Approaching the tail end of a decade as a band, Misgivings are back with ‘Dream Neighbour’ the follow up to their debut album ‘Hermitage’ (Lockjaw Records, 2018), further expanding upon the quartet’s approach to classic British punk rock poured through an indie/power pop filter. The band’s sound is a love letter to the British influences on American indie rock classics such as Husker Du, Guided by Voices and Jawbreaker, while also drawing inspiration from the fine example set on the South Coast by bands such as The Stayawakes, Latchstring & Harker (and many more!).

Powered by the prolific songwriting engine of bandleader Will Pearce, the band were in the final stages of tracking at Southsea Sound when lockdown restrictions halted the session. Subsequently, Pearce finished the album in his home studio, recording additional vocals and mixing the session, adding several elements from the original GarageBand demos of many of the songs as well as additional keys provided by drummer Rob Day, who receives a larger share of the songwriting credit this time around.

On the decision to include elements of the original song demos in the full band mix, Will says, ‘Sometimes you get it right the first time. It’s a bit like keeping a reminder of the original moment of inspiration of the song in the final version, but also have the sound of us being really loud in the room together. Maybe I defeated red light syndrome’.

Having written, rehearsed and tested the material on the album out prior to entering the session, Pearce says that the lyrics are ‘an attempt to build on some of the previous themes of Hermitage, about the current human condition, mental health, dependency and loss of reality and try to break through the judgemental tone that many artists inadvertently deviate towards when writing about these topics. It touches on how artistic pursuits can be an individualistic, negative force at times and it’s a bit of a challenge to myself in honesty, to put my money where my mouth is in continuing to be compassionate but having a belief in the way to live and to respond in difficult times.’

The band will release an exclusive studio documentary that covers both the initial recording session at Southsea Sound and interviews with the band. With ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the band are left itching to play out but are currently planning further releases to follow ‘Dream Neighbour’ to share with the beautiful worldwide independent rock music scene. Until next time.