TVAM‘s third record Ruins in a tower that you’re invited to scale. Manchester-based musician and producer Joe Oxley has created a monolith of interiority; a bastion of his thoughts about the world around him and how it makes him feel. There are towering walls of guitar, dazzling synth arrays that illuminate the terrain and pulverising beats that assail you as you approach.
The influence of 80s pop looms large, with elements of goth lurking in the shadows. There is gloom cast over this set, but a human lifeforce humming away within that is irrepressible. You’ll want to dive headlong into these soundscapes and mingle with TVAM’s moods and melodies.
And, what’s this? We’ve got an exclusive backdoor into this stronghold as Oxley has kindly given us the low down on each of the 11 tracks that make up Ruins. So hit play, align yourself with his thoughts and lock into the TVAM groove.
- “Comfort Collar”
I sometimes enjoy not singing on my stuff. It’s always nice to just create a tone and a mood and just let people experience it in their own way. I think this was the stage when I was finding the right sounds for the album – it’s got that really blown-out synth mix coming up against the gentler, spidery guitars. It definitely set the direction for some of the sounds and songs that followed. Although it has no lyrics, the title is about how the comfort and compassion that people show each other can be seductive – it’s easy to be wrapped up in it and find yourself stuck on the spot, without drive or focus. Just held there.
- “The Gloom”
This was the first song I wrote for the album. I’d got a really simple version together which didn’t really do much until I found the lyric, “It’s real if you feel it.” – That sentiment became the heart of it and the rest followed pretty quickly. I was trying to talk about depression and how there’s a push and pull between your personal experience and what others around you see you experiencing. I was working through ideas of how sometimes grief can be performative, but that doesn’t discredit the person experiencing it, it’s just human nature.
- “The Words”
This came very early in the sessions along with “The Gloom”. I came up with this breathless arpeggio and it instantly made me think of how time passes so quickly. You have to let go of your fear in the moment and be an active participant in that instant; find the right words and follow your heart.
- “Real Life”
It trucks along, painting a picture in dark and shade but never fixating on one or the other. I tried to let it hang somewhere in the middle, like it was suspended between the two. It’s ultimately about accepting life and death for what they are, both profound and mundane at the same time.
- “Powder Blue”
This came later in the sessions. I’d sort of worked out a lot of the sounds I’d been using so I just went for it – it was one which flowed very quickly. That’s usually a sign it’s going to sound pretty good but you won’t know what the hell it’s about! I like to think it’s about obsession and detachment; where the fantasy is sped up so it ends before it begins.
- “Follow Me Home”
It was the last track I wrote on Ruins. I didn’t know if it was going to fit but I just went for it anyway. That mantra flirts with darkness, invites it home. Purposefully in danger but completely in control.
- “Winter Rose”
This came about playing between something dreamlike and something which takes off in a hurry. It plays with that idea of grief being profound and ordinary at the same time; hanging in desperation at the thought of how those daily acts of kindness we offer each other don’t last forever.
- “In Memory”
It’s a welcome moment, like a brief crack of sunshine.
- “Love Like Glue”
Another early one but one which took a long time to come. It only really started in earnest when the lyrics came – like a stream of consciousness, one thought after another. I loved playing around with that dark synth pop sound. I think it’s one of my favourites.
- “Sweetness & Light”
It reaches into the same moments shared in “The Words” but tries to vocalise what people try to say as those we love slip away. Simple, uncomplicated words. Words of pure love. There was a very real breakthrough the first time I listened back to it when I realised they were words I’d been needing to hear spoken back to me. Hard to listen back to but definitely one of my favourites.
11. “The Haunted”
I felt this is where everything had been leading to – one last conversation in the dark. I wanted to marry the massive, cavernous darkness with something up close and personal. One last love letter to grief… Although the ending begs to be requited, I hope it speaks to my own feelings throughout the process – that you’re left feeling full, not empty.
Ruins is out now via Invada Records (stream/purchase). Follow You can follow Clara Mann on Facebook and Instagram.
