Already drawing comparisons to the poetic leanings of Father John Misty and Mike Skinner, Stoke-on-Trent crooner Average Joe spins charmingly no-nonsense takes on universal themes of love, heartache and the like. His new tune, ‘The Truth’, is a bit like Alex Turner at his most morose; a poignant number “about losing people,” he explains. “Time cannot sooth some forms of loss. The nature of curses, a sort of Sisyphus meets Miss Havisham type monologue. About facing the truth of the underlying situation, which is that ultimately time is slipping by, and we are all moving towards the only inevitable thing, which is death. We will lose it all in time.” An early teaser from his new EP, Average Joe tells us more.
Hi Average Joe, how’s it going? What’ve you been up to today?
I think it’s going, was last time I checked anyway. I’ve been pulling pints, sanitising surfaces and clock watching.
When did you first realise you wanted to be a musician then?
I don’t see myself as a musician, really. I’m a songwriter, and I do a bit of singing, and I started that when I was a nipper.
And how did you get going, what were your first steps to getting out there?
I started off the usual way, messing around in bands with mates because it was fun. This Average Joe project got started after I gigged an earlier EP in my hometown, and everyone said I should try to work it, and it just got going.
Have you had any notable highlights so far?
Supporting Kate Tempest in Berlin was probably the best thing so far, the room was packed, Berlin’s amazing, all-round nice working holiday.
What can you tell us about your new single ‘The Truth’?
‘The Truth’ is sort of the second to last song from the ‘Heartbreaker’ era of the Average Joe stuff, so more of the same. Miss Havisham type pop/soul vibes, all woe is me.
How about the EP it’s from, is that all done and dusted now? What was the timeline on putting that together like?
It was done and dusted, but then it seems to never die this one, keeps resurrecting itself and asking me questions about whether it’s really finished or not. It was a difficult birth, so I’m not sure if I’m done with it yet, who would have thought two years on we’d still be knocking it into shape.
Is there a particular vibe you like hitting with your songs, or subjects you like to tackle?
Not particularly, everything so far has been of a certain ilk because I tend to write several songs about the same thing, I’m trying to escape that now. I think it’s about constantly moving away from whatever you did last.
What inspires you, both in music and in life?
Everything can be inspiring or depressing or whatever, I try to write because I like doing it. I’m never sure what direction things come from, it’s more like fishing than anything else, got to tap into the logos somehow. I’m never sure what’s going to hit, you just have to be ready to write it down.
What do you do for fun?
Fun is overrated; I have downtime occasionally. I usually just go to the pub, then probably watch a film, read a book, walk the dog. To be honest, I’m desperate for a holiday.
What’s next for you?
Not much at the min, back into the studio asap to write more tunes so we can pester record companies for money. Seeing as there are no gigs at the moment we might have to start crashing vans into jewellers, or ship hand sanitiser, or get a real job heaven forbid, don’t think they would have me anyway.
Average Joe’s new single ‘The Truth’ is out now.
