Clockworks’ latest EP captures daily dramas

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

The Clockworks are a cracking Galway-based quartet who specialise in guitar-driven songs that evoke bands like The Strokes, The Stranglers and Franz Ferdinand. They have just released their latest EP At The Greasy Spoon, and will follow this up with two concerts at the Róisín Dubh on Thursday, September 6, and Saturday, October 13.

The Clockworks are James McGregor, Seán Conneely, Damien Greaney and Tom Freeman. To record their latest batch of songs, the band went to Belfast to work with producer Rocky O’Reilly.

“I think Rocky effectively brought out the best in us, but he wasn’t overbearing,” says lead singer and guitarist James of the experience. “We’re quite particular with a lot of things, soundwise.  But he had lots of suggestions and was very creative, and understanding.  He could bring an effect in the mix, or in the recording technique, that we wouldn’t have thought of. There’s a nice relationship there when you feel like you can trust each other and give each other suggestions. And take them or leave them, but just keep them coming.”

James’s lyrics provide a vivid picture of going out, going to work, struggling to pay the bills and negotiating the occasional hangover. In some ways, The Clockworks’ songs chime with the sentiment of Blur’s second album, which was called Modern Life is Rubbish.

“I wish that could have been one of our album titles, I’ve always been jealous of that one!” James laughs.

The singer’s nine-to-five sees him working in a café in Galway city centre, but his songwriting ear is never switched off.

“As much as I can, I have a little notebook with me – I actually have it here now,” he says.  “It’s just a small one, and a pen, that I bring with me everywhere I go. Obviously, at work, I’ll jot it down on a docket or a tissue.  I find it impossible to retain a line for a day – no matter how good or bad it may be, so I just write them all down straight away.  You’re working away, but once you write it down you can flesh out the idea from there.”

Rumours In the Stockroom is a Clockworks tune that’s worth seeking out. Anyone who’s ever worked in retail or the hospitality industry will knock a kick out of the lyrics, and it’s a song that the band have gotten a good response to.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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