Ugly (UK) - One Of The Best Bands in Britain

Ugly (UK) - One Of The Best Bands In Britain

Ugly, released their latest single, The Wheel on May 20th

You might read the title and think that I am licking arse, but I mean it with complete honesty. I usually pull out some fancy vocabulary during the intro to my interviews but for this one I'd much rather be plain, because this band is just fucking amazing. After forming all the way back in mid 2010s, Ugly started of with a completley different grainy sound which was mean and gritty, a complete far cry from the absolute beautiful and fresh sound the band has developed. I was lucky enough to watch them support my favourite band Black Country, New Road and I didn't think for a second I'd be leaving the show with a new favourite band and yet, my top songs of the year are full of Ugly. To fuel my obsession with this band, I spoke to Sam from the band as we talked all things Ugly (UK).

Let me start off with the biggest question, none of you are Ugly! Why is the band called ugly?!

It was one of the various names we were spitballing at the time of the ban’s formation in sixth form - being young and thinking that would be a funny thing to introduce yourself as in stage. I think at times I have no issue with the name - sometimes I think we could have come up with something a bit better!

This band has gone through a lot of change over the years, how did the band get the formation it has now?

So the only two original members are Harrison and I, slowly over the years we have lost a bassist, gained keys/trumpet/lost trumpet and two drummers down!

I think it’s the feeling the most logical and best fit that any of us have ever felt. The band is now more about creating something that we’re all very excited about - everyone has a hand to play.

There’s a noticeable change in the old and new Ugly music. Do you think this is just the natural progression of the band or is there more reason to why Ugly’s sound has changed up?

In many ways it is a natural progression, however - we made a conscientious decision to sit down and decide exactly what it was we all wanted from the band. I think it will continue to change but the focal point from here on out will be the extensive use of 3/4 part vocal harmonies to bolster the sound.

One of my favourite parts of the band is the change in lead vocalist between songs. Each singer brings a different feel and it makes each song very unique. This only seemed to happen post-2019, why did you guys decide to go in this direction?

This would be something that would happen naturally when we would be jamming a new idea. Someone would initially take the reigns and that would just end up making the most sense as we flesh out the songs.

We’re still in this experimental period of ‘the set so far’ so who knows if it will stay that way, but I like it. I always thought that’s what made bands like Twin Peaks so special.

The first song I wanna talk about is Sha, sung by Jasmine. It’s a beautiful 3-minute piece with some of the prettiest vocal layering I’ve ever heard. From a songwriting perspective, what was the ambition here and what is this song like to perform live?

I think this was post ‘I’m happy you’re here’ and we were conscious of not carrying on the trend of 10 minute songs, etc. which is what we find ourselves naturally doing. It was a bit of an exercise into whether we could write a concise 3 minute pop song.

In regards to when we play it live, I would say the say that when we play it live - the ending will make it or break it, if we nail it and the sound is right - it feels great and that’s what people remember.

This is the first song I believe where we see non-english phrases used as vocals, how exactly does one write pieces like this?

Yes indeed it is - it’s actually a Buddhist chant that Jasmine had been reading into and she injected it into the song. It gives the song a sense of regeneration, we usually play it as a bit of a breath of fresh air in the set.

A close friend of mine reckons this song should be remixd with a similarly titled song, Shut Up by Stormzy, what are your thoughts?

Tell my man - maybe, but probably not

The next song I’d like to talk about is I’m Happy You’re Here. Led by Sam. This song lyrically is massively ambitious and instantly catchy. This layered over a beautiful guitar track made me wonder first of all, what came first here the lyrics or the instrumental?

It started as a little guitar but I had on guitar which we then played around with as a band. I then went away with what we had and wrote some lyrics and some more rough sections, which we then fleshed out from there. It’s always a real pleasure to play live and very emotional and cathartic.

I can’t help but get emotional when listening to this song, these lyrics carry so much meaning for me but every time I listen I wonder if this is supposed to be a sad song. So my question is, what did you write this song about and what do these lyrics mean to you?

I think a lot of our songs both in the past and now carry a kind of happy/sad weight to them which I’m very keen on. It’s neither really - maybe more a reflective appreciation of the past and future. I didn’t consciously write the lyrics with any specific narrative in mind they all just came quite naturally which is rare. It was a time of upheaval and change for me so maybe they reflect that - they tend to mean different things for different times which I think is hopefully a good sign.

The switch up halfway through the song almost feels like two different tracks, was this song originally written as it is one big piece or were two songs glued into one?

I think we had the first section primarily. As a band were guilty of getting carried away and leading off on a tangent when expanding a song and then going too far and having to reign it in. This is how I seem to remember it going - the end section took the guys a long time in terms of the vocal arrangements but I think they’re worth it.

I think this second half is the highest you’ve gone vocally for the band, were you nervous initially singing it a different style to that of your pre-2022 music?

I think after a few slow years for the band, I was very ready to leave any semblance of character of accentuation that I would use when performing in 2019 and before. I think that was initially used as a bit of a veil as I was new to singing - but with band rehearsals and encouragement it was coaxed out of me, I love now having a bit more range that I can play around with!

What exactly is a paradise of pocket knives and lucky number sevens?

The imagery in the verses came from visuals of boyish folly in the countryside playing adults, very vaguely however - but that’s often what comes to mind when I see it.

Let us talk new music! The Wheel is one of my favourite songs of the year so far, A true folk rock classic! My favourite part of the song has to be the vocal cannon, I have never seen vocals used to effectively in a rock song, who’s idea was it to go for a cannon?

Thank you so much! I actually can’t remember, I think we were just trying to come up with an intro to the song and more likely than not we were joking around with layering up these phrases, which then eventually we made work after much deliberation.

Did you all individually write your pieces of the cannon?

Many of them say the same or similar things from the first section of the song (eg. Chime-a). Then I think we all naturally just layered up and refined where we needed to. The creating is very instantaneous for us, it’s the refining that takes a long time, which is to be expected.

The second half of this track instrumentally in my head accompanies a high chase sequence or a bird learning to fly, is this what you were going for instrumentally and if not what was the intention?

It was written during the time of lots of folky/cultish imagery flying about the zeitgeist. I think we were all quite interested in capturing that eerie cult vibe - a dance around the maypole/poisoned kool-aid vibe. I think having us all sing at the start reinforces that image for us. I love the idea of a bird learning to fly though! It’s nice to hear people see/hear different things.

You’ve just come off two shows with Black Country, New Road and a headliner at The Lexington! How were those?

Yeah the shows with BC,NR were lots of fun and a slightly strange trip down memory lane, not only as we’ve known them since we were 16, but also going back to Cambridge - playing in a venue that we saw some of our first shows as teenagers was a real treat. Both Cambridge and Bristol were super welcoming.

The new songs you played on your with BC,NR and The Lexington were fabulous, my favourite being Shepard’s. That guitar part is fantastic and it made me realise that my main feeling when listening to Ugly is “I want to learn this” have you guys ever thought about releasing a song book or posting your tabs online?

I’ve defo been thinking about doing some tabs soon, it’s great to see bands like pinegrove taking the time to do it - Hopefully in the not too distant future!

You must crush the speculation right here right now! Is it “I see a windy sky” or “icy wind sky”

I actually don’t know yet (maybe both?) - when the EP comes out, then we’ll know…

This might be quite a forward question, but will Ugly (UK) tour the UK anytime soon (please come to Cardiff)

Would love to! Hopefully very soon - we’ll probably be doing a small tour with the EP so could maybe be an option!

Final question, most important, everyone’s individual drink of choice!

Definitely a beer band, although I would say Jasmine’s being a wine or hot toddy and Harry’s being a peppermint tea

All the links to Ugly (UK) can be found here;

https://linktr.ee/UglyUKOfficial

Dedicated to Harry and Tom, who came round my house and performed a beautiful cover of Im Happy You're Here!