Spotlight On... Jill Lorean

Alongside Andy Monaghan (Frightened Rabbit) and Peter Kelly (The Kills, Jonnie Common), Jill O’Sullivan (Sparrow and the Workshop, Bdy_Prts) is gearing up to release This Rock, the debut album from Jill Lorean. Due out this Friday 1 April via Monaghan’s own Monohands Records label, This Rock is the impressively hypnotic follow-up to the Glasgow-based band's 2020 lockdown EP, Not Your First. We shine a spotlight on the band and catch up with O’Sullivan to find out more.

The Skinny: How did the three of you end up getting together to create Jill Lorean?
Jill O'Sullivan: I’d worked on various projects with both Andy and Pete in the past; they’re pals who happen to be extraordinarily good musicians. Andy had recorded a project of mine with Sean Cumming called Do the Gods Speak Esperanto. I really liked his approach to recording and production, which is open-minded, experimental and conscientious, so when I had a few ideas knocking around my head it made sense to go into Andy’s studio and try them out.

I also worked with Peter on a few different projects including Bdy_Prts, and a left-field modern dance project (Brewband) we worked on a few years back, and I was aware he is a brilliant drummer. Quite creative and emotionally responsive, exciting really. His style of drumming seemed perfect for this project.

This Rock sounds really rather big – what was it like working on this record? Were your usual processes affected by the pandemic?
It was really fun to work on this record. We recorded a lot of it live in a big room with mics that Andy had scattered everywhere (I banged my head off a couple more than once), so it very much was a band playing in a room together. We then added overdubs afterwards as appropriate, but overall tried not to play to a click track and keep things as lively as possible.

The pandemic didn’t really affect our process too much because we waited until it was safe to all be in a room together, and then we tried to take advantage of those moments by recording as much as possible as quickly as possible. We were probably bolstered by the fact we were all allowed in a room together, and hadn’t played out loud for quite some time before that, so if anything our previous confinement manifested in extra-energetic takes. 

Both nature and motherhood are two key themes of the album – can you tell us more about how these themes became your main inspiration for the record?
Yes. I have occasionally heard it muttered in the creative world, or whatever you want to call it, that when you have children you lose your mojo or your creative zeal. I can understand the myriad reasons why that may be the case, and I was a bit terrified that would be the case for me too; I gave my guitars an imaginary funeral in my head as I watched my belly grow. But I was surprised to find that I still wanted to sing and play instruments and write songs and make music, even if I had a lot less time for it.

The lengthy walks around parks and along embankments picking up leaves and looking for worms with my daughter sort of jump-started my creativity. I think before having her I didn’t stop to look at my surroundings quite so much. It’s embarrassing to admit but it’s true. And I found a lot of inspiration in those long, slow walks around rose gardens or under cherry blossom trees. I had time to think and maybe gain a connection to nature I previously lacked.

I was also able to look at things through a child’s eye, open-minded and questioning. Questions that have both simple and incredibly complex answers. Why is the moon pink? What is war? But also it got me thinking about what it would have been like for my own mother and grandmother growing up, having kids, suffering various heartbreaks and losses throughout their lives. So a lot of the lyrics in This Rock are inspired by nature, women, my experience of motherhood and my love for my own mother and the women in my life. 

I love the quote from you in the album's press release about how you want people to listen to the music and feel slightly disturbed by it. What’s the reasoning behind that and do you feel like you’ve achieved what you set out to do?
I’m glad you like that quote, Tallah. I was worried that maybe I was a bit clumsy with my choice of words. On reflection, I think that what I was getting at was that, as a music listener, I like to listen actively to music and be surprised by what I’m hearing. I am dubious of computer algorithms that try to give me what they think I want to hear and force a passive sort of listening on me.

Maybe when I’m exercising I actually want to listen to opera, not the theme tune to Rocky (sometimes I do wanna hear that though). Maybe I’d like to be somewhat surprised or completely flattened by a song regardless of my mood. And I think that’s all I really meant. And if someone listening [to Jill Lorean] is surprised or stirred in some way by what they hear then that would be lovely. Ultimately, though, I’m aware it’s not right for me to tell other people how to engage with music and I’ll be grateful to whomever’s ears find This Rock regardless of their relationship to the songs or how they got there. 

The album is out this Friday – what does the rest of 2022 hold for Jill Lorean?
There will be an album launch on 28 May and the whole gang will be playing. Ali Sha Sha and Raveloe will be supporting and it’ll be fun. Do come out. Beyond that, hopefully MORE FULL-BAND gigs and more writing and another album after that.

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This Rock is released on 1 Apr via Monohands Records
Jill Lorean play The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 28 May

jilllorean.bandcamp.com