Kev Sherry 'Everything A Mother Could Want' and exclusive interview
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Newsdesk
Kev Sherry, lead singer for the cult, critically acclaimed Scottish indie-rock four-piece Attic Lights (Island Records, Elefant Records), and prolific solo musician and graphic novelist now releases his solo single “Everything A Mother Could Want” – the next single release from his highly-anticipated forthcoming album “Wrath Of Can”: due to land in early 2025. The ‘comic strip’ video for this is something to behold!
Kev Sherry is nothing if not prolific: songwriter, indie musician, comic writer, and so much more besides. He famously performed in the indie guitar band Attic Lights and released three critically acclaimed albums with them: “Friday Night Lights” (Island/Universal Records, 2008), “Super De Luxe” (Elefant Records, 2013) and “Love In The Time Of Shark Attacks” (Elefant Records, 2019).
Since then, Kev has enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing his esteemed debut solo album “Foxy Orthodoxy” back in 2020. His songs have been featured on BBC’s The Culture Show, HBO’s Divorce, Netflix's Elite, MTV’s Teen Mom, The One Show and many others. Kev has also collaborated with international artists including Bjorn Yttling, Cerys Matthews and La Casa Azul. More recently, he co-founded ‘indie dance pop’ collective, ‘Disco Mary’ who are signed to Groove Bound Records and Bucks Music Group Publishing.
Not only that, Kev is also a published Graphic Novel writer with legendary Franco-American comic publisher Humanoids Inc. He recently taught himself to draw and will be releasing online comics for each song on the forthcoming album “Wrath of Can”.
New single “Everything A Mother Could Want” sonically takes inspiration from indie artists like Margaret Glaspy, Kurt Vile, and MJ Lenderman. The track explores the myriad social and cultural forces that want us to defer to the expectations of others, be that to parents, authority figures or friends. The song and accompanying comic strip video look, with the wisdom of hindsight, at Kev’s time signed to a major record label with Attic Lights.
Kev reflects on music as both an ‘industry’ and as an aspiration and questions its validity and truth: “What should you aspire to? Whose expectations do you want to meet? Has the commercialisation of rock music turned it into a ‘respectable profession’ that your parents would accept, as opposed to being something that traditionally horrified older generations? “
In a time of failing capitalism, fake news and failing climate why do we defer to the approval of authority? Are we missing our own voice? What does it all amount to these days? Thought provoking indeed.
In an exclusive interview we spoke with Kev Sherry about his new single, unusual comic strip video and his forthcoming album.
What inspired the title and theme of your latest single, "Everything A Mother Could Want"? I’ve always been fascinated by social pressures and expectations. It’s a weird kind of psychic oppression we all experience. It’s really interesting when you face similar pressures in the major label music industry which is supposed to represent some kind of cultural rebellion but is actually extremely conservative in its own ways. I used the archetype of a son aspiring to everything his mother wants for him in polite society. It felt like an interesting counterpoint to being in the rock’n’roll business.
Can you tell us more about the creative process behind the comic strip style video for the single? Having been a published comic writer I always wanted to learn to draw my own comics. So these videos are a step in that direction. I think about the meaning of the song, and normally either find a subject tangentially related or write a narrative directly about the song subject. I work on the script for a while, and in this case making sure I get the approval of my band Attic Lights since this is also their story. Then I draw it on an iPad. It’s both similar in some ways and in other ways a completely different process to creating music. But I really enjoy it. I drew a lot as a kid and now coming back to drawing is really rewarding for the soul - and I think about all the years I missed not drawing! I love it.
How does the single fit into the overall concept of your forthcoming album, "Wrath Of Can" (out March '25) Wrath Of Can is really a hopscotch random jump through my life over the last few years. Things that have been on my mind, emotional experiences etc... Everything A Mother Could Want focuses on a real pivotal moment in my life when I got signed to a record label - and it wasn't everything I thought it would be. It was an education and in many ways a reaffirmation of my belief that making music has to be honest and not affected by business concerns. So he song is a statement of intent and launches the emotional journey of the rest of the album.
What challenges did you face while working on this album, and how did you overcome them? It's always the usual challenges - Trying not to overwork songs, trying to find the heart of the song, trying not to overthink it, trying to stick close to your demo (most often, you never get a better feel than in the demo of the song, the actual moment of it's conception. It can be hard to recreate that.) We moved house in the middle of recording this record so that was an added challenge. And I've been super busy with my band Disco Mary the past couple of years so I've had to wait for a break in their schedule to release this record.
Is there anyone you wish you could have worked with? Who would it be? In the whole world ever? Ooh. Good question. I could rhyme off all of my heroes like Neil Young, The Beatles, Elliott Smith, etc... But I don't know if I'd want to actually work with them. It would feel like I was trying to take a part of their sound for my own (when all I really want to do is hang out with them.) I guess, with bands that are working now - there are a few collabs I'd love. I think Young Fathers are the best band in the world right now - so it would be interesting to do something with them. I also really love Fontaines DC, so I wouldn't knock a collaboration with them either.
How do you think your time with Attic Lights has influenced your solo work? It’s definitely made me a better songwriter, arranger and producer. And there are things I’ve picked up from the attic lights guys that maybe weren’t in my skillset originally, like harmonies and intricate approaches to arrangement. Working with such talented people inevitably rubs off on you. It also made sure I aim for an extremely high standard of songwriting and don't just settle with average ideas.
What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from "Everything A Mother Could Want"? I hope they find the weird 'glam rock stomp meets lo fi indie' vibe of the music exciting. And in terms of the meaning behind the song, I hope it helps people think about the myriad social and cultural pressures we face, to conform and to aspire to certain things that may not always be in our best interests or necessary for our happiness. Always question what authority figures and social expectations demand of you - even if they promise you your dreams. I guess that's the message of the song.
What's the plan for 2025? Lots of gigging, some small 2 and 3 date tours, releasing comic videos strips for every song on the album - and then possibly another album before the year is out. It is shaping up to be an extremely creative and productive year, all going according to plan. (And I'll need to fit it all in around my commitments to the Disco Mary project as we'll be releasing a non-stop stream of singles next year with that project.).
