I’d heard Amoeba Teen on a few Big Stir singles, and the one that should be the starting point if you want to hear a great band is “New Material World,” which I think is the essence of their sound. If you like that song, you’ll love the album. While I liked the other songs, “New Material World” made me hear them like never before.
Mark and Mike from the band were kind enough to answer a few questions.
Andrea Weiss: How did the band form?
Mark Britton: Mike and I were introduced at college and shared an interest in songwriting. You can read our back story here: http://www.amoebateen.com/biography/
Mike Turner: After playing in a band together at college, myself and Mark ended up recording some song ideas that we had on an old 4-track tape recorder, sketching out the wires and wonderful songs that we had at the time. Thus Amoeba Teen was born. After a while Mark suggested we try to play some of the songs live. We probably had 80-90 songs by this point, and after enlisting a few friends to play with us we hit gold with Ian Rogers on bass and Carl on drums. When Ian eventually moved away a couple of years later, Simon joined us, and it was a perfect match. We’ve known Simon since we were in our college band and he was playing the same scene. And the line up was finally complete!
Andrea: Who are your influences?
Mark: We’re fans of all sorts, but as a band we all tend to agree on the ethos of Teenage Fanclub, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Big Star, Jellyfish, Wilco, and later era Beatles. If it’s melodic, got harmonies, a nice hook, and a little dirt, we’re in.
Mike: Typically it’s guitar-based pop and rock. But not exclusively. If the songwriting is good, it will normally get a look in. Anything from Big Star to Belle and Sebastian, The Zombies to Teenage Fanclub, The Beatles to Blur. On the latest album, the likes of Wilco, Wings, Teenage Fanclub, Fountains Of Wayne, and The Byrds, to name a few.
Andrea: “New Material World” was a great choice for a single--powerful music, hopeful and cautious lyrics. Could you say a few words about it?
Mark: Thank you. It literally took 15 minutes to write! I’m terms of the title, Carl had enquired about new material that we could record and I’d recently watched George Harrison’s film, Living in a Material World, so that play on words was in my mind. The theme was a fantasy about moving on from an unhappy relationship, and finding someone you could really connect with deeply, where everything is full of possibility, and exciting. The middle eight is a nod to George Harrison, where we elevate out of the material ‘flesh’ world and into the spiritual. When we find someone we truly love it can bridge both worlds, don’t you think?
Mike: Thank you. As with so much of this album we took the approach that we wanted everything to have a purpose in the song, catchy and melodic. This paired with Mark’s lyrics and the driving energy mean it’s a delight to play live. Mark done good with this one!
Andrea:“He’s Just Not Into You” is about more than a bad romance. It sounds like an anti-drug song, too. Is it?
Mark: I’ll let Mike answer this. One of his best songs on the album though!
Mike: The song is a bit of a metaphor for getting a little lost in what you’re doing in life. You think it’s the right direction at the time, but the reality is that you know something is off, you don’t want to admit it to yourself. The bad romance narrative was inspired by a story that I heard at the time, but the drug reference was just part of the story.
Andrea: Your songs have real power, like “Barlight Crawl.” Do you like to put the hammer down as much as possible?
Mark: You need light and shade to help make the powerful stand out, of course. This one’s new territory for us, I believe, and very much a band effort in terms of the arrangement. When recording this we definitely wanted it to sound dirty, snarly rock n roll -- I envisaged that kind of dumb ladism from the 90s as a backdrop to some now older fella with an Oasis t-shirt on a pub crawl and still thinking he’s 18. Our producer, Sean Lloyd, really helped capture the vibe that first was established through Simon’s fuzz bass and Carl’s drumming.
Mike: This was one that myself and Mark wrote whilst staying in Snowdonia, Wales for a songwriting session. When we brought it to the band Simon kicked on the fuzz and that was that! Much of what we do will have light and shade, some songs can be as light as a feather, but we like to make a glorious noise when the opportunity appears.
Andrea: Most of the songs seem to be about failed romances, but “Putting The Kids Through College” is about a successful long-term relationship. It also rocks. Is that what you were after?
Mark: Another one for Mike!
Mike: Yeah. We all have families and responsibilities outside of the band. “Putting The Kids Through College” is looking at a point of resignation. The success of building a family together, but you know you just keep doing all that you can, even if sometimes it can be a bind. I was channeling Fountains Of Wayne at the time. But the fuzzed up middle 8 was just an opportunity to let loose.
Andrea: Do you have any plans to tour?
Mark: We’ve a few shows this year after a long time of lockdowns, but future tours aren’t on the agenda for now. We’ve been asked to do the Power Pop Weekender in London in the summer and we will be playing the International Pop Overthrow in Liverpool in May.
Mike: We have a few dates lined up through May, June, and July. Details will be on our website or Facebook pages. Of course we’ll be dropping in at the IPO Liverpool too.
Andrea: What advice would you give someone first starting out in music?
Mark: Learn to play your hero’s music first if you want to write your own songs -- you’ll uncover all their secret tricks. Playing with others (rather than sitting in your bedroom) will help sharpen your saw. Most ‘talent’ is just pig-headed perseverance, so don’t be intimidated by what others can seemingly do with ease. We all have limits -- work with them as a creative challenge.
Mike: Enjoy it, don’t be dictated to about what other people think you should be doing. Listen to lots of music. Oh, and write your own songs!