The Lodger

With a steady increase in quality and sound with each new release, The Lodger from Leeds has emerged to be one of the most interesting pop act from UK, mostly due to Ben Siddall's talent for a songwriting that inhabits the soft tension between the sweetest flavours of pop/rock music and the salty taste of withheld tears, wrapped in songs that may be fast or brooding but are always infallibly catchy, as every great pop song should be. Their latest single "Let Her Go" has gained praises everywhere, including the webzine you're reading now, and with media attention focused on Yorkshire music, the future looks bright for the band. We contacted Ben for an email interview just as "Let Her Go" is hitting the shelves.

I'm quite confused as to the actual band's lineup. Can you tell us who is in the band and who does what, and how old are you all?

The band started off as a solo project, me and a guitar basically, and then I got in a couple of friends (Bruce and Lisa) to play the songs I'd written live. They were never intending to be in the band forever, so when they went their separate ways I quickly drafted in a permanent rhythm section - Joe on bass guitar and Katie on drums. We have an average age of 23.666 (recurring)!

Do you think there's a typical Lodger sound? Edgy, bittwersweet, melodic.? I mean typical elements of a Lodger's song, the ones you try to fit in everytime you write a new one.

My idea for the band was to make the most out of the most simplistic of set-ups. So you have 1 vocal, a clean guitar sound, a bass and drums. I wanted the songs and melodies to be the most important thing and make the music direct and easy to digest. This was the original template, as time goes on I feel more inclined to add the odd new flavour to the sound, like the brass instruments on "Let Her Go" for example. I suppose our songs are bittersweet, an attempt to marry triumphant melodies with generally quite acidic and twisted lyrics!

The a-sides of your singles have a common upbeat quality (I feel "watching" is very close to "many thanks." for example), while the b-sides are more emotional and have more of that bittersweet quality I love so much. I seem to favour your b-sides, maybe cause I´m the brooding type. But why do you put the slower songs on the flipside? Do you have a precise idea of what makes a Lodger single (ie a faster and more concise tune)?

We are pretty useless at deciding what should be the A-side! I agree with you that songs like "Not So Fast" and "Unsatisfied" for example, are our best efforts, but for some reason never make it to be A-sides, we seem to put the faster and more upbeat songs as the lead track. Hopefully when the album comes out more people will get to hear the other side of the band.

I especially love the fragility of "Not so fast". Is this vulnerability a part of your life or does it come from other sources?

"Not So Fast" is a key song in our set I think, we always finish our shows with this one and it's probably musically and lyrically my best songwriting attempt. I think vulnerability is something that is a part of everyone's life and everyone feels thoughtful and sombre at points, it's part of being a human being I'm afraid!

And in general, what inspires you to write lyrics? Movies, books, real life. I'm wondering especially about "We come from the same place", as it's so close to home.

My lyrics tend to spark from one point of inspiration, generally an extremely tiny reference from a book or a film or a conversation and once I have that initial idea then I'm on well on my way.
The lyrics to "We Come From The Same Place" is a made up story about wanting to be with someone so much that you are willing to lose all self-esteem and essentially just follow them around dancing to their tune and not caring about having your feelings messed up because the moments you have with this person are worth the hassle. It's quite a sad story all told..! So that's a fictional piece, other songs like "Many Thanks." are straight from the heart and relate completely to a true unpleasant experience I went through. "Watching" comes from a film. It all depends.

There is this constant struggle in your music: it can be upbeat and rockandroll (like the song on the Dance to the radio comp) and also brooding and emotional. Are these two elements also common to the music you like as a listener? Or the way you perceive pop music should be?

I'm a bit of a schizophrenic songwriter in the way that I pick up the guitar and cannot control what kind of song I write. Sounds a bit pretentious but it's true. Writing music isn't a conscious thing to me, I don't try. I just do. As for pop music - "Teenage Kicks" fits the first formula you mention and is an unspeakably wonderful thing. "Make It Easy On Yourself" fits the second and is also an unspeakably wonderful thing. If I understood what it all meant I'd give up. I just think it has to be real or people can immediately tell it's phoney.

Each Lodger record sounds so much better than the previous one. "Let her go" is a further improvement in the sound department. Are you getting better as musicians as time progresses or has there been some lineup changes over time?

I think we're getting better in the studio with every new session. The line up has changed from the first single but I think that we're just getting more and more confident every time we go into the studio. We also want every new release to be much better than the last as it keeps things interesting. The next single is so much better than "Let Her Go".just you wait!

Everybody's talking about the Leeds/Sheffield scene. Do you feel there are real opportunities for emerging new bands there? Do A&R people show at gigs, are NME journalists pestering you and so on?

The early attention afforded to us cannot be sniffed at - it helped us establish ourselves quickly and get people listening from the off. We don't think about being part of a scene though, we just get on with what we're trying to do, but I'd be lying if I said that the media spotlight which hovers over the North of England at the moment is bad - it's great! Yorkshire music has been ignored for too long.

"Many thanks." is probably the Lodger at its most Buzzcocks. Did you want to start with a bang? With your most powerful song?

Every band has to have a great debut single, and one that instills what the band is about and establishes them immediately. "Many Thanks." fits the bill.

"Many Thanks for your honest opinion" came out about a year ago: since then you have played quite a lot of gigs around Britain, published two more singles, both to ravishing reviews, and most magazines are predicting great things for The Lodger. How have you been living this last 12 months? Have things been too hectic or do you still manage to keep a day job, writing songs and playing with the band.

I am currently familiarizing myself with the British Social Security System, Joe works in a shop and Katie works in a bank. If anyone reading fancies throwing a big pile of cash our way that may be an immediate remedy to our situation! Lots of bands we know are in the same situation - you just need to understand that what you do between the hours of 9 and 5 isn't your job, or you go mad. It's a means to an end. Being in a band is your job.

What expectations do you have for the near future? Is an album in the works? Will you settle with a label soon?

We're recording the rest of the album in July and hoping to get it out on Angular Records in September. But watch this space - things are subject to change! When it arrives it will have 12 songs on it and it will be perfectly formed, that much is clear.

Final question: just what have you got against guitar solos?

Life's too short.

Salvatore

Links:

The Lodger official site: www.thelodger.net