welcome on board (2020)
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Released 12 June 2020. It features eleven tracks, ten of which are regularly played in the live set. The studio recordings are faithful to the live performances, with the main instruments played live on most tracks. However, they have been enhanced in some cases with acoustic bass, extra backing vocals, piano and light percussion on some tracks.
It is available via The Huers' Bandcamp page in both CD and digital formats, or you can buy direct by using the PayPal button below, and avoid postage costs.
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Welcome On Board is their fourth album, and third studio album. What better way to learn more about it than by hearing about their thoughts from an interview conducted in May 2020, and extract of which is below.
Q: What can we find on this album?
Ian: ‘Two words: cover versions. Our live shows feature not only performances of our own material, which appear on our previous albums, but also our own take on some of our favourite songwriters’ material. We have often been asked at the merch table which albums feature our recordings of these songs, to which we often had to reply that they weren’t recorded. We thought we’d better sort that out!’
Q: How do you approach your arrangement of these songs?
Phil: ‘We bring songs that we individually love to the rehearsal table, and decide whether we can do something different with them, just using two instruments and two vocals. Sometimes, these songs have a long gestation period before being released into the wild. We always make sure that we are each not playing the same instrument – for example, two six-string acoustic guitars – in order to give the songs a different dimension. We then think whose voice best suits the lead and then how harmonies would work, if appropriate. In simple terms, we huerify them!’
Q: What can we expect from this album?
Ian: ‘As we play most of these songs live, we have kept them faithful to our live performances. In most cases, the acoustic instruments were recorded together live in the studio. However, we then thought about what little embellishments would make them ‘sparkle’, so in some cases you will find acoustic bass, extra harmonies, and piano. The last track is an exception – David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – which we recorded for a radio show paying tribute to David Bowie after his death. Let’s just say that, if we had hair, we’d have let it down for this one!’
Q: Whose songs have you covered?
Phil: ‘The songs cover a wide range of songwriting styles. They range from well-known pop classics, such as Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time and Don Henley’s Boys Of Summer, to lesser-known classics such as Dave Alvin’s King Of California and Steve Knightley’s Man Of War. As Ian said, we play all of these live, so they have had a really good road test over the last few years, and are faithful to our live performances. Oh, and then there’s Bowie’s Scary Monsters!’
Q: When is the album released?
Ian: ‘It will be available from Bandcamp on Friday 12 June, and available for pre-order on Friday 5 June. Bandcamp are supporting unsigned artists with the loss of live income that we have all experienced by having occasional days where they charge no commission on sales, and their next date is 5 June, for which we are extremely grateful. It will be available for purchase on CD or download from 12 June, and will be released on the major streaming platforms later in the year.’
Q: What can we find on this album?
Ian: ‘Two words: cover versions. Our live shows feature not only performances of our own material, which appear on our previous albums, but also our own take on some of our favourite songwriters’ material. We have often been asked at the merch table which albums feature our recordings of these songs, to which we often had to reply that they weren’t recorded. We thought we’d better sort that out!’
Q: How do you approach your arrangement of these songs?
Phil: ‘We bring songs that we individually love to the rehearsal table, and decide whether we can do something different with them, just using two instruments and two vocals. Sometimes, these songs have a long gestation period before being released into the wild. We always make sure that we are each not playing the same instrument – for example, two six-string acoustic guitars – in order to give the songs a different dimension. We then think whose voice best suits the lead and then how harmonies would work, if appropriate. In simple terms, we huerify them!’
Q: What can we expect from this album?
Ian: ‘As we play most of these songs live, we have kept them faithful to our live performances. In most cases, the acoustic instruments were recorded together live in the studio. However, we then thought about what little embellishments would make them ‘sparkle’, so in some cases you will find acoustic bass, extra harmonies, and piano. The last track is an exception – David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – which we recorded for a radio show paying tribute to David Bowie after his death. Let’s just say that, if we had hair, we’d have let it down for this one!’
Q: Whose songs have you covered?
Phil: ‘The songs cover a wide range of songwriting styles. They range from well-known pop classics, such as Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time and Don Henley’s Boys Of Summer, to lesser-known classics such as Dave Alvin’s King Of California and Steve Knightley’s Man Of War. As Ian said, we play all of these live, so they have had a really good road test over the last few years, and are faithful to our live performances. Oh, and then there’s Bowie’s Scary Monsters!’
Q: When is the album released?
Ian: ‘It will be available from Bandcamp on Friday 12 June, and available for pre-order on Friday 5 June. Bandcamp are supporting unsigned artists with the loss of live income that we have all experienced by having occasional days where they charge no commission on sales, and their next date is 5 June, for which we are extremely grateful. It will be available for purchase on CD or download from 12 June, and will be released on the major streaming platforms later in the year.’