The Rifles
The Rifles released their third record Freedom Run on 19th September, and have received praise from the likes of The Guardian and Clash Music.
Lead singer Joel Stoker took the time to answer our questions about the album, the future and being on the road.
-How would you describe the sound of Freedom Run?
I think it’s a lot more grown-up than the first two albums; it’s definitely a bit more universal; it’s not as regional, especially as the first album. There’s not just one type of song running through the album so it’s quite eclectic I’d say.
-How does it compare to your previous work?
Well when you listen to it, it’s completely different. We’ve grown up a bit; we’re a little bit older and you can hear that in the record.
It’s not maybe as angry or as hard. We’ve definitely opened up a few doors in different areas of song writing; it’s nice to move on.
-You've said it feels like your first. In what way?
Well it’s a big change: We’ve got two new members in the band, we had quite a long break, and I think we just kind of wrote for ourselves on this album, and enjoyed that process of writing songs just because we enjoy writing songs – not to sound like anything - and when we got in the studio and put them all together, they worked together, so it definitely feels like a fresh start.
-How's the reaction been to 'Tangled Up In Love'?
It’s been really good. For the whole of the album, from what we’ve got back, the majority of it’s been really good.
We were a bit dubious because it is different, we were worried a lot of our fans would want that hard edge a bit more, which it hasn’t got. But everyone seems to be enjoying it so we’re pleased.
-Are you excited to be back on the road?
Yeah, it’s going to be good. Once the album has been out for a bit it’ll be nice to play in front of people so they know the songs whereas when we’ve been playing them recently no-one knows them so that’s tough. So yeah, we’re looking forward to that
-How do you cope on the road for an extended period of time?
Not very well, I don’t - some people do but I don’t really like going on the road. I’m a home buddy. I’ve got a little baby so I miss him.
-What can people expect from your live show?
Live is always a lot more energetic than it is on the record, even on the first two albums it seems like it’s a bit more heavier, more energy, so the crowd are always a big part of it - they sing along and join in – that helps us.
-What can we expect from you for the rest of the year?
Just more touring, we’re going to try and get our heads down and write as much as we can in the gaps we have so we’re ahead of the game a bit more, hopefully get an album out sooner than two years!
Female First - Alistair McGeorge