2. FeltThe Splendour Of Fear
I’m just the biggest Felt fan. I was living in Windsor and I had a little Citroën 2CV, and I’d cram my friends in and we’d drive to Felt gigs all over the country. It’s the only group I became a real completist about – I had everything that they ever put out. And Splendour Of Fear is quite funny, really. Some of the lyrics are just hilarious. It’s just so grand and ethereal and cosmic. Maurice Deebank on guitar is incredible – much of it is centered around his playing. I did a track with him, actually. I brought him in, because I was such a fan of his guitar playing, to play on a Saint Etienne track called ‘Paper’. I love Lawrence’s voice, which hasn’t changed, really. It’s still all there. He’s genuinely eccentric. I know him well, now. He’s a very, very funny man, Lawrence. I knew he’d be very deadpan but he’s so funny, and he’s a real perfectionist and gets very deeply involved in every aspect of his work. Which is just like Saint Etienne, in that we’re very particular about how we’re put across. It doesn’t make any sense to me to make a record and then let someone else go and do what they want with how you’re presented. My favourite track on the album is ‘The Stagnant Pool’ which has these grand, flighty, surreal lyrics. Wonderful.
