SHEARS: Under the Influence

Destiny's Child – Writing's On the Wall
[Columbia, 1999]
This album was one of my favourites for singing to when I was growing up and accompanies a few good memories. I had a group singing class at university and we were meant to prepare a ‘wordy’ song. For whatever reason, we had all forgotten to do this. Thankfully I still knew every single word to Bug a Boo so pulled that out the bag and got kudos for being the ‘only one to prepare’. And yes, I listened while writing this, and yes, I still know every word.

Christina Aguilera – Stripped
[RCA, 2002]
I used to spend hours in my room as a 10/11-year-old trying to perfect all the runs and melismatic sequences. Of course, as a 10-year-old, it wasn’t great(!), and I remember complaining to my mum about not getting it right. But it certainly laid the foundation for the future and how I approach songwriting for vocals, even if what I write now is a little more laid-back.

BANKS – Goddess
[Harvest Records, 2014]
I think I’ve seen BANKS play every time she’s been in Scotland – before I had a sound of my own I always wanted to do something like this album. My favourite track is Waiting Game, I used to play it live when I played gigs with just me and my piano. The term ‘warmth’ can be quite abstract in music, but the synths and bass in this track are exactly that, especially towards the end – I love it.

Tove Lo – Queen of the Clouds
[Island Records, 2014]
I’ve been influenced by Tove Lo since this album came out. Her work is everywhere as a songwriter, especially in pop music, so her influence spreads across the industry. I remember watching an interview with her talking about creating little productions of these songs before she took them to her collaborators, and me in 2014 (never having produced anything then) thought that was so cool, and I wished I could do that. I have a signed CD of this album!

FKA Twigs – M3LL155X
[Young, 2015]
I admire artists that are experimental with their work and aren’t afraid of sounding different to everyone else. There’s a close and personal vulnerability in Twigs’ voice that completely contrasts with the bold, dense production – it’s almost eerie. I used to listen to this EP over and over trying to figure out how all of the sounds were chosen and put together, before I started producing myself. I had no idea!

Grimes – Art Angels
[4AD, 2015]
I think Grimes was the first female producer creating from home that hit my radar. The album sounds massive, whilst remaining quirky and industrial and with so many strange noises. I think hearing Art Angels was the point I realised that you really could put any sound in a song that you wanted, and it can still sound like a song, and people will still listen to it. I don’t think I realised that was an option before.

Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song
[Smalltown Supersound, 2020]
This album really helped influence my textures in production, how to create an atmosphere without too many sounds, and how to build on it. Melt! is my favourite – hearing that track live was very cool. It definitely made me a little pickier with the sounds I choose on my own songs.

MARINA – Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land
[Atlantic Records, 2021]
We were in the middle of COVID when this album came out. Hearing such politically charged, feminist lyrics, especially at that time, made me think about my own writing and inspired me not to be afraid to say what I thought in my own songs. Writers like MARINA definitely gave me more confidence in the topics I broached when it came to lyrics.

Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
[Fiction Records, 2021]
There’s an honesty in this album that is quite rare to find. When you write songs, you’re usually supposed to keep it quite abstract when questioning social norms, especially in pop music, but this album starts from the very specific and very personal. I’m obviously not the only person to latch onto this, and this has definitely influenced my lyric writing – don’t be afraid to say what you’re actually thinking, as there will be hordes of people who feel exactly the same.

Bicep – Isles
[Ninja Tune, 2021]
I really admire Bicep’s production as a whole – the tiny changes from bar to bar that you’re not really supposed to notice, but they keep your ear interested. I would listen through a song of theirs just focusing on one element, maybe only the kick drum, just to see how it changed throughout the song – there’s always more going on than you first think.

---

WE ARE BUT CHEMICALS is released on 10 Oct; SHEARS plays Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 4 Oct; The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 26 Nov