Taking inspiration from the soft rock bands that emerged from Laurel Canyon in the late ’70s, Smith & Liddle have injected new sounds and ideas into the music they were raised on. Stephen Anderson caught up with Billy Smith as the duo prepare for their homecoming show in Newcastle.
How does it feel to release your debut album, ‘Songs for the Desert’?
We’re just really proud of the entire album. We had some great musicians play on it – our drummer Robb Maynard, keyboard player Phil Richardson, and Emma Robson, a fantastic local musician. We’ve also got Niles Krieger from a band called The Often Herd, who played fiddle. We recorded it at Blank Studios in Newcastle with Josh Ingledew, and it’s out now.
You return to the North East in December to play The Pilgrim in Newcastle. Does playing back home carry more significance for you?
Yeah, it’s definitely a homecoming show. We’re going to play live with our full six-piece band and perform the album from start to finish. We’ve also got a fab support act, in Anna Stevo, opening for us. It’s an earlier show, with doors opening at 4pm, so we’re hoping to have a proper chat with people afterwards and sign some records. We’re playing London on Saturday 1st November and have a variety of support gigs throughout November and December. Then we head to Germany in January.
Your last single was ‘Minute Ago’. What was the writing process like?
‘Minute Ago’ came out in September. It’s a song that Liz had the chorus idea for spinning around in her head for months last year. She just couldn’t find a way to finish it, so we sat down together and wrote the rest of it. It’s a bit like how Fleetwood Mac worked – Stevie Nicks would sing a song, then Lindsey Buckingham would sing a song, and then they’d write together. I guess this is Liz’s moment on the album – this is where she really shines. Our third single, ‘Eyes on You’, will be released the week before the album comes out.
What’s the story behind the album title? And how does it tie the songs together?
The story behind the title is quite funny. Basically, our drummer Robb would come into the studio while we were recording the album – which didn’t have a name at the time – and he’d forget all the song titles. He kept asking, “Is this the Camel song or the Desert song?” So we joked that we were writing songs for the desert here. Our idols came out of Laurel Canyon in ’70s California, and that whole desert sound from the era was what really inspired us. That’s why we called the album ‘Songs for the Desert’.
You’ve been releasing music videos alongside your singles, with a distinctive style. Is that something you’ll continue to develop?
Definitely. We try to capture that ’70s look in all of our videos and recreate the feel of those classic music shows where bands would come on and perform live. We’ve made videos for nearly every song.
We released ‘Piece of You’ – the first single from the album – back in May, and we filmed it in Saltburn’s Valley Gardens. We filmed ‘Minute Ago’ at the Social Room in Stockton. We’ve got two more music videos on the way, both in collaboration with Rob Irish.
‘Songs for the Desert’ is available on all major streaming platforms now.
