Drawing Shapes Track 1. ‘Work’ “My Dad got made redundant,” says Matthew of the EP’s blustering opening track. “He was in IT and he took a year out after he had quite a bad accident, and then he came back and the business had completely moved on so he got completely left behind. He didn’t know what any of the new gear was, it had all changed in a massive leap. He was being interviewed by people 20 years younger than him, that sort of thing just pisses me off. ” Told as a series of three conversations, the song demonstrates Matthew’s talent of blowing the personal up to signify the universal. “It’s not directly about my Dad losing his job, but things moving on and being left behind.” Track 2. ‘Hold Your Breath’ The newest song on ‘Drawing Shapes’, was again inspired by Matthew’s horror at the things that happen to people in the name of industry; a quiet protest song; at the same time a call for calm. “I used to work in the hospital nursing. You’d see students and doctors who were doing 70 hour weeks,” he says. “The doctor’s in front of the nurse; there’s this big hierarchy thing which people are supposed to observe, but one day this doctor just burst into tears on me and said ‘I haven’t slept in three days, I don’t know what I’m doing.’ That song’s about people who work too hard; take a breath…” Track 3. ‘It’s Not Like Everyone’s My Friend’ On first listen, ‘It’s Not Like Everyone’s My Friend’ is a straightforward cry of alienation set against a riff big enough to fell trees. But there’s more going on here than complaint rock, as the bruising, oak-heavy sentiment of the chorus in counterbalanced by the song’s beautiful outro, an extra layer of depth and feeling that will come to be Morning Runners’ trademark. “There’s a moment at the end that makes sense of the rest of the song; people comment on the angst of it, but the part at the end takes away that feeling. The end is supposed to be beautiful because you’re relaxing in the fact that; everybody’s flawed. The verses are pretty much a love song. “I actually find the fact that everyone’s not my friend liberating. Isolation can be the most peaceful place to be.” It’s that wonder and amazement for the human condition; and concern for life in all its forms, that mark Morning Runner out as a band with substance and soul. The band play their first ever headline tour across the UK in May before heading out on the road with Coldplay. Dates are as follows; May 2005 Sun 1st King Tuts, Glasgow Mon 2nd The Cluny, Newcastle Tue 3rd Barfly Loft, Liverpool Thu 5th The Roadhouse, Manchester Fri 6th The Sugarmill, Stoke Sat 7th Faversham, Leeds Mon 9th Bar Academy, Birmingham Tue 10th The Zodiac, Oxford Wed 11th The Fez Club, Reading Thu 12th 100 Club, London Sat 14th Moles, Bath Sun 15th The Cavern, Exeter Mon 18th Joiners, Southampton Tue 19 th Little Civic, Wolverhampton Wed 20 th Soundhaus, Northampton http://www.morningrunner.com |