On Supercaan’s introspective second album, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’, the band come face to face with their biggest anxieties for the world. “It’s about the things you look at in society, things that worry us about bringing kids up in this world, and what we are leaving behind for future generations,” says lyricist Tom Whitfield.
In a time where society feels increasingly fragile, polarising and detached, the five-piece’s sophomore offering attempts to make sense of a world where we don’t have all the answers. “We wanted this album to feel like there was something cutting through to the listener,” adds Tom.
The independent band – based in London, Birmingham, North Shields and Denbighshire, Wales – is made up of Greg Milner (vocals), Tom Whitfield (lyrics), Stuart White (drums), Justin Januszewski (bass) and Ralph Frost (guitar). Originally starting out as a trio in 2003 with Greg, Tom and another close friend who all met at university, it wasn’t until 2013 that Supercaan formed as we know it today.
It all started with an email Greg sent to Tom following an 2-year band hiatus: “I want to write an album. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, I don’t know who’s going to do it. But that’s what I want to do.”
That was the start of Supercaan, a band name inspired by provocative British author J.G. Ballard’s dark thriller ‘Super-Cannes’. Taking inspiration from groups like Canadian indie collective Broken Social Scene and late ‘90s Nottingham rockers Six By Seven, Supercaan refined their ambitious sound to one that pairs anthemic indie-rock and soaring electronic landscapes, strewn with bubbling, nostalgic synths.
Propelled by Greg’s sonorous, ruminative vocals, the result is a brooding sound big enough for the weighty questions each song tackles. “We ask ourselves how big and bold can we go in that space of a four to five-minute indie-pop song,” Tom says. “We’ve always liked artists that have made albums where it feels like you don’t want to skip a track because it’s all part of a story. That’s what we’ve tried to do with Supercaan.”
Their 2019 self-titled debut album explored a pool of abstract ideas – from society’s imperfections and false memories to warped perspectives and insomnia – which saw Greg and Tom experimenting with samplers and synthesisers to create sprawling, multi-layered sonic vistas. The rousing stadium-sized lead single ‘The Bull’ earned recognition from BBC Radio 6, described by broadcaster Tom Robinson as “motoring, atmospheric psychedelia”. While the sensitive, swirling ‘The Great North Eastern’ made Spotify’s ‘Fresh Finds’ playlist.
Returning three years later with their second album, the band started working on ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ in the first lockdown in March 2020. “The Dropbox folder was poppin’!” Greg jokes. By November that year, the group were able to get into the studio in Birmingham to record their individual parts. “Recording on our own gave us more time to really focus on the sound we were bringing to the album, from start to finish,” Greg adds. “We all knew the story the album was trying to tell.”
As Supercaan enter a new era, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ offers perspective in a time that has left so many of us jaded. In an elusive search for the answers, Supercaan unearths their biggest, boldest sound yet.
Today XS Noize is pleased to exclusively premiere the video for ‘Belligerents’ the 2nd single taken from the new album by Supercaan ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ – Watch BELOW:
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