Sitting in the pub waiting for frontman Luke from Hired Muscle, I’m definitely up for this conversation. Since hearing their debut
album ‘The Last Minute’ (review found here) a few weeks ago, I’ve been fixated on why I hadn’t heard of them before, seems as I grew up 15 minutes away from where they did. Waving from the bar, I immediately recognise Luke from the photographs and take out my notepad.
Formal introductions and trivial chit chat out the way, the discussion is now deep into a flashback where Luke, 13 years old at the time, fed the classic line “If you want to take yourself seriously, lose the fucking reebok” to Kevin (guitar, bass and vocals) when he turned up to a non-uniform day in a Nirvana T shirt and a pair of reebok trousers. Despite the somewhat rough start, the two ended up practicing Nirvana songs together and decided to form a band. Luke continues to explain that this was not the beginning of Hired Muscle but the beginning of their bromance, playing at venues such as The Pitz – a popular MK venue back in the day.
Skipping a few years but remaining in the flashback, Luke moved up to Leeds to study at University and was joined by Kev a year later – it was at this point when Hired Muscle formed. Unlike their previous bands, Hired Muscle was not intended to be a real project; only forming initially to provide entertainment for a house party. It’s now clicked how they came up with their name. Beginning as a funk function band, Hired Muscle grew into a punk/rock band inspired by a documentary of 80s California punk band ‘Minutemen’.
After talking about returning to Bletchley and finding their drummer Heather Britton, known for her project ‘Toulouse Wolf‘, we move onto the topic of ‘Fortissimo Records’. Hired Muscle hold onto the punk attitude of DIY being the best way for a band to go, paying for the creation and release of their album themselves and using the name of Fortissimo records, founded by lifetime friend Don Mclean to promote themselves.
Wacking out their colourful debut album sparks my next remark of how the artwork was decided. He begins to describe the time of
Bletchley Leisure Centre’s demolition when – for some bizarre reason – the top had been cut off; Hired Muscle felt inspired to do something with it and asked a local artist create their album artwork around it. Bletchley Leisure Centre represented their growth as musicians, it was where they began gigging and meeting other musicians who they collaborated with; it was important for their roots to be appreciated in their debut.
Taking more artwork out of the CD, Luke points to the collage of photographs and hand-drawn pictures explaining that they all illustrate their growth as musicians. Some of the pictures have even been drawn by year 8 pupils at Radcliff School, where Luke now teaches music.
Walking away from Luke, I feel very inspired. Drawing in life’s experiences, they have created a project that they’re proud of and don’t particularly care how far it goes. To them, ‘The Last Minute’ was the perfect debut album, portraying their enthusiasm for art, Bletchley and DIY. Their songs mainly talk about life in Bletchley and Milton Keynes; from messing about in Don’s kitchen one summer (Mclean’s Kitchen) to skating at Milton Keynes bus station (Evil Genius). Even the title was named because the cover image of the half eaten Bletchley leisure centre had been taken at the last minute and their lyrics were only devised in the studio.
Luke has intrigued me about their second album and it will remain in my ‘ones to watch’ pile. According to him, their song ‘Tractor Beam’, is a glimpse of their developing style. Inspired by Dinosaur Jr, the band are composing music that is more melodic and structurally challenging. I, personally, look forward to what more they have to offer.
P x
p.s. Find their music at www.hiredmuscle.bandcamp.com
Pippa Says 