Music > Interviews

PINS

06/10/15

Manchester group PINS have been making huge waves across the music world with their punk/indie/pop music that pulls no punches. Their latest album, Wild Nights, is a collection of swaggering, hook-heavy tunes that have audiences storming the stage at PINS’ gigs because they just can’t help themselves. PINS play Norwich Sound & Vision on Friday. I spoke to their singer, Faith, about starting the band, being on tour and what it was like to support Babes in Toyland.

How did you guys all meet and get together as a band?

I started the band. I had a tiny practice space in Manchester that I shared with some other people. I met Anna first; she as DJ’ing with her girlfriend at the time at Odd Bar in town, I went along and we had some drinks, then I invited her over to my rehearsal room and it all went from there. We made posters and stuck them around town to find the other members: the posters said something like ‘Girls wanted for new band. Influences:The Jesus and Mary Chain”.

Were you all playing instruments before the band or did you learn how to play in order to make a band?

I’ve played guitar since I was 12 but I never sang before forming PINS. Anna played cello and piano but at our first rehearsal I handed her a bass. Lois has played guitar since being a teenager and Sophie learned how to pay drums so that she could be in PINS. Kyoko is our newest member and true to form she never really played keys before joining the band!

You’ve been on tour literally ALL this year, even played in New York. How has it been going? What have you learnt about each other this year?

Yeah we have been playing a lot! It’s cooled off over summer so I’ve had a chance to work on new music. It’s always a struggle to write and demo anything new when we are always in the van going to the next place. Don’t get me wrong though, it was wild; the USA tour was intense, exhausting but really thrilling. I’ve never been to most of those cities before, and we got to see some really weird stuff and meet some really weird people along the way. I suppose we learned how to sleep anywhere and how to live without any personal space.

Which songs are your favourite to play live?

I like playing Girls Like Us. It’s the one that seems to excite people the most, girls end up flocking the stage, which I love. I never realised how stompy and glam it was until someone pointed it out to me. We added a rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun towards the end of Girls Like Us. By that point, even the old guys with crossed arms can’t help but dance.

You’ve got you own record label, Haus of PINS which has released work by MiSTOA POLSTA and Cheri Cheri Jaguar amongst others. How are you finding it, running a label, as I imagine you don’t have much time off this year?

I love doing Haus Of Pins. I think we have done around 15 releases now but yeah, time can be a problem. The last one we did was a compilation of three bands, Dream Wife, Jupiter C and Kyogen and it’s one of my favourites!

Your second album Wild Nights has recently been released to rave reviews. Were you happy with how it turned out? I know you only had a week to record it in.

It was done in only one week but it felt quite effortless. We demo’d it all before we went into the studio so our time could be spent developing the sounds and getting it tight.   

How would you say your two albums differ from each other? How would you say your sound has developed in the last couple years?

We produced Girls Like Us ourselves and the recording and mixing all took place in the same week. With Wild Nights we had Dave Catching co-producing, Hayden Scott engineering and Ben Baptie mixing. We also had a week purely for recording and another week for mixing. The main difference was more time and a stronger team; I think Wild Nights is lot poppier in terms of the songwriting and it sounds fuller. We added more texture and more instruments.

How do you go about writing songs? Is it a group effort or are there certain members who tend to write lyrics or start tunes?

Usually myself or Lois will bring a demo to the group or some songs come from a jam we have in our practice room. I tend to write all the lyrics.

You supported Babes in Toyland in May and also Wire earlier in the year…what was that like, to support such legendary and influential groups?

We did one night with Babes In Toyland; it was a cool show to witness. They were sweet and kind; the drummer gave us a massive piece of cheese! We did a short tour with Wire, and they had a lot of advice including that we should drink less and we should party less! On the last night they invited us to play Drill live with them in Bristol, that’s something I won’t ever forget.

Who’s your musical hero?

Lou Reed. 

Have you found that the music industry is as sexist as everyone says it is?

Yes it absolutely is a sexist industry.

You’re from Manchester – what’s the scene like there at present? Is it supportive?

I’ve been out of the loop this year so I can’t comment really…but Manchester has always been kind to us. I know there is a new venue coming on the same industrial unit by the prison, next to the SWAYS Bunker, I’m excited for that place, I think my new band is going to do our first show there.

Do you feel any pressure to produce a certain sound, a Manchester sound?

Absolutely not. However, the drum-beat on Curse These Dreams was inspired by Manchester ‘baggy’ music.

You last played here at Norwich Sound and Vision two years ago at the Hog In Armour. We’re really excited to see you again at this year’s NS&V.  If you could recommend any other act that we ought to see play live this year, who would it be and why?

I missed LoneLady when she played the Bunker in Manchester, so I’d like to catch her.

PINS play the Mash Tun this Friday as part of Norwich Sound & Vision. Tickets/wristbands from Norwich Arts Centre.