The Vaselines: Sex With An X, Track-By-Track

Although formed in the mid 80s, <b>The Vaselines</b> would become a heavyweight cult concern in the decades to follow. Founders <b>Eugene Kelly</b> and <b>Frances McKee</b> were a romantic item, and when they split, so did the band. Twenty years on, they're back with a new album, the playfully titled <i>Sex With An X</i>. Here Eugene (with suitably cheeky interjections from Frances) talks us through the it

Feature by Paul Mitchell | 01 Sep 2010

 

Eugene: We've been trying to ascertain over the past two years whether or not we could do this and if we could work together. We didn't want to end up as a nostalgic 'heritage' band going out there and playing one album for the rest of our lives. Because the fame of the band really happened after we broke up, we're getting to enjoy what we missed out on twenty years ago. The fans have been waiting quite a while and it's been great because we've got an audience now. Before, there really wasn't one.

We just knew we wanted to make a record that people would identify as The Vaselines – keeping the songs simple, not too many chords, repetition; we didn't want to expand the sound. Lyrically, we try to say something interesting and also be amusing; we took a bit of time with that.

Ruined
It's about the rock 'n' roll cliché, the rock 'n' roll victim. The people who think they have to walk the walk, take drink and drugs and live a certain lifestyle to be rock 'n' roll. We've had a bit of that in our life but we've never been victims in that we didn't get hooked on any of it. It's not about anyone in particular but just people in the last couple of years, some big celebrity drug-takers and their like. We're saying 'don't fall for it!

Sex with an X
Honestly, this is not about anyone in particular either. All the songs are about our experiences in life, but we try to keep it general, and also people guessing. We had Feel So Good [a lyric from the song] as a working title for a while and then Frances suggested that we should have a title track. We wanted it to be this song so changed the title to make it a little more noticeable. It's about giving in to temptation really, or thinking about certain people 'Wow, they're so great, there must be something wrong with them' or 'If I feel so great, something bad is definitely going to happen to me.'

Frances: I think the lyrics are pretty explicit on this one. Anything that feels good surely is bad for you? Especially the idea of...eek...sex with an ex. Is this autobiographical? Well, that is really between Eugene and I...but in the interests of my marriage I should say it's all complete fabrication, just a story.
 
Devil Inside of Me
E: It's about doing bad things and then blaming it on something else. We used the man downstairs as a metaphor for this. Frances decided not to give The Devil a gender, because along with God, who knows what gender they would be? We went for trying to sound a bit like The Cramps, or Nick Cave; slowed down and with an 'Evil' atmosphere.

F: We all have that nasty bit inside if us. No matter how hard you try, it returns – bigger and better.

Such a Fool
E: Frances is responsible for most of the lyrics on this and she said it's about meeting the right person at the wrong time or the wrong person at the 'right' time. We all meet people and in alternative circumstances things could be a whole lot different.

F: No, he's got it all wrong! Do you know when you are completely smitten by someone, can't get enough of them? Could eat them? And then you stop, come to your senses and realise it wasn't worth all that trouble? That's what the song is about and feeling like a fool for ever having had those feelings in the first place

Turning It On

E: This one is the closest on the album to the whole Lee Hazlewood / Nancy Sinatra thing for us, which is what we were trying to go for; with twangy guitar, Duane Eddy style. Frances did the lyrics on this one too and I think it's coming from a similar angle to Such a Fool. I helped with the chorus so it is another track whereby you don't know if it's a love song or not.

F: Yes, meeting the right person at the wrong time, but being tempted anyway and knowing that it's not worth the effort as it will always turn out like the theme of the previous song.

Overweight But Over You

E: It's about trying to cure a broken heart by going to the fridge and eating lots of cake. I went through that a couple of years ago and I ate myself better. But then you put on a tonne of weight, so you feel better but you look shit and then start feeling rubbish again. You have to look after the mind as well as the body. I think there's nothing wrong with being overweight, especially if that's what you do to get out of a heartbreaking situation.

Poison Pen
E: A couple – it could be any couple, it's not specifically about us – are having an argument and each is blaming the other person for what's gone wrong. I think in any situation like that, who's to blame for what's going wrong in the relationship can be difficult to work out. In this track it's just the pair of them, they're both to blame and they're just having a good dig at each other.

F: This is apparently not autobiographical? Could have fooled me! Yes, a couple having an argument. They have of course split up, so it’s more like reminiscence.

I Hate the 80s

E: That is just our comment on nostalgia. In the last couple of years there's been a big return to the 80s in music and fashion – and politics now because we've got the Tories back. People are looking back with rose-tinted – or should that be dayglo – glasses and we're just saying that there were lots of things that were really crap. Duran Duran [name checked in the track] were on the ocean surrounded by beautiful women while we were growing up in the East End of Glasgow. It had nothing to do with what we and our friends were into – we weren't exactly swanning about with silk suits on.

Mouth to Mouth
E: A person, needing some love or attention is faking a heart attack to try and get some lip action. It was originally called Kissing With A K but we changed it to this title so that people would realise what we were singing. It's really difficult to sing Mouth to Mouth to Mouth.... repetitively and quickly.

Whitechapel

E: We both wrote what we sing on this and when I described it to her I suggested it had to be dark. I wanted to conjure up images of Jack the Ripper and foggy paranoia. You don't know what's happening as you walk down the lane late at night, is somebody going to jump you? There's a creepy feel to it.

My God's Bigger Than Your God

E: Everybody seems to be fighting over whose god is the real god and whose doesn't exist and we're just saying that our god is Rock 'N' Roll and it's the best god in the world. We imagined what it would be like if all the gods gathered together in a wrestling match and each had to give a big rant to the camera saying what he was going to do to the other god; before they get in a ring to kick the shit out of each other.

Exit The Vaselines

E: This one is still a bit of a mystery to us. We wrote the lyrics in the studio, just before we had to sing them. As you write those words you try to make sense of them and I think it's like the book The Lovely Bones where the girl who died is looking down and commenting on everything that's been happening.

F: This is the phoenix rising from the ashes... the vampire rising with the moon... The Vaselines returning to say Goodbye.

 

Sex With An X is released 14 Sep on Sub Pop

http://www.thevaselines.co.uk