Amanda Thompson

The Unstoppable Big Belief in Pure Pop:

A Conversation with Amanda Thompson

I first heard UK band the Big Believe on their delightful single “Let’s Pretend We’re Spies,” featuring the late Faye Hunter of Let’s Active fame. I’d been a huge fan of Let's Active and wanted to hear more of the Big Believe. I found more on Illuminate, their wonderful 2015 album. Now they're back with Juggernaut.

Amanda Thompson, the lead singer of the Big Believe, was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Andrea Weiss: I know you’re influenced by The New Pornographers and Let’s Active. What do you get from them?

Amanda Thompson: They are my two favourite bands but sometimes I think I wouldn't know how to be influenced by them. The melodies and structures of those songs are so incredible to me that I wouldn't know where to start. I like it that way. If I knew how to be that good, listening to them wouldn't blow my mind anymore. They both sound like the music I waited my whole life to hear.

AW: Any other influences you want to mention?

AT: Led Zeppelin and early R.E.M. up until Green are big ones for me. I also buy a lot of records being made right now, much of it post-punk, new wave, and punk-pop. I love the current music scene in Chicago, and think I'm influenced by listening to this stuff all the time and hearing a lot of guitars and synths in equal measure. It's all full of energy and melody and those two things are key.

AW: "Magnets" and "The Exceeder" have been played on the BBC. How has that been in terms of exposure and new fans?

AT: That's been fun, and there's always a little flutter of new followers after the airplay, so I'm grateful for that.

AW: I like your melodies a lot, very TNP-like, and they seem to come naturally to you. Do they?

AT: Thank you. Yes, the melodies do come naturally, but I always want to get better and better at them. I'm in awe of writers whose melodies move around seamlessly so that you're unaware of the structure underneath. Carl Newman is a master of this, and of course those who came before -- Brian Wilson, John Cale, Elvis Costello, etc., etc.

AW: “We’re Not Sheep” is political without being about anyone, even as it’s an attack on the system. Has that message changed?

AT: Good question! No, I don't think it ever changes. It's an attempt at a feeling or message that can hopefully be applied to most difficult situations we find ourselves in. Unfortunately, the same kind of problems seem to keep repeating themselves throughout history. The "us and them" protest always pops its head up at least once on a Big Believe album.

AW: Your lyrics in general are about complicated romantic situations, which I like. Are they based on personal experiences?

AT: Actually, no. I don't like writing about personal experiences. I find that boring and it seems to limit the lyrics. I think writing song words is a great opportunity to tell a fictional story...be a writer, briefly.

AW: Could you give a history of the band for people who are here for the first time?

AT: It merged out of my previous band, Ozone Baby, which was indie-rock. Music around me started changing, so I changed with it. My guitarist friend Simon Ruckes came on board and we did live shows as a two-piece around South East U.K. The show that was the most fun was supporting TV Smith, of The Adverts. This was in 2013, and the same year the Big Believe 7" single with Faye Hunter was released. That song was the beginning of the new batch of material that really became The Big Believe.

AW: You worked with Faye on the single “Let’s Pretend We’re Spies." How was that?

AT: Well, a dream in every sense. The honour of working with an all-time hero and then finding her so easy to work with. So obliging, humble, and giving. She learnt the song as quick as. She loved the sound of our voices together and I'll always treasure that.

AW: In what ways do you feel the new album differs from Illuminate, your previous album? I think both are great, but I do hear differences.

AT: Sounds really crap to say, but I think I found a sound with Juggernaut, a sound I hadn't quite found yet on Illuminate. Also I like to banish a dominant instrument and replace it with a new one, e.g., my previous band Ozone Baby used a lot of distortion on guitar, so I didn't allow distortion on the first Big Believe record, but brought in piano. On this second Big Believe record I banished piano, but brought in synths. Also Juggernaut is the first album not mixed by myself, but by the very talented Fritz Catlin of 23 Skidoo, and he plays a part in the sound of this record.

Andrea Weiss