Teesside post-punk outfit The Inklings’ new release is a record shaped by ideas of transformation, innovation and creative evolution, drawing inspiration from unexpected places while pushing the band’s own artistic boundaries further than before. Liza-Lou Campy spoke to frontman Darren Thomas about where the album sits for the band now, the thinking behind its title, and what listeners can expect from it.
Right before a record comes out is a strange moment, isn’t it? You’ve lived with these songs for ages, but nobody else has heard them yet. What does ‘Move 37’ feel like to you at this exact point in time?
It feels like a complete body of work. We are very proud of it.
The title sounds precise, almost strategic, like a turning point in a game. Is it a key to understanding the record, or perhaps a bit of a misdirection?
In 2016, it was generally accepted that AI could comfortably beat a chess grandmaster, but not defeat a grandmaster of the complex ancient Chinese game ‘Go’. A match was arranged between Grandmaster Lee Sedol and the AI AlphaGo. On move 37, AlphaGo made a move that appeared completely bizarre. Lee Sedol actually left the arena for twenty minutes because he believed the AI had made a mistake. He came back and continued, losing the game. The AI had developed a technique that no human had discovered in 4,000 years of the history of ‘Go’. It was an immense paradigm shift in AI development, and our album celebrates that idea of sudden transformation and other paradigm shifts.
When you listen back to this alongside your earlier work, what still feels unmistakably ‘Inklings’? And what feels like a departure you might not have attempted a few years ago?
It all still feels like us, but being our seventh album, we believe our production techniques and songwriting have advanced beyond what we thought was achievable for us back in 2020.
What decision on the album felt like the biggest risk – something you could have played safe with, but chose not to?
There’s a song called ‘The Day Of The Night’. We consciously approached it in a kind of 1960s noir style – darkness with a groove, so to speak. We added vibraphone and timpani to give it an atmospheric quality that really stands apart from the other tracks.
When people first hear ‘Move 37’, what do you think they are most likely to overlook or misunderstand?
That ‘Move 37’ was made entirely by us. The songs, performances, production and concept were all created internally, with no outside collaboration.
Once a record is released, it stops belonging entirely to the artist. Is there anything you hope listeners do not do with it? Any interpretation or reaction you are quietly dreading?
No. I believe once a song is out there, it is entirely up to the listener to interpret it however they wish. At that point, it becomes their song.
You can listen to ‘Move 37’ now on all major streaming platforms.
