The latest single from the Irish three-piece, SPEARSIDE, closes the trilogy of their first few singles which have earned them allies such as Steve Lamacq of BBC 6 Music. “Not Up to Much” was recorded during the same sessions as previous singles “Bus Stop” and “Crack in Your Brain”, giving all three songs a sonic cohesion stemming from the Walsh brothers’ home studio they built during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders describes SPEARSIDE as a band that “speak their mind so well in their music”. In this vein, “Not Up to Much” draws on similar punk and power-pop influences from Spearside’s previous singles, this time drawing reference from one of the band’s musical heroes, Brendan Benson. Speaking ahead of the release of “Not Up to Much”, guitarist and singer Oisín Walsh said:
“From a production standpoint, it was important that “Bus Stop” was very much a capture of what the band sounds like live, just guitar, bass, drums. On “Crack in Your Brain” we put down some extra guitar overdubs, and then on “Not Up to Much” we included some keyboards so that each single we release gradually develops the sound of the band.
“When the musical backdrop is major key and up-beat, it can offer some extra license to explore darker lyrics without the song feeling too laborious. “Not Up to Much” is about someone celebrating their own descent into nihilism. I tend not to write with a conscious lyrical idea or theme in mind so after I wrote the song it took a long time for me to realise what “Not Up to Much” really meant.
“The character in the lyrics takes the tragedy of their life, their apathy, their social isolation, and uses it as an excuse to give up, blame others, and smile while they do it. The meaning of the song is all in the last two lines, when the character ironically says, ‘I don’t care because no one does, looks like I’m just not up to much’.”
Live Dates 2023:
Sat 11 March DUBLIN Whelan’s (Upstairs) Tickets: €12 Special Guests: Blair Witch House
Friday 17 March DUBLIN Whelan’s (Main Room) St Patrick’s Day Festival
Wed 12 April LONDON Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes with Bag Of Cans
Sun 23 July LONDON The Finsbury Pump It Up Power Pop Weekender Sat/Sun 22 – 23 July
