--Ada Wofford
----Releases 27 November 2020
Frontman for acoustic folk act, Suburban Dirts, John Wallace Wheatley is a singer-songwriter with a wide range. Ditching the stripped-down folk for lush studio layering, Wheatley's new album, Spent the morning watching TV and looking through my phone explores a wide range of styles and influences.
My favorite thing about this album is how it's so conceptually laid out. There are 10 tracks and each set of five begins with the same song but each in a different style. The two sides of the album also possess different spaces and bare different influences. Side A is much more upbeat and sunny. Even the more somber tunes like "Last Man Standing" have enough bounce and heft in them to still put a smile on your face.
Throughout the album you can hear influences from The Band, to The Beatles, to Bowie. Side B is a bit more dramatic and a bit less straight forward pop—This is when you can really hear The Beatles and Bowie influences. Side B contains masterfully layered Baroque pop ballads such as "I've Only Just Realised" [sic] and the epic, "The Singularity." Flutes, piano, vocal harmonies, those addictive little half-step progressions—It's all there.
Wheatley was kind enough to speak to me about the recording process and some of the gear he used. Here's what he had to say:
"The album was recorded over a two-year period at producer Chris Clarke’s Reservoir Studios in North London, where I had previously recorded Suburban Dirts’ I Want Blood and Donald Byron Wheatley’s Moondogs & Mad Dogs.
It's all about getting the right mix
"Firstly, we recorded drums and bass together. Steve Brookes (drummer in Danny & The Champions Of The World) and Chris Varley (bassist in Suburban Dirts) would play live in the room together, while I would sing and play guitar as a guide from the control room. This was the case for the majority of the album, though for two tracks we had to work slightly differently.
Christ Varley in the studio
"For 'Cemetery Smokes II' and 'In The End' I wanted something a little different, so we recorded a guide “click” track to my guide guitar and vocals, overdubbed the bass, and then overdubbed different percussion elements to create a more orchestral drum sound. The vibraslap you hear at the top of the record was expertly played by my son, Sid, he would have been 8/9 years old at the time.
Sid on the vibraslap
"With the rhythm tracks complete, and after a long break with me being completely tied up with work, I returned to lay down the guitar tracks. At the time, I was Musical Coordinator on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and just happened to have a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe in my possession, so I cheekily used that. I also had the pleasure of using a red Fender Strat that was initially built for Eric Clapton, the pick-ups were insanely loud! These, along with Chris Varley’s Fender Telecaster and Chris Clarke’s Gibson Flying V, all played a part on the record.
Easily the best seat in the house
"Amplifier wise, I switched between a vintage MusicMan and a Fender Twin. Sometimes we would run the guitar through a Watkins Copicat tape echo unit.
Amp and delay
"Effects wise, I made use of a pedalboard belonging to Danny & The Champs’ pedal steel genius, Henry Senior Jnr, and this huge silver distortion pedal that I love the look and sound of but have no idea what it is!
Tone zone
"Once guitars were finished, I would perform the piano parts on the studio's upright piano (which has since moved on to another home).
John Wallace Wheatley working on a track
"Next up, my friend and From The Jam keyboardist - Andy Fairclough - brought down his mellotron. I’ve always loved the mellotron so, really enjoyed the chance to make such liberal use of it. I may be misremembering this, but I think we played it through a Fender Twin.
Laying down some drum tracks
"We spent a day recording percussion overdubs with David Austin of Suburban Dirts. Congas, wood blocks, triangles, tambourines and more were made use of to give the records a little more movement. For 'Neurotic Dancer' we mic’d up my kids' Casio keyboard and played the percussion sounds to get a kind of lo-fi retro computer sound. My daughter, Bo (13/14 at the time), played the flute on 'In The End' and that was the last of the instruments.
Bo recording flute
"I met Joe and Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires) through Danny & The Champs and asked them to do the backing vocals. We spent two days coming up with parts and the guys took no time at all to nail them when recording
"For the intro to 'Cemetery Smokes I' we found some footage of a ZX Spectrum computer game loading and took the audio. It’s the sound of my childhood so I was really pleased to include it."
Desk: Soundtracs Quartz
Mic Pres: API, Avedis Meris and A-Design
Microphones: Neumann U87, SF Ribbons, AKG 451’s, Beyerdynamic M201 and M88,
Rode NK2, Tannoy Little Red Monitors, WEM Copycat MK2
Outboard: TLA Valve Compressor, Drawmer Compressor, Yamaha SPX90 Effects Processor
Spent the morning watching TV and looking through my phone is a lush and lovingly crafted record with some outstanding arrangements and melodies. If you're a fan of layered Baroque pop with lots of twists and turns, definitely take the time to check it out. Pre-order the album here and listen to "Heartstrings" below:
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