If misery truly loves
company, then Stuart McLamb should have been surrounded by fans when he
kickstarted his The Love Language project in 2007. Instead, the North Carolina
native excised a few demons (break-ups, incarceration, and the intense alcohol
intake that fueled them) with nothing but an 8-track, a condenser mic, and a
storage unit full of King Cobra 40-ouncers to keep him company. But the tunes
— garage-pop nuggets with deep reservoirs of soul sadness, country pain,
and indie-rock spontaneity — immediately caught fire in the blogosphere,
and The Love Language emerged as a
surprise feel-good hit when it was released in 2009.
Fellow North Carolina
musicians The Rosebuds asked McLamb to open for them on a few tours, and with a
full band hastily assembled and a frenetic live show wowing critics and fans
alike, Merge Records quickly snapped The Love Language up. Last year, the
Tarheel label released Libraries, a
cleaner, more concise set of songs that added lush instrumentation to McLamb’s ferocious
emotion, all while proving that the humble twenty-something might just be one
of the best songwriters operating these days. EasternSurf.com chatted with McLamb about Wilmington’s many positive
attributes, lo-fi recording techniques, and the beauty of intimate live
performances.
ESM: The
Love Language started as a solo project for you to excise some demons — a
nasty break-up from both band and girlfriend, a few crazy benders, moving back
in with your parents. Did you expect things to grow as much as they have?
Stuart McLamb: No, it definitely exceeded my expectations. But at the same time I was
very proud of what I was doing with The
Love Language and certainly had hopes that it would go really far. Around
the time I was writing that first record I was really inspired and felt pretty
confident about the music connecting with people. So I wasn’t completely
surprised, if that makes sense. Any success we’ve had as a band has been a
blessing and I’ve been so grateful for it.
ESM: You
recorded that particular album about as lo-fi as it gets. Was that a conscious
effort, or something done out of necessity?
SM: It was
really mostly necessity, but sort of a combination of both. We get lumped into
the lo-fi movement, but there are some bands that predetermine they want to
make a lo-fi record, and some bands that are like, “Let’s record these songs,
but we’ve got shitty equipment and we don’t have a full studio at our disposal.”
I think I fall into the latter category. But really it was just about documenting
the songs and recording them as best I could with the equipment I had, although
I was definitely trying to get things to sound a certain way. I’m definitely
not an engineer, or at least a professional one, but the end result was the
sound I got.
ESM: From
that album, “Lalita” was the clear hit, and from last year’s Libraries, “Heart
To Tell” was the lead single. And both songs sound like they were written for
somebody specific.
SM: I
don’t consciously write about girls, but I’ve definitely learned that’s what
gets my creative clock ticking, reflecting on relationships or trying to
impress a lady or whatever. That’s usually what gets me inspired, so that’s
usually the subject matter of a lot of songs. I don’t necessarily wish it were
that way [laughs] — a lot of times I wish I could write about anything.
But every artist is different, and that’s what makes my heart beat.
ESM: Do
you have to be in the mindset of recalling tough experiences from the past to
do your songwriting?
SM: No,
really I’m always in a happy place when I do most of my writing — I’m just
reflecting on past events that were emotional or negative or whatever.
ESM: You wrote
and recorded the entirety of both albums totally by yourself. How tough is it to
put together all those pieces of the puzzle?
SM: Some
songwriters come up with a chord progression or lyrics and a melody and bring
it to the band, but I’ve just always done things more slowly. Once I get an
idea for a song, I let it brew for a while until I work out an arrangement, so
it takes me a little longer to write in that regard. It’s a slow process
— it’s not like a whole arrangement for a song happens overnight. Some
songs have taken me three years, not constantly working on it, but for it all
to click. But the actual tracking doesn’t take too long; I’ll usually start
with the drums and just lay those down with the song in my head and then layer
everything on top of it.
ESM: How
big a help have you received from Merge Records, who signed you after the first
album and released the second one?
SM: Oh man,
they’re fantastic. They started from real DIY grassroots, working out of
apartments in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and they’ve just naturally grown into a
very respected label. It’s always been a from-the-ground-up operation, and they
still have that small label vibe. They just won a Grammy [Best Album for Arcade
Fire] and all that, but we go stop by the office in downtown Durham and all go get
lunch with [label founders] Mac [MacCaughan] and Laura [Ballance], because they’re
very personal people. They’re definitely not so big that they don’t return
phone calls [laughs], just simple, super friendly, and responsive to all of our
needs. I worked on Libraries with
Maggie Fost, their in-house art director and graphic designer, and I literally
brought a scrapbook of family photos and sat in her office and pieced together
the artwork in a day. You don’t normally get the opportunity to work with a label
as big as Merge that intimately. They’ve been fantastic and I think good things
are gonna keep coming to ‘em because they care a lot about what they do and are
great people all around.
ESM: Is
The Love Language live vibe the same as the records — upbeat yet still
somber and reflective?
SM: We’re
definitely a lot rowdier live than on the records. I always wanted the albums
to be something you could put on headphones and listen to by yourself —
intimate, you know? Whereas the live show is more like a celebration, a very
big communal effort with the band. There’s a lot more crash cymbals and
cranked-up amps and guitar solos and shit. It’s a lot louder live, I’ll
put it that way.
ESM: Obviously
musical influences from the ‘60s inform The Love Language’s sound, but what
wouldn’t we expect goes in to the band?
SM: Influences
are definitely pretty broad, but as far as what you can hear with The Love
Language it is that sort of ‘60s garage/ soul/ country vibe. But it’s hard to
say exactly; I don’t predetermine I’m going to write a song that sounds like
this band or that. Influences do bleed in, but I listen to all styles of music
from all different eras. That’s kind of a broad answer, but that’s the best
kind of answer.
ESM: You’ve
lived all over North Carolina, from Chapel Hill to more aquatically oriented
cities like Wilmington. What’s your take on the scene there overall?
SM: I have
to admit, I was really excited about this interview, because my brother Jordan
is a really avid surfer down in Wilmington. But he’s pretty modest, although he
wanted me to tell you that he reads ESM,
and I’ve flipped through it a couple times, so we’re stoked. As far as Wilmington,
I don’t think as many bands go through there as need to. It gets skipped on a
lot of tours because maybe it’s a little bit out of the way, but it’s such an inspiring
place. My labelmate Ivan from The Rosebuds moved from Raleigh to Wilmington to
finish up their latest record, and I think a lot of music from North Carolina
gets written in Wilmington because it’s a really inspiring place.
ESM: As a
Florida resident I’m pretty pumped you guys are coming down to the Sunshine
State for the first time.
SM: Yes,
we haven’t really hit up the Dirty South yet, so we’re real excited about that.
Maybe we’ll strap the boards on top of the van.
ESM: Nice.
You guys have played some big opening shows for bands like Cursive, Phoenix,
and Arcade Fire, but you seem more suited to a small venue where you can get up
close and personal with the crowd.
SM: We’re never
ones to downplay being more successful or anything — that’s always the
goal, to reach more people and connect with as many people as we can —
but obviously we don’t do big shows that often. It’s a much more intimate
experience when it’s in a club, which is great. I definitely don’t dislike the
opportunity to put our music in front of more people, but as far as what we’re
used to, yeah, it’s definitely smaller clubs and stuff.
ESM: But
you guys just played the massive Coachella festival in California, right?
SM: Yeah
man, we kicked it off on Saturday at noon. We’re kinda big time, but not too
big time yet [laughs].
UPCOMING THE LOVE LANGUAGE TOUR DATES:
5/6 Slim’s Downtown…………………………………….. Raleigh, NC
5/10 Grey Eagle……………………………………………. Asheville, NC
5/11 The Earl……………………………………………….. Atlanta, GA
5/13 Secret Stages Festival………………………………. Birmingham, AL
5/14 Caledonia Lounge……………………………………. Athens, GA
5/17 New World Brewery………………………………….. Tampa, FL
5/18 Will’s Pub……………………………………………… Orlando, FL
5/19 Café Eleven…………………………………………… St. Augustine, FL
5/20 Tin Roof……………………………………………….. Charleston, SC
5/21 Art Bar…………………………………………………. Columbia, SC
5/27 Haw River Ballroom………………………………….. Haw River, NC
5/29 Soapbox Laundrolounge…………………………….. Wilmington, NC
For all things The Love Language, visit www.TheLoveLanguage.com
