The Dreaming Spires Talk New Album, Single And More

Acclaimed Oxfordshire five-piece The Dreaming Spires mark their eagerly awaited return with the release of new single, Normal Town (Clubhouse Records). The track heralds the band’s first new material in nearly a decade and sets the stage for their forthcoming new album, due for release on Friday 24th October 2025. Robin Bennett from the band chatted to us:

 

Who is in The Dreaming Spires, how did you meet and what do you play?

Bass/vocals is my brother Joe.. we met when he was born! Jamie on drums has been in the band since 2013, although we first met in the early 2000s. Nick on guitar was in my and Joe’s old band Goldrush at the end, and we’ve known him since the early 2000s as well. Tom on keys joined around 2015 and his first gig was live on the Andrew Marr show!

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

Listening/dancing to my dad’s Beatles 7” singles, or my mother singing in the supermarket

 

When did you begin songwriting?

As soon as I could play 2 chords, when I was about 14.

 

One of your tracks is the new single ‘Normal Town’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

There was a news story in 2017 about a study which decided that our local town, Didcot, was the most normal town in Britain on some measures, including lifestyles, opinions and experiences. Of course, when the story came out, civic groups protested that it’s a lot more than that, which of course it is, but in a way its normality is what makes Didcot preferable to some of the more fancy places around it – even if as a young person you want to get away to more exciting locales. We are launching the album with a show in Didcot on 7th November at the Cornerstone Arts Centre.

 

Your new album ‘Normal Town’ will be released on 24th October 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

The approach was dictated by beginning it way back in the lockdown when I was trying to kill some time and had a backlog of songs about our local area and experiences. Even though the band had been inactive it seemed like the Spires were the right vehicle for these songs, as we all live locally now (apart from Tom, who lives in Scotland).

 

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

We produced it ourselves. I recorded my parts in the front room, while Joe added the rhythm section from his studio on a farm, where it was also mixed. Tom flew in some parts vie email from his home in Scotland! We’ve all been doing this long enough to roughly know what we’re doing.

 

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Mostly we were recording parts alone, so not too many jokes, although we did have fun when we actually managed to get together to finish it all off in mixing.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

The piano used is my piano at home, which is very dilapidated and a half tone and a bit flat, which meant we had to tune all the other instruments to that piano. It gives everything a slightly wonky and unique sound. For a couple of the late-added tracks I used an ancient radio announcer mic given to me by Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou, and many of the synths are an old Korg found in a house clearance.
Unlike the earlier records, there’s no 12-string electric, but there is quite a bit of my 12-string Eko acoustic.
Although recorded on laptops, we mixed the album on our analogue desk with various bits of outboard gear at the end to tie it all together and give it a cohesive sound.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Happiest – Maybe 21st Century Light Industrial even though its theme is escaping boredom.
Angriest – Normalisation
Most Reflective – a lot of it is pretty reflective. Bitter Pill or Real Life.

 

Was it a difficult album to write?

Once the Normal Town idea came together, I collect songs over a long time, and it was quite easy to write a few more songs at the end to complete the concept.

In some ways it completes the escapism trilogy of the first 2 albums, which described our touring experiences and friends in the US, and is the story of coming back home.

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

I want people to enjoy the music and feel part of a community of song (often achieved by singing the refrain of ‘Dusty in Memphis’ at the end of a show).

 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I mostly use a 68 reissue Telecaster now, although on tour we’ll probably use some 12-string Rickenbacker for the jangly songs from our early albums. I have a rare Leslie effect pedal I use, otherwise nothing fancy.

 

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I live in between a couple of towns, one of which is of course Didcot, which is a normal but growing town! Joe and I grew up in Steventon, home of Truck Festival, and now part o the ‘necklace of villages’ around Didcot Garden Town.

 

How do you look after your voices?

Our lifestyles are pretty sensible these days.. we don’t drink before singing.

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

On The Road by Kerouac. There have been a few adaptions but it’s hard to capture on screen. Reading it age 15 probably gave me the Americana adventure bug.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

They’ve varied over time. In the early days, The Beatles & The Kinks. Simon & Garfunkel. Tom Petty. Local bands like Radiohead, Supergrass and Ride. Harmonies of Grand Drive, The Jayhawks and Mercury Rev. Melodies Big Star and Teenage Fanclub. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, of course. The sounds used on some Wilco albums. Currently, I’d recommend the Craig Finn solo album ‘Always Been’ which features members of the War on Drugs. The recent Dawes album has some great lyrics. I love ‘Paper Cup’ by Those Pretty Wrongs (Jody Stephens of Big Star’s project with Luther Russell). A new local shoegaze band called Everything Else are worth checking out.

 

Do you have any live dates in UK/Europe planned for 2025/2026?

Yes we are touring the UK in November this year and again in April 2026.

6th November, The Water Rats, London
7th November, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
8th November, Great Easton Village Hall, Great Easton
12th November, Stage & Radio, Manchester
13th November, The Rum Shack, Glasgow
15th November, Music in the Hall, Bewdley

 

Who created/designed the album artwork?

A guy called Shaun Belcher, who grew up in Didcot and is a poet and artist, now resident in Nottingham. He wrote some poems on a very similar theme so we got chatting and he dug out some old photos of Didcot from before the power station demolition, then gave them a surreal hue. He will be reading poetry at some of the shows.

 

What makes The Dreaming Spires happy and what makes you unhappy?

It makes us happy when people sing the songs back at us at gigs. The spread of right-wing extremism in this country makes us unhappy. And bad coffee.

Feature Image Photo Credit: John Morgan

The Dreaming Spires forthcoming album ‘Normal Town’ is released on Friday 24th October 2025 on Clubhouse Records.

Album pre-order Here: https://thedreamingspires.bandcamp.com/album/normal-town

In addition, the band will support the release with a headline November 2025 UK Tour which will visit the following venues: 

6th November, The Water Rats, London

7th November, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot

8th November, Great Easton Village Hall, Great Easton

12th November, Stage & Radio, Manchester 

13th November, The Rum Shack, Glasgow

15th November, Music in the Hall,  Bewdley

For tickets and more information visit their official website here: https://thedreamingspires.co.uk/