INDIE ROCK darlings The Sherlocks are fresh from one of their biggest tours yet, following more than a decade working their way up through the music scene.
After supporting the Kaiser Chiefs on their UK tour, the band is now setting out on their own headline tour later this year, as well as a slot at Heritage Live at Englefield House on Saturday, July 22 alongside Richard Ashcroft and Ocean Colour Scene.
Hailing from South Yorkshire, the band brings high-energy, guitar-driven rock riddled with infectious hooks and jubilant, howl-along vocals.
Drummer Brandon Crook said that their recent work with the Kaiser Chiefs was the latest in a number of formative experiences.
“We’ve done a lot of big tours before, but that was the first time we’ve done a full arena tour; it was the first time we spent two weeks playing big arenas every night.”
“It was such a great experience– you learn a lot, especially from professionals who’ve been doing it for ages.”
The Sherlocks started performing in 2010, he explains, “and we have done it the organic way.
“We started on the toilet tours, doing pubs and clubs and smaller venues, then moved up to the academies, playing every step of the ladder.”
This rise includes a main stage performance at Reading Festival last year, which is just the latest of their appearances at the festival, having worked their way up through the Festival Republic and BBC Radio 1 stages.
“After we played that main stage, we felt like we’d really made it; Reading and Leeds is such a good vibe.
“It’s a nice site, and when we turn up it just feels different, we were blown away by how much people down south turned up and got behind us.
“At a festival, people can wander and do what they want, so it feels amazing that they get behind us and give us their time.”
He said that this was especially true as many festivals seek to diversify their offerings as live events continue to grapple with new circumstances following the pandemic.
“A lot of bands get rushed through that process, but it’s like any job; if you’re a footballer, you don’t jump up from League Two to the Champions League straight away.
“There’s no way we could’ve walked from our first gig playing to about 60 people straight to Tramlines, where we played to 40,000.
“It’s about the mental state– that many people is going to affect you, so you’ve got to do a few miles before you catch and do bigger gigs.”
But while many bands get “rushed through,” he admits most people would jump at the chance.
“We would take anywhere, and you can do a certain amount of learning on the job.”
The band started off, as many do, playing covers, but studio time became a formative experience for them.
“We learned so much working with different producers, but the live stuff has always been such a big element, it’s always got to me the most important thing.
“Creating an experience for the fans is what it’s all about; it’s the entertainment business, after all.
“We do a lot of recording, but we do lean more toward performing.”
Their debut album, Live for the Moment, hit number 6 in the UK album charts, following “about four years’ worth of writing.
“We were still on the road, we could see which songs were doing well live, so that really helped the process.
“The second one just took forever though; you want to capitalise on the buzz when you’ve got it, but we ended up going in blind.
“We just wanted to get in and get going, so we had to push it through.”
Their sophomore album, Under Your Sky, was set to be the second in a four-album deal, but it led to the band splitting with their label.
“We weren’t happy with how things were going, so we asked to leave.
“We set our own label up, Teddy Boy Records, which created a real resurgence and we were back on our own terms.”
He explains that the period has informed the band’s work going forward, including for their upcoming album, due next month.
“We had the songs ready, so we wanted to put it out while there was still buzz, and it’s got the potential to be our biggest yet.”
People Like Me and You will be the band’s fourth album, and features “a number of different flavours.
“We always have songs with straight-up indie rock focus, but there’s always slow songs and mellow moments.
“We also seem to have some dancier songs pop up, so there’s always a mix, but it still sounds like us.”
The album features a lot more production, he explains: “We are becoming a slightly different animal.
“There’s songs which have everything we’ve learned in the last ten years coming into one, and every single we’ve released the fans seem to get more excited.
“So there’ll be more synth and stuff like that, but we’ve still got that core of our guitar-driven sound.”
He says that there are many who don’t want too much evolution from certain bands: “People fall into two camps, purists and those who want to go on a bit of a journey with you.
“So we do it naturally; we don’t make a conscious effort to move too far away from what we were.
“We write as always, thrash it out, and then add whatever the song needs.”
The Sherlocks are appearing at Englefield House for Heritage Live on Saturday, July 22, with their fourth album, People Like Me & You, set for release on Friday, August 4.
The band is setting out on their latest UK tour in October, including dates at London’s Islington Assembly Hall and Southampton’s Engine Rooms, before touring Europe from late November.
Full details of tour dates and where to get tickets are available via: thesherlocksmusic.co.uk
Tickets to Heritage Live at Englefield House are available via: heritagelive.net
