Collectively, 2024 has been a tough year for the world, but that doesn’t mean individuals or groups cannot enjoy a tremendous 12 months. Glasgow band Dead Pony released their debut album, toured extensively and, even though there were some ups and downs, have a massive tour to round the year off in style.
SNACK caught up with singer and co-songwriter Anna Shields to discuss tours, self-production, festivals, and more.
Your debut album, Ignore This, has been out for over 6 months. What are your thoughts on it now?
When we released the album, I was sick of it! We had been anticipating having it out for so long but releasing it and playing the songs on tour over the summer, we fell back in love with it. I’m so excited for the December tour – we’re going to play a bunch of album tracks. I do love it; it feels like a nice body of work.
Any song you’re particularly proud of, or any track that has evolved through playing live or even through public reaction?
I feel a song that has really evolved is ‘MK Nothing’. We started playing that live in December 2021, before it had been recorded. Then we recorded it, released it in June 2022, and since then, it has developed a whole other meaning as to what the song was written about. Also, the live performance has developed so much. When we used to sing it, I didn’t really jump about much and now, there’s a whole taekwondo choreographed middle section.
The band self-produced Ignore This. How did you come to that decision, and how was the process?
We came to that decision because we’re skint! All musicians of our level are skint and honestly, we couldn’t afford to work with a big producer and hire a big studio. There was a practical sense around it but also, we wanted to change up our sound, and me and Blair [Crichton, guitarist, co-songwriter, producer] felt we were the only two who understood how we wanted the album to sound.
You’ve played TRNSMT three years in a row. Does this mean they’re now legally obliged to bring you back every year?
I think you’re supposed to play one year and not come back the following, but somehow, we’ve ended up playing three years in a row. It would be a bit ridiculous if we got asked four years in a row, but who knows? It’s always nice to play a Glasgow festival.
Last date of the tour, and year, at Glasgow QMU – there can’t be many better ways to end a year?
I feel the QMU is such a huge achievement for us. Two years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to sell out a 100-capacity venue in Glasgow, and here we are: we’ve almost sold out a 900-capacity place in the QMU. That’s crazy to me. We’re going to do a lot of album stuff, a bunch of older songs, and we have a new song we played for the first time in Manchester a week ago – ‘Everything Burns’. That went down well, and it’s probably our heaviest song yet.
And the December tour is going to be a big party, isn’t it?
I feel December is the month to party and drink away the sorrows of crappy weather, dark mornings and evenings, but I’m excited for the tour. Our best friends in the world, Gallus and Soapbox, are coming on tour with us. It’ll be a two-week party where we play good gigs.
Dead Pony play Glasgow QMU on 13th December. Tickets here.
All photos by Euan Robertson
