Follow Me Into The Darkness’ is chilled again.

Omar: It’s probably the most negative track…

Dan: It’s macaroni cheese

Omar: We wanted to reinstate the heaviness towards the end of the album just to let people know…

Charlie: It’s for the ‘Deathcar’ and ‘Tannhauser Gate’ fans, I think a certain side of our fanbase would have been disappointed if we hadn’t had an all out heavy track on there. It’s something that we are influenced by as musicians, a lot of bands we love are on the heavier side

Al: Whenever we start writing a heavy song we start out trying to make it as heavy as we possibly can for some reason. I think it’s just getting heavier and heavier like ‘Deathcar’ then ‘Tannhauser Gate’ and then that

Omar: The next will just be white noise for three minutes!

Al: The album clips went up online last night and it seems like the people who are vocal about their support of the band are really feeling it so that’s good

Dan: ‘Damocles’ is not just like a straight metal song, it has a lot of melody to it and it again has this whole filmic thing that is running throughout the record which is something that we really wanted to pull through the whole thing. I’m proud of that track.

‘Follow Me Into The Darkness’ – “It’s the most cinematic track on the record”

An outstanding and flawless track to close the album. It is simplistic and uplifting, pure vocals set against a subtle and exquisite orchestral backing. As the lyrics unravel you can almost feel as if you are being taken on a journey, and the song begins to build and soar through piano melodies and strings. The drama builds and creates a compelling piece of musicianship. It is the perfect track to draw the album to a close, as if it pulls all of the sounds and melodies of the album to a peaceful and reflective close. This track is very cinematic…

Charlie: Yeah I think in some ways it’s the most cinematic track on the record. The ending is pretty much written for a film trailer, I can just imagine film credits going up in my head at the end.

Dan: It came together quite spontaneously…

Charlie: Literally in the rehearsal room.

Dan: Chaz was just monkeying around on the ivories, tinkling them.

Charlie: We found this cool sound on the piano and then just built the whole song from there.

Al: The chords that we used were really low…

Charlie: It just fell into place man. Fell in!

Al: That’s one of my favourites

Dan: Sometimes songs just get plucked out of the air…

Charlie: And within ten minutes the whole song is written

Dan: It’s magic when that happens and it turns out good

Your artwork is always a talking point for the albums, is that something you do consciously?

Dan: You’ve got to try right? Because if you’re gonna do something you might as well do it to the best of your ability, go out there and find something that actually works.

Charlie: It’s a guy called Rohit Passi. Dan Conway has done all of our album art up to this point, this is the first time we have used someone different, we just fancied a change in style. It’s built on the same platform, it’s just very striking imagery that can be interpreted in many different ways, which I think is important. It’s one thing just holding something up and saying you decide. We’re not a band that crams our opinions down people’s throats. You know, you can interpret the cow’s head in any way.

Al: One thing that fascinates me about Rohit is his technique. It’s purely digital art so he’s painting it on the computer, but the texture that he can get with the paint, it could be an oil painting, and it’s so hard to tell. If you look really close it still has the texture of a paintbrush. I do a bit of painting myself, digitally as well as normally and it’s just beyond me how he manages to pull that off.

Charlie: It’s crazy. Dan Conway did the same thing, but Dan Conway’s was almost more obvious that it was digital.

Dan: His style is a bit more new and modern, but both of them are equally talented guys. I think it’s quite rare to get people of that talent to work with bands; you’ve got to really put the groundwork in.

Omar: Rohit, once he got what the record was about I think he was happy to lend himself to the album. It just worked out and I think it’s probably our best artwork yet. And once you see it through to the end, all the single covers are the same theme, it’s gonna be a cool body of work.

And you have your tour coming up and Download Festival, what can we expect from those shows this summer?

Charlie: All out assault man! I think these songs are going to lend themselves really well to being played live. Like just playing ‘Mercury Summer’ and ‘The English Way’, it’s weird the crowd reaction has always been better for those two songs then any of our other songs ever. So I think that this album is really going to be a crowd sing along album and I think it’s really gonna get the kids involved, more so than they have before probably so that will be cool to see. Then Download is great, how can you argue man? You’ve got Journey on the bill, Anvil ,Faith No More!

Will there be some older material on the tour too?

Charlie: Yeah, we’re gonna mix it up. We’re gonna bring back a few real old classics! ‘Lost Like Tears In Rain’ perhaps…

Al: You’re really gunning for this aren’t you?!

Omar: ‘Amethyst’

Dan: ‘Cross Out The Stars’?

Omar: “Old and New” we should call it, Fightstar old and new!

Unequivocally one of the best albums of 2009 thus far, it feels like life for Fightstar is about to become one hell of a ride.

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