Former Kid Canaveral front man David MacGregor has just released his third album under his solo guise of Broken Chanter. As well as being his first album for renowned Scottish indie label Chemikal Underground, ‘Chorus of Doubt’ charts David’s continuing evolution as a songwriter.
Never shy of exploring different musical areas, ‘Chorus of Doubt’ takes his songs into new areas all the while retaining his knack for marrying memorable hooks to lyrics which reflect the turbulent times that we live in.
When itm? caught up for a chat with David a couple of weeks ago, he first explained what he saw as being different about the new record.
“What we were going for on this one was immediacy, certainly when I was writing. But we’ve gone for a bit of a different sound as well and tried to make it a bit more uneasy listening.
“I’d been listening to a lot of post-punk, like ESG, Delta 5, Bush Tetras, the Clash, Wire and Gang of Four, so there’s a lot of jagged and direct stuff on there. I also decided to take away some of the sweeter elements of the previous two records.”
David is quick to reassure anyone who thinks that this description may herald some sort of difficult third album.
“That may make it seem like it’s wilfully discordant but it’s not at all, it’s still full of pop songs.”
David’s writing has shifted over the years and the new style is partly to reflect the words on the new record, Whilst his world view hasn’t necessarily changed all that much, ‘Chorus of Doubt’ marks a step in the direction of a different style of communication.
“The message again, to be honest, is just a reiteration that everything looks a bit fucked but it’s not hopeless unless you lose hope. And hope is essential.
“Perhaps I’ve not been as oblique with some of the lyrics but they’re still my personal reaction to everything. I think now they’re trying to communicate more directly rather than making somebody think and try to paint a picture of what their own interpretation of it is.”
That clarity of messaging is reflected even in some of the song titles such as the record’s opener ‘Don’t You Think That Something Needs To Be Done?’. There’s also a palpable anger running through songs such as the anti-capitalist exploitation song ‘Knock My Pan In’ or the line “There’s only so much of this shite I can take” from ‘Actual Bonehead Contact’. But there’s also the hope David referred to above, particularly the exhortation “Don’t stop caring” in ‘Gloom Bop’.
He’s quick to attribute that shift in his lyric-writing to a specific source.
“One of one of the things that inspired me along that line was the Black Lodge Press. They do a lot of anti-fascists t-shirts which are bold and clear in their messaging with slogans like “’All my friends are anti-fascist’ or “Safety, dignity and health care for trans people” or “Destroy fascism” with a picture of Divine on the front of it with “Eat shit, Nazi scum” written underneath.
“I think I was trying to get some of that across in the songs, you know, the message writ large rather than buried under playful abstraction and so on.”
‘Chorus of Doubt’ has followed a similar path from song-writing to record as its predecessor ‘Catastrophe Hits’ but David identifies a number of differences from previous Broken Chanter sessions.
“This one was recorded with Paul Savage again at Chem 19 with Paul producing. But it was different from the last one in as much as none of the pre-production or rehearsals were conducted under a medically, mandated distancing or mask wearing. And so it’s nice to have that back again.
“Again, I spoke to Paul in advance and we discussed the record via the demos that I’d sent him. I was doing my best to do my homework in advance and not get any production notes. Well, not too many production notes as there’d be no point if there were none!
“I was just trying to fit in as many hooks and intrigue as possible in each song and I said to him, ‘It’s brash, it’s abrasive, it’s poppy and it’s direct. And it’s easy to replicate live.” And so that’s what we went for.”
Whilst previous records have featured a number of different musicians, with the live performances in mind, David took a slightly different approach this time.
“There are fewer players on this record – it was a core band of myself, Charlotte Printer on bass and vocals, Bart Owl on guitar and vocals and Martin Johnston (Pronto Mama, Emma Pollock) on drums.
“I didn’t fall out with Audrey (Tait, drummer on both previous BC albums), she was just sitting on the stool for Franz. But she will be joining us for the tour in the spring, so that’s lovely.”
Having worked with Paul on two consecutive albums, David explains that it felt like a natural development of that working relationship for Chemikal to pick up the new album for release.
“It just felt like a really good fit for all of us and I was just absolutely delighted to sign with Chemikal. It’s not hyperbole to say it’s like teenage wish fulfilment, you know?
“It’s nice. You know they’ve had 30 years of doing it next year and it’s just been really good to work with them on the album and to see how even they’re having to adapt to the modern way of doing things.”
In terms of promotion, David is about to take a live band out for dates in Scotland and England in April and May into June. Whilst he’s looking forward to it, he’s still acutely aware of the changes wrought on the live music industry by COVID.
“This will be the first Broken Chanter record that has not been affected, touch wood, by Covid-19. COVID-20 might interrupt it, but hopefully, it doesn’t!
“One of the things that I don’t think many people appreciate is the absolutely ruinous effect that COVID’s had on live music. We’ve lost so many venues, we’ve lost so many good promoters and people are delaying buying tickets because they’re still in the mindset that they might get COVID or I might get COVID.
“And although that’s much less likely now, it does give promoters and artists a few more grey hairs because a lot of the ticket sales are in the last fortnight or so. So please buy a ticket for the shows!”
Despite the difficulties, David is quick to acknowledge the support that allows him to continue playing live with a band.
“I’ve been very lucky because people have been coming along to the shows even after COVID and I feel very privileged to have an audience who will buy records and t-shirts and keep me on the road. Otherwise, you just can’t do it, so I feel very privileged and grateful for that.”
‘Chorus of Doubt’ is available now from Chemikal Underground. More at www.brokenchanter.com.
The Spring full band dates are as follows:
11/04/2024 EDINBURGH, Summerhall (The Old Lab) (with Raveloe solo)
12/04/2024 ABERDEEN, The Tunnels
13/04/2024 DUNDEE, Beat Generator Live (with the Cords and Raveloe solo)
20/04/2024 GLASGOW, Stereo (with Raveloe solo)
18/05/2024 GATESHEAD, The Central (with Jon Langford)
23/05/2024 CAMBRIDGE, The Blue Moon (with Mammoth Penguins)
24/05/2024 RAINHAM, The Oast Rainham (with Mammoth Penguins)
25/05/2024 COVENTRY, Just Dropped In (with Mammoth Penguins)
30/05/2024 LONDON, The Grace (with Mammoth Penguins)
31/05/2024 OXFORD, Florence Park Community Centre (with Mammoth Penguins)
01/06/2024 SHEFFIELD, Delicious Clam (with Mammoth Penguins)