The Everlasting Yeah

You remember That Petrol Emotion, yeah? The predominantly Irish five piece made a series of cracking, often genre defying, LPs in the 80s and 90s which mixed Beefheart with Celtic folk and sublime pop melodies with howling guitars. TPE were very much at the forefront of the indie/dance crossover with their incorporation of rap into single ‘Big Decision’ as well as being one of the very first bands to be remixed by Andy Weatherall.

However, there’s little doubt that their very eclecticism worked against them in a commercial sense and they never made the breakthrough that they always seemed capable of.
After the best part of two decades away from the public eye, four fifths of the band’s last line-up (Reamann O’Gormain, Ciaran McLaughlin, Brendan Kelly and Damian O’Neill) are about to release their first album (‘Anima Rising’) since the TPE days under the new banner of The Everlasting Yeah.

Ahead of the release of the album and the band’s debut Scottish appearance in November Reamann talked to ITM? about starting again from scratch and what we can expect from ‘Anima Rising’.

Whilst it’s been almost twenty years since the last TPE record ‘Fireproof’, Reamann is keen to stress that new music hasn’t been off the agenda in the intervening years:
“In a way we never stopped. We always stayed friends for a start. In 1995 we had a band called Wavewalkers which was myself, Damian and Brendan and we originally wanted Ciaran to play but he wasn’t up for it at the time.
“Then after the WWs fell apart (something that broke my heart at the time) Ciaran and myself started playing around London acoustically for a while. These were actually very fertile and creative times and loads of songs were written, although no real official recordings were made.
“We kept trying and there were a few abortive attempts to start something over the years but it just didn’t gel for whatever reason.”

The shortlived Petrols live reunion in 2008-9 (which included an appearance at T in the Park) may not have led to a reactivation of that band but it was to provide the catalyst for The Everlasting Yeah to become a reality.
“The rest of us felt that there was some kind of momentum to be capitalized on. We had actually already done a small gig playing new material of mine for my 40th birthday in 2001 and that went down really well so there was always a feeling that the magic was still there and worth reinvestigating.
“So in early 2010 we started rehearsing seriously to see what would happen and got very excited about the initial results only for Ciaran to put his back out. Everything had to be put on hold for nearly a year again.

“It has often been a slow and very frustrating experience getting to the point where we are now but we have somehow emerged triumphant. We now have a set of all new, very strong material.”
Whilst Reamann sees The Everlasting Yeah as a continuation on TPE in some ways he also reckons that they are willing to take different things on board.
“Nowadays we consider things we wouldn’t have countenanced back then. It’s called growing up!
“I think some core influences remain the same but there’s loads of other bits and pieces in there. If I had to narrow it down I’d say you can hear as jump off points the influence of The Velvets, Television, Joy Division, War, the Equals, Can, Neu, NY Dolls. And of course there’s a bit of TPE in there for good measure.”
“It’s Celtic Cosmic Music that feeds your heart / head and moves your hips / feet. There’s a lot of earworms there which once heard will be hard to shake off. David Holmes, the renowned DJ, said that we have more hooks in the first minute of our songs than most bands have in their entire career which I loved!”

There’s definitely a looser feeling to the TEY tracks that have surfaced so far and Reamann reckons that, in part, that’s down to a change in the songwriting process.
“We jam a lot so it’s more freeform this time. We’re really trying to pluck stuff out of the ether, to tap into the collective unconscious, so we improvise and then have to go back and try and relearn what we played during the improvisation. So it can be hard work sometimes but it’s always very rewarding.”

TPE’s original search for a suitable vocalist was notoriously difficult until they found Steve Mack so you might have expected that the loss of their singer would have been a significant hurdle to overcome. Not so, says Reamann.
“It has just evolved organically. Ciaran and I both love singing so we do the lions’ share. The blend of our voices is cool and complementary as we sound quite alike. However the whole tribe sings and it gives the whole thing a real collective vibe where there is less of a focus on a single (front) person. It seems to be working well!”

Whilst playing occasional gigs in and around London, TEY have also been working on the debut LP, ‘Anima Rising’ which is due for release at the end of October.
“Recording was finished in March so we’ve been champing at the bit for it to be released into the wild! We did actually have a lot of fun making this record, at least as much as we did making ‘Manic Pop Thrill’. There’s been a lot of laughter but also a burning, intense desire to GET IT RIGHT.”

With the material having been road tested live to a large extent, Reamann was surprised just by one thing in the studio.
“Only in that it turned out even better than I had hoped for. From day one when we went in we were ready to explode and we managed to capture all the energy of the live show and more.
“I think the experience we already have played a part but we were incredibly focussed and got it down very quickly indeed. Huge kudos should go to Ciaran in particular for nailing his drum tracks in mostly one takes. We did virtually everything live so it felt very real time and also relatively stress free.”

The band have become the latest act to appeal directly to their potential fan base for help in making the album through Pledge Music. In fact Reamann reckons that it was the only way for TEY to go.
“With no one interfering we made the record we wanted which you can’t really put a price on and the record is all the better for that, for sure. The disadvantage is that a lot of legwork, time and energy is spent on PR, incidentals and publicity.

“However I’m happy to report, that we have achieved 123% of our goal so that will pay for all recording and manufacturing costs and we will have a modest budget to help promote the record.”
Much has changed in the music industry since That Petrol Emotion released their debut LP ‘Manic Pop Thrill’ nearly 30 years ago. The one thing that seems very similar is the prevailing political climate. However if TPE were one of the bands in the 80s who felt obligated to speak about the injustices that they saw around them, older and wiser heads will be guiding the band’s actions this time around.
“We have no plans to be as politically outspoken this time as ultimately it had a detrimental effect on TPE’s career. However your day to day life and how you’re feeling will always feed into the songs.

“Most people’s lives are a grind at the moment, just doing whatever you have to to get by. So we hope to take people out of themselves with the music and reenergize them, fill them full of joyful hope and optimism – poptimism if you will! That’s the goal!
“We are trying to lift spirits and put smiles on faces. Memorable tunes that you can sing along and dance to, that will make you feel 16 again, that you will treasure for the rest of your life.”

Whilst the band loves playing live Reamann confesses that their schedule will be determined by other factors. There is, however, good news for fans north of the border.
“Our live plans are quite limited at the moment due to family and work constraints. We have only actually played five times but each one of those shows has been really special. However we are booked to play Glasgow in November all the same.”

Ahead of the album’s release Reamann is under no illusions as to how hard it will be to get the record noticed but he signed off with a bold statement on what to expect from the new L.P.
“The greatest pop/rock LP of the last thirty years. I’m totally serious.
“We have made a very commercial record but also one that is true to itself and full of integrity. I’m very, very excited about it and I’m hoping for big things.”

The Everlasting Yeah play Stereo, Glasgow on Thursday 27th November 2014 [more info] – [Tickets]

More information at www.facebook.com/everlastingyeah or via twitter – @everlastingyeah

More on TEY and much much more at manicpopthrills.wordpress.com