We’re all about supporting new and young local talent, and we’ve been keen to speak with Edinburgh’s No Windows for some time. With a new EP, crammed full of melodic vocals and shifting musical landscapes, and a bucketload of shows looming, including support slots for Honeyblood, there’s no better time to catch up with Morgan Morris (multi-instrumentalist) and Verity Slangen (vocalist).
Your Point Nemo EP is out 3rd May. It contains ‘Song 01’, one of our favourite songs of the year so far. How are you feeling about it?
MM: Thanks! We’re feeling pretty great about it at the minute. We’ve been sitting on these songs for a long while now so it’s really great to release them into the world. It means we can think about the next thing, while also rediscovering the excitement for the songs that was there when we made them.
With a few songs already released, how does it feel having this real-time feedback from fans before the full release is available?
MM: It’s pretty nice. I guess it would be a lot more daunting if they were all to come out at once since we wouldn’t have a gauge for how well the songs are received. I’m glad the songs are all having their own time to shine before the full EP comes out; I think they’ve earned it.
The production of the songs released so far has taken a real step forward. Is this something you’ve focused on with the release?
MM: I don’t think we necessarily focused on it more than anything else – I think we just got better at it in the time between our debut and now. I think we also widened our taste a lot when it comes to production. We’re really inspired by the production styles of people like Jon Brion and Andrew Sarlo.
‘Bicycle’ and ‘Small Flashing Light’ are still to be released from the EP; can you tell us a bit about them?
MM: Those are the most sombre tracks on the EP. ‘Bicycle’ is definitely our ballad and has been around for ages in a few different versions. ‘Small Flashing Light’ is the most recent song on the EP. It’s a platonic love song and features an ethereal vocal choir, luscious harmony, and heartfelt melodies.
You released the Fishboy EP last year. How do you feel Point Nemo stands in comparison with that?
MM: I reckon Point Nemo is a bit better. Fish Boy was almost like a lab experiment. Like, could we possibly write five songs… and could we possibly put them together on an EP? The answer was yes, but we really didn’t know what we were doing. But that’s part of its charm! I think we’ve really taken our time with this one and learned a lot, as well as changing and growing up as people, and we hope that comes through!
You’re supporting Honeyblood as they tour the 10th anniversary of their debut record. Are you excited for that?
VS: Yeah, absolutely, I can’t wait! I think it’ll be so fun to do! I love that album and I can’t wait to hear it live, and the Glasgow date is already sold out which is insane.
Is reaching that sort of landmark as a band something you aim for?
VS: Oh absolutely, it’s hard to think ten years down the line as I have no idea where we will be… But releasing a debut album is definitely something I can’t wait to do.
How do you approach support slots in comparison with your own gig – any differences?
VS: In a way, I just kind of see it as a taster of our headline gigs, as we usually pick the songs that have come out most recently. Whereas when we do headlines, we like to throw older songs and covers in! There’s definitely less pressure as well, which is nice.
Of course, it’s not just the Honeyblood shows: you have a show at Third Man Records in London, festivals, and you support Slow Pulp in June. How are you feeling about the next few months?
VS: We are both so excited! It will be so fun, but I think I can speak for us both when we say we are a bit nervous as well, as the most gigs we have done in a row is three. It will take a while to get used to doing that many gigs consistently. But I am definitely more excited than nervous, I think it’ll be amazing.
Without wishing your life away, is there anything you can say about future releases or what comes after summer?
VS: Hmmm. I honestly haven’t really thought past summer… we have a few gigs lined up but I think the main focus will be writing and working on our sound again. But at the moment we are definitely taking it one month at a time.
The Point Nemo EP was released on 3rd May
Main Photo Credit: Rosie Sco
