Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The real deal...
We Cut Corners prepare for the release of third album, Imposters with its new sound
Almost two years on from the release of their third record We Cut Corners are preparing for the release of their forthcoming LP Imposters. Recorded at The Meadow studios in Delgany Co Wicklow, Imposters heralds a return to a snappy precise songwriting approach for Dublin duo John Duignan and Conal O Breachain.
“We just had a really good time making this latest record,” Duignan told The Beat.
“It came together really well in its composition and in its execution.
“We kind of went back to our mantra of keeping things concise and sharp whereas on The Cadences Of Others the tracks were a bit more extended and filled out.
“We wanted to cram as much lyrical and musical information as possible into this new set of songs.
“We feel that the return to our mission statement has served us very well and that we’ve been able to communicate what want to say.
A short hiatus was in order for Duignan and O Breachain after the release of The Cadences Of Others, a beautiful record ‘born out of a labour of love’.
Renewed and reinvigorated We Cut Corners are poised to release Imposters in early October.
“Really when you’ve gone through the emotional and workflow rigour of putting a record out there it’s nice to sort of regroup and reflect on what you’ve done,” explained Duignan.
“After The Cadences Of Others we took some time to collect our thoughts and come up with some new ideas.
“Sometimes if you roll from one album into the next things can seem a little frantic so we felt it was important to take some time out in order to bring back a renewed sense of purpose and invention.
Now on their fourth album We Cut Corners, while still ambitious, have adopted a ‘strong sense of realism’ around what can be achieved.
The duo both hold down full time jobs in education which they balance with their passion for making music.
“We’ve turned down our fair share of international opportunities because of work commitments but have also been fortunate enough to take many of them on.
“During the time of the release of our first two records there was a definite sense of angst around passing on opportunities that all bands strive for – to play your music to foreign audiences and see how your art is received elsewhere.
“Because we work in education we are bound by our schedules and as a result we approach everything with a hefty sense of realism.
“That isn’t to say that we aren’t ambitious with our music.” What is it like to try and juggle a day job with playing music?
“I guess the key influence that working a job has on our music is
that it makes playing together so enjoyable,” explained Duignan.
“If we were to play full time I can’t imagine us extracting as much joy out of it. “Once something is your full time occupation, it becomes just that.
“Because we only get together once in a while to make a record or to play a run of shows, we have a real sense of novelty, every time we play.
“I think that working and playing. music separately has given us a really welcome balance and I think having a day job really optimises our relationship with music and makes sure that the joy is always in it.”
lwe Cut Corners launch Imposters at Dublin’s Whelan’s on October 12 . They also play:- Saturday, October 20 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork. Sunday, October 28 – The Spirit Store, Dundalk. Friday, November 2 – The Monarch, London. Details of Galway date in mid-october also coming soon. Tickets are available through usual outlets.