Our resident Irish music expert’s favourite up-and-coming band – that’s TOUCAN, in case you were wondering – are back with a brand new 3-track EP. Here’s his verdict.
TOUCAN’s So Easy to Love You EP is one of the most instantaneous and uplifting projects I’ve had the pleasure of getting my ears around in recent weeks. I stuck it on repeat the morning it came out with the view to writing something about it, but I got slightly lost in its silky smooth guitar riffs and funky bass lines – oh, and please don’t get me started on the brass hooks peppered through the tracks or I will never stop.
I’m aware, though, that there’s only so much that one humble reviewer can tell you about the new EP. So, I thought, who better for the job than the man who wrote it?
That’s why I had to grab TOUCAN‘s creative force, Conor Clancy, for a chat about the roots of the So Easy to Love You EP; Irishness; his favourite new music; and a hell of a lot more…
So, TOUCAN’s Conor Clancy, what have the band been up to in the 18 months between their debut EP and this new release?
Conor: ‘Has it been that long? Hahaha, Jesus. We were getting fairly busy to be fair! Right after we released that EP in 2018, we played Other Voices, and we did a big end of year show in Waterford’s Theatre Royal (where I’m from). Then, after that, we did a small tour of Cork, London, and Dublin. All three of those shows sold out, and then it was like someone turned on a tap and the gigs just kept coming in and getting progressively more outrageous.
‘We did the Trinity Ball; supported Nile Rodgers & CHIC; we opened up for The Average White Band at the Royal Albert Hall; played a bunch of festivals in Ireland; we opened up for Durand Jones & The Indications at the Southbank Centre; and finished the Summer with the biggest crowd we’ve ever played to at Electric Picnic in the Electric Arena tent.
‘By that stage, we had already started recording the new EP and spent September and October working on the mixing of it. We’ve just done a string of shows within the last months or so and that brings us to now!
Let me cut to the case here: So Easy to Love You’s opening track, Another Lover, is catchy as hell.
You’re hooked instantly; the opening riff gives me vibes of a retro racing game and will get stuck in your head for days.
(You will, in fact, end up humming said riff around the house for quite a long time after you first listen to it. Much to the annoyance of your housemates. Ahem.)
The song itself tells a story of not being taken for a ride in a relationship anymore and getting out on your own terms. Sure, this is a departure from TOUCAN’s usually happy and bouncy tunes; but, that’s not to say that’s a bad thing at all. Here’s Conor on how Another Lover is a departure from the music we’re used to seeing from TOUCAN:
Conor: ‘I was in a bit of a writing frenzy when that one came out, so there were a lot of styles happening for me. We had gotten a lot of feedback from industry heads that the music was “too happy” and it needed more of an edge to it.
‘I didn’t mind that so much, because there’s a lot of stuff in that kind of tone that really excites me; so, it was just a matter of channeling the energy towards that for a while.
‘I was just trying to keep it within the ‘voice’ of what TOUCAN is. I write a lot of stuff in that kind of style anyway, so it didn’t feel like a departure; but, I felt like we had to prioritise that side of the sound because the only other song that we wrote that was ‘dark’ in some way was Gold. It was just a matter of making sure that this piece of the band was showcased in this EP.
From that, we’re back to classic TOUCAN with the arrival of the second track, Honey.
Kicking off with some triumphant brass and a typically upbeat first verse, this track doesn’t stop building as it powers towards the chorus. There are some rather delicious guitar licks and percussive brass notes that spring to the forefront as it flows along; then, by the time we arrive at the bridge, the track is stripped right back again and is just tender vocals, soft brass, and very jazzy piano. It is, in a word, marvellous.
Oh, and let’s face it: if you claim that this track hasn’t got you dancing by this point then you’re just lying to yourself.
Now, I’ve got some awfully sad news for you, dear reader.
We have, unfortunately, arrived at the final track from the EP. (All together now… Awwww.)
Luckily, if you ask me, they’ve saved the best for last. Warm Morning Light sounds how a Sunday morning should feel. It’s super-chilled, laid back and without a care in the world. Just like every other track on this album, it’s filled with funky instrumentation and sick vocals; but, to me, something about this track just seems to stand out. One can just imagine lying in bed early on a Sunday morning, having a cup of tea and listening to this track.
Sounds ideal, doesn’t it?
Want to get some more goss on all things TOUCAN?
Well, I’ve got some good news for you. At the end of the interview, I managed to corner Conor for a cheeky round of One on One‘s notorious Quickfire Questions feature. Check it out:
Conor on the beginnings of the band and what is on the horizon:
‘It all started kind of accidentally. I was writing loads of tunes when I was in college and the best ones survived and the terrible ones didn’t. I showed them to a friend of mine, and we were talking about how they could work. We spent ages working on the first single, recording different drafts of it and stuff like that. I was spending loads of time in Cork and just becoming friends with loads of amazing musicians, many of whom became the band. When we eventually got around to releasing it, there seemed to be a pretty big excitement about it, so we got straight to recording an EP!
‘In relation to the next few months, we’re just at the end of a very intense few months between getting the new EP ready for release, travelling to the states to play in NYC and playing shows in Ireland and the UK, I think we’re ready for a bit of a rest. It’s time to let the dust settle, take stock of everything, get creative and organise everything for 2020.
What sort of stuff are you guys listening to in the studio for inspiration?
‘For most of the stuff we’ve put out, I was going for a kind of KC & The Sunshine Band vibe; The Emotions, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, etc. I just love the way they wrote their tunes. For a lot of the newer stuff that I’m writing, I’m listening to loads of HAIM and The 1975, but that’s stuff I’m still working on. I think the main thing I was listening to when I wrote Another Lover was Jungle: I was obsessed with their new album over the summer.
Conor on how much being from Ireland has affected what he’s doing:
‘Hmm. I’m not actually sure. I guess that hyper-humility that a lot of Irish people have tends to come out a bit. I find myself saying thanks a lot. We just played the Academy in Dublin and I was talking to some people afterward and they were saying I didn’t have to say thanks so much; like, they wanted to be there, and I didn’t need to show so much gratitude. So maybe that’s something? I just feel lucky to be doing this and end up thanking everyone like ten times.
Dream venue?
‘To headline the Main Stage at Electric Picnic has always been a big one for me.
Favourite artist coming out of Ireland (or anyone not on our radars yet that we should be excited about)?
‘There’s so, so, so many. Crome Yellow are seriously groovy.
And, finally: the best gig you’ve been to this year?
‘It was at Electric Picnic this year; Christine & The Queens totally stole the show for me. They were on in the early evening at the Main Stage – it was by far the best show I saw for the whole weekend.
