“My fundamental focus as a guitar participant is writing one thing as sturdy as a melody,” Tender Play’s Laurie Vincent explains. Chatting to Guitar.com on an August night from a leopard print-covered sofa, the solar casts a golden stripe throughout his face. “Issues that actually encourage me are the Love Will Tear Us Aside bassline by Pleasure Division, or Seven Nation Military by The White Stripes.”

Regardless of having simply run round in Dad Mode settling his three kids down for the night time, he’s laid again and effortlessly cool, and talks about his music with a matter of reality confidence: That is what I’m good at, that is the form of guitarist I don’t wanna be, that is what we do greatest – that is how Tender Play function. Alongside vocalist and percussionist Isaac Holman, the duo know their inventive id inside out, and that’s why they’re solely going up.

Vincent’s strategy to guitar echoes simply this sentiment. He builds songs round artful earworm riffs, choosing affect and memorability versus extreme speedy runs that might impress way more fleetingly. “When the guitar half turns into the factor that somebody sings alongside to, I really feel such as you’ve then outmoded the guitar participant. You’ve made one thing that’s extra vital than only a riff,” he explains.

“I was actually excited by being technical and doing solos, nevertheless it didn’t give me a lot pleasure. I discover much more pleasure to find one thing that makes me excited to play and that’s actually recognisable. I believe you need one thing to simply smack folks within the face and also you need it to repeat of their head and get caught, and it’s in the end what I’m one of the best at doing.”

Comedian Timing

Too proper. You’ll discover this tactic throughout Tender Play’s discography, relationship proper again to hits that put them on the map akin to The Hunter from their 2015 album Are You Happy? and naturally on their new file Heavy Jelly, with belters akin to Mirror Muscular tissues, Act Violently – which hilariously explores the annoyance of E-scooters taking on UK cities and being pushed erratically on the pavements – and the comedic Bin Juice Catastrophe, all created on a backbone of such method.

The file debuted at quantity three on the UK album charts, nestling them simply beneath Eminem and Olivia Rodrigo, marking their highest charting album this far. It’s an enormous deal. Previous to this launch, the pair took a while off. They labored on different initiatives aside, they hadn’t been getting alongside attributable to exterior pressures and interior self-doubt, and each went via some extremely tough private losses. The pause was wanted to save lots of their friendship, they each agreed, and together with some remedy it labored. With a brand new band identify (their formal moniker of Slaves was “supposed solely as a reference to the grind of everyday life”, however attributable to its detrimental connotations, they modified it in 2022), they conjured up an album that’s satirical, sassy and a brilliantly enjoyable pay attention.

“We took cost of every thing creatively, all of the concepts for the singles and all of the writing. We had somebody who directed the art work facet of issues, however we had been actually concerned with each single inventive resolution,” he says. “I really feel actually vindicated that we all know what’s good for our band. In flip, what we’ve made has been so effectively obtained.”

Click on Observe

Given their time away, you could assume it will have taken some time for Vincent and Holman to get again into the swing of constructing music collectively, nevertheless it seems they’ve a synergy that by no means burns out. For this file, many of the tracks didn’t fairly click on until they had been in the identical room. “I seen on this album that lots of the stuff I used to be writing individually perhaps didn’t at all times fly,” Vincent explains.

“After we had been within the room collectively, I’d give you one thing that he instantly preferred. I’ve written all of the riffs within the studio with him current, and I believe that was fairly a brand new factor. It made me really feel just like the power that we create once we’re collectively is supercharged, and there’s some kind of vibration that we each tune into that is aware of what our band is about.”

Although principally self-taught, Vincent managed to crack the guitar due to a trainer he had referred to as Chris. Right this moment, they’re nonetheless in contact. “He’s simply put me on to one among his present college students who’s like our greatest fan, in order that’s fairly cool. He sat with me for 5 minutes and I might play [Oasis’] Wonderwall by the tip of that 5 minutes, whereas each different lesson I’d had, it was rather more like, ‘this can be a observe’ or ‘that is tablature’ and my mind couldn’t take it in. He minimize all of that out and was like, ‘we will return to that later. Simply put your fingers right here and play.’”

Right this moment, Vincent says he nonetheless dances round a fretboard to seek out the sounds he’s listening to in his head. He navigates our instrument via ear and instinct. “Considered one of my favorite inspirations is Greg Ginn in Black Flag, he simply performs tonnes of improper notes however the best way he performs his guitar is so aggressive and so visceral.” He provides, “I fairly like the truth that persons are saying ‘I’ve discovered to play guitar via your band as a result of it’s straightforward sufficient to be taught.’ I believe there’s an actual magic in that.”

On The Gear

Vincent’s rig is simple sufficient to recreate too, with most songs counting on simply 4 fundamental components – fuzz, distortion, an octave and a refrain pedal. He’s notably keen on his Woodcutter – a distortion by boutique model Huge Ear – however other than that, there’s not a lot fuss concerned. He principally begins all songs on acoustic guitar, and doesn’t faff with a crowded pedalboard.

“On this album, I’ve simply adopted intuitively what feels good in my intestine. I principally cared much less about what [specific music] scenes need from folks,” he shares. “In the end, I’ve landed on utilizing a Jackson. They supplied me a V [a Pro Series Rhoads RRT-5], then they mentioned I might preserve it… It stayed in tune rather well and it regarded aggressive, and I used to be like, ‘wow, I assumed I form of needed to play a Fender as a result of that was what indie or punk bands did.’ It simply appears just like the form of guitar I needed once I was a child.”

As for the tone on Heavy Jelly, Vincent says that lots of its songs are “only a distortion into an amp”:

“On Act Violently, we actually plugged the guitar right into a preamp. I had a tuner, guitar preamp, and [went] straight in, it was simply fuzzed out. That was it. I like that guitar tone.”

He provides, “It’s extra like, ‘what can I get out of the gear?’ Slightly than making an attempt to make use of the gear to seek out stuff. I’m making an attempt to make my life a bit extra easy. I’ve at all times believed that the tone and expression of a guitarist is of their arms, and I could make any guitar sound like me. I believe that’s the fantastic thing about taking part in guitar.”

Talking of magnificence, there’s one other instrument in step with guitar that makes for a somewhat poignant providing on Heavy Jelly – a mandolin. Vincent was listening to The Pogues and The Waterboys within the 12 months working as much as the studio, and in flip went on an impulsive quest for a mandolin. “Somebody lent us one and I instantly wrote this track referred to as Heavy Jelly, which hasn’t come out. However then I additionally wrote All the pieces and Nothing.”

All the pieces and Nothing is the closing observe on the album, one which displays on the band’s journey up to now – the folks they’ve cherished and misplaced, the sweetness and chaos of being alive. It’s an oxymoronic, bittersweet ballad that places the mushy in Tender Play. “It was like the primary or second factor I ever labored out on a mandolin, and never with the ability to discover any chord shapes is actually enjoyable since you play it in a totally completely different manner. I’ve not too long ago received a banjo and I’m going via the identical factor,” Vincent provides.

Dwell Wires

Vincent’s going to have loads of course to showcase his Jackson – and his mandolin – in a stay setting. They’ve simply performed an enormous set at BludFest, Yungblud’s new budget-friendly day competition, and have a UK headline stint lined up this October. The Heavy Jelly period is simply getting began.

“I really feel just like the time that we had away has highlighted that there’s an actual hole for a band like us to exist,” he states. “I really feel so good about this album and the best way that persons are receiving it. It’s not uber political nevertheless it’s about coming collectively and having enjoyable. I actually assume that this album might journey up to now.”

So, what can listeners be taught from a file that shouts about bin juice and reckless E-scooter drivers? Much more than you would possibly first assume: “It’s genuine and it will probably encourage different folks to be genuine. It’s not essentially designed for folks to adore it, it’s designed for us to precise ourselves in our purest type. I believe once you see folks doing that it’s infectious,” shares Vincent. “It appears like a mission assertion in being your self.”