People Like Me & You: The Sherlocks pop up with new album
People Like Me and You – out Friday, August 4 – is hotly tipped as a top five entry and fans can help by getting a signed copy at Sheffield City Hall on Monday, from noon to 7pm.
They will be back in the city for a headline show at O2 Academy, Sheffield, on Saturday, November 4 – for tickets CLICK HERE.
PRE-ORDER ALBUM: People Like Me & You plus special bundles, including signed copies, can be ordered now – CLICK HERE.
TOUR TICKETS: For The Sherlocks’ 2023 autumn tour dates see below and to for tickets – CLICK HERE.
No way out, no retreat and no surrender...it’s a line from their new album’s lead single Sirens, but it is also their battle cry for chart success, writes Richard Derbyshire.
Frontman Kiaran Crook, his brother and drummer Brandon, lead guitarist Alex Procter and bassist Trent Jackson are hoping for another hit with new record People Like Me and You and say they are thriving after weeks of touring the country.
Last year’s top ten album World I Understand re-established the South Yorkshire rock band as one of the biggest independent acts in Britain and Brandon says taking back control from their record label reminds him of the start of their career.
“Back in day, we were touted as the biggest unsigned band, as we sold out venues even established acts were not filling,” he explained.
“And, just like now, we did that on our own terms, showing that when we do things ourselves, they connect with people. As soon as you start getting a record company involved, things get more complicated, and it can take too long for even small decisions to be made.”
Kiaran added: “Even in the studio, a label can decide who you work with. For us, there are fewer emails and fewer meetings, we just get on the phone and get things done. As a result, people see our genuine side and know whatever makes it onto the record is how we wanted it to sound.”
But this approach, which Brandon says can sometimes feel like “constantly running up a hill”, also means more work behind the scenes for the drummer and the Crook brothers’ father and tour manager Mick.
Brandon said: “Off stage and away from the music, it is only my Dad and me keeping this ship sailing, and this time it has been a lot more demanding. If anything, I think we have been more DIY this time.”
One example is that while other acts may do a handful of in-store appearances before an album release, The Sherlocks have been touting their new music in intimate settings for more than three months. Intriguingly, if their campaign for pre-order sales is successful, it may set a precedent for other bands to follow in the future.
“We are not just sitting on twitter praying that people buy our album,” said Kiaran. “We have been taking our sound to little pockets all over the country, often where larger acts don’t often play. Everywhere has been rammed. People say we can’t believe you have come here.”
He added: “No one Is doing what we are doing to the extent we’re doing it. We have been at the absolute maximum.”
The roadshow for People Like Me and You reaches City Hall on Monday August 7 and is a free event 12pm to 7pm which will see The Sherlocks play live, sign merchandise and meet fans.
But what of their new record? The Sherlocks are known for electrifying guitars cranked up to the max, drum-fuelled beats and catchy melodies that sound as good on stage as in headphones.
The band say they have “grown in their new music” and that the combination of Kiaran and Brandon’s experience and the still “fresh legs” of Alex and Trent, who have now worked on half of the band’s albums, is a formidable combination.
Brandon said: “We have all pulled together and I think it is our best album yet. It was another challenge, but I feel like we have nailed it this time.
Kiaran describes their lead single, Sirens, which has featured on Radio One and BBC football, as “a gritty, compelling rock number which feels like a blueprint for the whole record”.
He said: “It is a big hitter. In one song, it encapsulates everything that we are about, it is full of energy with good melodies. There is no hiding with that tune.”
Nostalgia-fuelled latest single, Remember All The Girls, along with the spoken word track, Watson, is the only tune that was not recorded with Bring Me The Horizon producer Al Groves. Instead, the band worked with Manchester-based David Radahd-Jones. “It was the first track we laid down, and we were so pleased with it, we didn’t need to do it again,” said Kiaran.
Otherwise, the band stayed close to home. Mixing was done by their live sound engineer and frontman of Sheffield band The Warehouse Club Nathan Kobierowski, and some tracks feature backing vocals and spoken words from friends, family and even fans who were asked to send in inserts for the title song.
Kiaran explained: “We’ve involved our neighbourhood and beyond. It has helped show more of our personality. It is the opposite to going to somewhere random like New York to record.”
Album track Face The Music even samples a well-known Bolton upon Dearne scrapman calling out for ‘any old iron’ on his megaphone. “You can hear him with some reverb and a spot of wind before the guitar intro. It adds a bit of an atmosphere on track,” said Kiaran.
“It is unique, no one else will have done that. It is a nice way of getting our town and our identity on the album. We said we wanted to put it on our album, and his response was ‘nice one’. Hopefully he hears it.”
The songwriter says other album track highlights include One Stop and Going No Where, which he says is also one of Alex’s favourites and came close to being a single. He added: “I write every song the best it can be. There is no filler on our albums, each one has been treated with the same amount of respect.”
The frontman also revealed some of his song writing secrets and that some tunes on the album, such as the title track, were first devised as early as 2019 and stored on his phone until being rediscovered sometime later.
“The delay is never because tunes are not good enough,” he explained. “They are just at different stages, or I forget about them, then I flick through my voice memos and rediscover me singing or playing chords.”
“I am most excited when I first come up with an idea, but I can forget to write a second verse. That is what happened on this album. While most of the songs were ready, I had to sometimes disappear upstairs at the studio to write more lyrics and middle eight sections.”
It is now six years since The Sherlocks’ debut album Live for The Moment and 18 months since their third album, World I Understand, were both top ten hits.
In their 13 years as a band, they have sold out The Leadmill as an unsigned act, toured in Europe with Liam Gallagher, played the main stage at Reading and Leeds and supported Kaiser Chiefs on a UK arena tour.
“Whatever happens, the journey has been the best bit and we have enjoyed every moment,” said Brandon. “I truly believe there is not a stage we could not walk on and play. We have climbed every step of the ladder from our own garage, pubs and academies to arenas and stadiums. We have done the groundwork.”
This autumn, the band will headline their own UK and Europe dates, including Sheffield O2 Academy on Saturday November 4, and venture into the pub trade in a partnership taking over the Jolly Brewer music venue in Lincoln which re-opens in September.
But even with new technology, somethings do not change. The Sherlocks reaffirm that at their gigs everything is live, and anything can happen. “With us, there are no backing tracks, no gimmicks and no distractions,” said Brandon. “Computers don’t make our songs.”
He added: “We’re in this for the long haul. We look up to acts like Kings of Leon who sold more copies of their fourth album than their previous three combined.”
The Sherlocks 2023 tour:
Thursday 5 October - Bristol O2 Academy
Friday 6 October - Birmingham O2 Institute
Saturday 7 October - Norwich Waterfront
Thursday 12 October - Glasgow St Luke’s
Friday 13 October - Newcastle University
Saturday 14 October - Nottingham Rock City
Thursday 19 October - Islington Assembly Hall
Friday 20 October - Southampton Engine Rooms
Saturday 21 October - Brighton Concorde 2
Thursday 26 October - Liverpool O2 Academy
Friday 27 October - Manchester Academy
Saturday 4 November - Sheffield O2 Academy
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