THERE’S NOTHING POLITE ABOUT THIS MUSIC
ON the eve of his first UK headline tour, musician Tom Fleming is trying to describe the biggest difference between his old band, indie faves Wild Beasts, and his new solo project, One True Pairing. After much thought and consideration, the erudite songwriter offers a most intriguing choice of analogy.
“Being a solo artist is like being a stand-up comic,” he muses. “You’ve got to get up there on stage and adopt this brash confidence, go in all guns blazing. If the audience detect any sign of weakness, any vulnerability, they’ll eat you alive. You’ve got to give them all your best material and not faff around.”
Tom Fleming may have drawn comparisons with the world of live comedy, but his new solo project, One True Pairing, is certainly no laughing matter.
Conceived shortly after the demise of his former band Wild Beasts in 2017, Fleming’s new outfit is a deathly serious affair, an abrasive, aggressive rock project with songs lamenting the perilous state of the modern world.
Dealing with themes of toxic masculinity, paranoia and fear of global collapse, his self-titled debut LP, released on Domino Records back in September, was carefully conceived as an exercise in un-easy listening.
Combining brutal synth work and stark guitars with brash, bombastic melodies, One True Pairing – as we’ll witness when he performs at Manchester venue YES next week – is the sort of musical juggernaut that you simply can’t ignore, no matter how hard you try.
“I never wanted to make wallpaper music,” Fleming declares. “There’s too much of that around at the moment - all that arty background music that no really engages with. I was writing dark lyrics, really heavy, fatalistic stuff, about how society is being f **** d over. And I wanted the music to have a similar confrontational quality. There’s nothing polite about this music.”
Tom Fleming might be reacting to the ugliness of society, but – if we’re to play armchair psychologist – he’s also responding to the achievements of his previous band.
Formed in Kendal during the mid-2000s, Wild Beasts progressed from indie oddballs to Mercury-nominated festival headliners before splitting (amicably) in 2017. Over the course of five acclaimed albums, the band earned a deserved reputation as one of British music’s most daring, experimental and intellectual indie outfits of the past two decades.
Within a few weeks of the band’s split, however, it was clear that Fleming was on a very different musical path with his fledgling solo project.
“By the end, Wild Beasts were playing big venues and big festival slots,” he says. “With One True Pairing, I knew I’d be starting all over again and playing smaller places. That was definitely at the back of my mind when I was writing this record - I wanted to make music that was direct, energetic. I wanted to see the whites of audience’s eyes when I was playing these songs. It’d be a totally different vibe to Wild Beasts.”
Of course, one of Wild Beasts’ most defining characteristics was their unashamed sensuality.
Kicking against the macho posturing of so many guitar bands, the Kendal four-piece were always vociferous in their views on toxic masculinity.
Fast forward to 2019 and the term ‘toxic masculinity’ has become something of a buzzword amongst many musicians. Never one to mince his words, Fleming has some particularly strong opinions when it comes to his musical contemporaries and their relationship with ‘woke’ culture.
“Toxic masculinity, it’s become really commodified,” he argues. “Yeah, there’s loads of male musicians talking about it, but it all feels very focus grouped, all very Guardian reader – it’s just another buzzword that musicians have latched onto. It’s like an echo chamber. Growing up in Kendal, I was exposed to a lot of real toxic masculinity. It’s a messy, complex, ugly thing. I don’t see many musicians addressing the subject in a truthful, honest way.”
Given the abrasive nature of his music (and rhetoric), it’s no surprise that One True Pairing has drawn some extreme audience reactions – some positive, some negative.
Not that Fleming is the sort of person to be overly affected by bad reviews, however.
As a member of Wild Beasts for 15 years – a period during he’s witnessed the music industry and social media form an increasingly strong symbiosis - Fleming has clearly developed a thick skin when it comes to public criticism.
“I’m not the sort of person who goes on social media to boost my self-esteem,” he chuckles. “Being in Wild Beasts for so long, I did develop a thick skin. I can still remember the time we played Jools Holland, and one of the online comments about me said ‘who’s the fat pasty guy with bad teeth?.’ I learned my lesson. I opened that door – and I’ve made sure it’s been closed ever since!”
One True Pairing plays YES on Tuesday, November 5.