News London Grammar: ‘All The Best Records Are About Love’

recent ascent has been as close to perfection as anyone could hope for. With review after review praising their already perfectly-formed sound and unquestionably (read: jealousy-inducing) stylish looks, you could forgive them for thinking this wave of invincible positivity would continue forever. Unfortunately, they’re quickly discovering that this sort of thing is reserved for only the newest of new bands. “I read a review that was absolutely scathing the other day!” Hannah Reid said. “It was really awful. But I’m sort of learning not take the bad ones personally and just move on. People have been telling me not to read any reviews at all anymore, just avoid them at all costs. But I find it hard not to sometimes, especially when they’ve been so overwhelmingly positive so far.”

When Nathan Standlee spoke to Hannah from the band, the pressure of trying to translate the stunning online recordings into an equally stunning live performance was something at the forefront of the agneda. The band felt the pressure in full force when practically the whole of the music industry descended en-masse to their first ever headline show at London’s Electrowerkz in March. Nathan spoke to Hannah about their debut headline date, the frustrations of being compared to every female vocalist alive today, and what it was like working with Disclosure.



How long have you actually existed as London Grammar? When did it all start?
Well we formed about 3 years ago now. I’ve been playing with Dan and writing songs with Dan since our first year at uni, and during our last year, which will have been 2 years ago now, we met Dot who is, you know, a very important member, and was sort of the final piece of the puzzle in London Grammar. So yeah, it’s been about 2 years now I guess since we actually started to become London Grammar and really found a sound that we thought was our own.

What were your plans for the band when it all started back then? Did you ever envision getting to the point you’re at now?
Definitely not! For us, I mean, me and Dan just had loads of fun writing the songs and we did work really hard together on them, and cared about the songs a lot. But we never imagined that people might actually…like it. I don’t know, it seems like it really has been completely out of the blue.

When did it all start taking off then?
It was at the end of December last year, when we put ‘Hey Now’ up on Soundcloud, which was our first song, and it had an incredible reception. Much more than we ever expected. I mean, it is one of my favourites that we’ve ever written, I think, but it’s not a kind of song song, if you know what I mean? It’s more of a vibe than a song. So when it got the reception it did, it just sort of opened up massive doors, especially in Australia for some reason, they really like ‘Hey Now’. I think because they’re all quite chilled out over there, they like that vibe.

Even though you say you’re not aware of all the attention you’re getting, do you ever get tempted to Google yourself and see what people are saying?
Yeah, we do occasionally read reviews, and we’ve had some amazing ones. But I read a review the other day that was a very bad one indeed. But you just don’t, I mean, I’ve been advised to just stop reading them. But it’s just all part of the experience of being in a band, I mean, if you get a bad one you can’t take it personally and you just have to move on, it’s just someone’s opinion. And if you get a good one then it’s obviously brilliant.

You seem to regularly draw comparisons with Florence, Lana Del Rey and Jessie Ware in just about every bit of press written about you. What do you make of these comparisons? Do you think they’re accurate?
You know what, actually, I’m glad you asked because it has been quite a fascinating thing…I mean I think I’ve literally been compared to pretty much every female that’s ever sung! Apart from Whitney Houston. But I’ve been compared to Annie Lennox, Florence, Jessie Ware, Lana Del Rey, Sade, I think even the Ting Tings once?

Wow, that’s an odd one…
Yeah, but I’ve had everyone. So I don’t really know what to think. I mean, to be compared to people like Jessie Ware and Florence, I think they’re all amazing artists, which is never a bad thing. But I guess what I think is important to me is that I eventually get considered for my own voice, and I hope that it’s original as well. But I think my voice has changed a lot since those first recordings were done. I think 18 months ago I probably did try to sound more like Florence and people like that, and I did learn to sing by, you know, singing along to other people’s songs in the shower and stuff…so when we started writing our own songs that’s sort of all I knew how to do. But then the more you sing and rehearse your own songs that you’ve written yourself and spent so long working on, it really starts to become part of you and you work out different nuances and I think I’ve sort of grown into and discovered my own voice now.

Well you got a guest spot on the new Disclosure album, which can only be a compliment to your voice.
Ah yeah, we did a collaboration with them, I think it’s going to be the last song on the album. Yeah, they are insanely talented boys. We went into the studio with them for one or two days I think, and they just work really quickly. They had their beats going and then we just wrote this top line together. It was really nice, for me, to sing over a dance track, which was different for me, and lyrically it was very different from London Grammar lyrics, which are all quite dark. Whereas this was much more upbeat and fun. I’m really excited about it though, I think they’re gonna be absolutely massive.

Speaking of your lyrics, what can we expect on the album from a lyrical standpoint? Are there any prevalent themes running through it?
Well, it’s a love record. I think all the best records are about love. But the lyrics are also quite abstract. I’m quite interested in psychology, so it’s not just about love and break-ups, it’s more about a fascination with humans and how they work. And I’m obsessed with that idea, so that’s basically what all the lyrics on the album are about.

And what about the sound of the album? Are the songs we’ve heard so far going be included on there, or is it all new stuff?
No, I think they will be included. We are thinking of putting ‘Hey Now’ and ‘Metal & Dust’ on the album, just because I think it would be stupid not to put them on because they’re such important songs to us. But it’s a hard choice, we haven’t actually decided exactly what’s going on the album yet. We’ve got 15 or 16 songs to choose from and it’s got to the point now where I just do not know which ones we’re gonna have to sack off. But there are kind of two different sides to the album I think. There is a side that is more like the EP, like ‘Hey Now’ and ‘Metal & Dust’ that’s quite atmospheric, and then there is another that, to me, is more kind of traditional songs, and slightly more beat-driven, hip hop type stuff. And I’m excited for people to hear that other side of us that they may not have expected.



‘Wasting My Young Years’ is released on 16th June.