UV-TV have just released their glorious third album Always Something. It’s a joy, just in time for the sun to come out and for everyone to get together and have a dance, but as well as that, it’s a ray of sunshine in the most metaphorical sense. Pairing infectious melodies with introspective, often slightly heavier topics, Always Something is a delicious cocktail of an album. We caught up with vocalist Rose Vastola to talk it through.
Always Something might be sonically sunny – Rose describes herself as “an optimistic person for better or worse” – but it does go to some dark places. “I find this dichotomy of heavy subject matter sung over a happy sounding track to be really interesting. Maybe this is a trope we come back to again and again. I actually think this contradiction is something we all might have experienced at some point this past year. Feeling both joy and happiness while the whole world has fallen apart, but also being completely terrified at the same time – I don’t even know if I’m really keeping it all together, but I’m trying!”
It’s the classic Album Three – a well-established, gorgeously refined sound, but a bit of boundary pushing too, helped along by this year’s unusual circumstances. “I promise it has a lot of love in it, and some of our best songwriting yet. Ian has pushed his guitar playing more on this record, and I’ve developed my singing and lyrical style. Since we had an uninterrupted time frame we demoed out the entire record before recording. Usually, we work out songs with the band or in a live setting and wouldn’t hear the full version until we were in the studio!
“The most crucial thing the pandemic offered us in terms of songwriting was the ability to make exactly what we wanted and being given the time to do so. It was the first moment we could work 24/7 on something which we’ve never had the luxury to do so before. We always wished for that to happen one day and it did, but it ended up looking way different than how I fantasize about it!”
Of course, releasing a record during a pandemic comes with its concerns, but none out of the ordinary. “This has always been nerve-wracking for me, of course! I will say it has gotten easier with each record we put out. I find promoting to be an interesting dance between my insecurities battling it out with the optimistic side of myself that wants to share with others. I do feel it’s so important right now more than ever to be releasing music. Music has always been there for me and is something I know I can count on in tough times. Making it is even better and gives me something to look forward to, but also offers an outlet for all my other creative energies like the album artwork design and other visual elements of the band.”
Always Something shines in full, but the singles were definitely the best teasers. “We knew Distant Lullaby would be the perfect opener to this record! It’s catchy and sweet and the perfect length for a single. Back to Nowhere is one of the two songs we had finished before we completed the rest of the record. You could say we unintentionally tailored the record to fit Back to Nowhere along with track seven. Always Something, our next and final single, shares the ‘experimental recording’ aspects of the record, and is also one of our favourites which is why we named the record after this track!”
Where does it come from, then? What’s informed UV-TV’s lovely sound? “I have a thing for melodies and ballads! I think this, plus our interests in guitar music from 60s girl groups, to 80s pop songs, and old country music contributes to our sunny sound. We always had a hard time deciding how we fit in with a specific genre, but it usually winds up somewhere in the post-punk, rock realm. We’ve mentioned them many times, bu I am inspired by Echo and the Bunnymen and particularly their Porcupine and Ocean Rain LP, and Tracy Tracy’s vocal style in The Primitives and the raw elements of punk, particularly the peace punk movement. I also love colour film photography, so I think nostalgia is a big theme in our music also.”
Always Something is out now.
