The Sherlocks Talk New Album, UK Live Dates And More

Indie-favourites The Sherlocks will release their new album ‘Everything Must Make Sense!’ on 21st February 2025. They have a packed schedule supporting Shed Seven in 2024 and their own 2025 headline tour but they kindly chatted to JLTT:

Who is in The Sherlocks, what do they play and how did you meet?

Kiaran is the lead singer and plays guitar, Brandon his brother plays drums. Alex plays guitar and BV’s and Trent who plays bass and also sings BV’s. We met in 2020, although the band originally began in 2010, through our sound engineer recommended them both to audition. We quickly got it together and picked up where we left off. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength and have been churning the records and live shows out! We’re on a roll at the minute!

When did you begin songwriting?

Almost immediately, probably a year or two into the band actually forming… so probably around 2012 maybe… something like that. A long time ago…

What is your earliest musical memory?

Probably watching the old music channels, MTV rocks etc… back then music videos were at an all time high and that’s all I used to do way before I even had a guitar. Just sit for hours watching people on the TV and their music videos. Probably without meaning to, I will have no doubt absorbed a lot of music and different kind of songs which has probably contributed to how I write now and what kind of music I like to write.

Your new single ‘Man On The Loose’ is out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

Basically, I just wanted to write a stomper… like an all out banger. Big chorus, driving verses, loud guitars. That’s exactly what it does. The guitars are in your face and I had a lot of fun playing around with the melodies on this song. It feels big to me. It’s feels like an anthem and one that belongs in a field with a sea of people having a good time to it!

In addition, you will release your new album ‘Everything Must Make Sense!’ on 21st February 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

We wanted this record to sound a little different to our usual sound but still keeping the thing that gives us our identity as a band. I think probably without trying, the songs have given that’s opportunity anyway… like some songs have really pushed in different directions… for example a song called ‘Bones’. That’s not a million miles from a drum and bass kind of track which is pretty mad. I think people are really gonna love this record. We love it and we believe in it!

You will be supporting Shed Seven on their 2024 UK Tour. How did that opportunity arise?

We met Rick a few years ago at a festival backstage and he was telling us of how his kids were into our band, which we was over the moon to hear. He seems like a really cool guy and down to earth. Plus they’re only up the road from us. I think we can see a lot of similarities in that band, they’re DIY, hardworking, normal guys who are reeling the rewards of all the hard work over the years and long May it continue for them. In answer to your question, I’m not too sure but they were kind enough to ask us if we’d like to support them on this tour and we was 100% up for it. It’s gonna be a great tour!

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

We recorded the album in Manchester of all places! In a sort of underground studio called ‘Red City Recordings’ with a guy called Dave Jones. As well as the studio being literally underground, you could say Dave and his studio is also underground in the other sense of the word… he’s not a household name or maybe someone you’ve heard of yet. But I can promise you that you will in the future! He’s a great guy and his ability to see things from different perspectives can really have an impact on your songs. I think for me personally (Kiaran) having a producer who comes up with lots of ideas is cool… but having a producer who is coming up with ideas that you trust and trust his opinion is crucial. He covers all bases… drumming ideas he’s incredible, BV’s, guitars… you name it! We had a hell of a time recording it. The songs came together better than ever and I know we’ve ended up with a record the fans can really get behind! ‘Everything Must Make Sense!’ is available to pre-order now!

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

– We spent a lot of time in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and had one night turn sour with a said to be gang member who wouldn’t leave us alone, tried to follow us back to our hotel… coincidence we had just recorded Death of Me that day.

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

– We hope we’ve played a rock show and left the crowd with big grins on their faces. If we feel like we’ve put 110% effort into the show then we are happy.

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

– Got to be a Gibson Les Paul for a guitar, cranked until one of the lads turns around and tells me off. Strymon timeline, and the Boss ES-8 for short! Could be here all day!

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Bolton on Dearne
Yorkshire – Friendly – Small – Peaceful – Modest

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

A) 28, instantly loved that song the first time I heard it.
B) Here Comes The Rain – quite a dark vibe to this song… makes me grit my teeth in the chorus!
C) Man On The Loose – Sometimes we all say to each other when touring abroad… how did we end up here? Kind of feel like men on the loose.

How do you look after your voices?

– We always whisper when not touring…. If only! You will struggle to keep us boys quiet. We spend a good hour before each gig warming up! Got to be prepared when performing at this level.

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?

I would’ve loved to be part of the score writing for Harry Potter. Although, I probably wouldn’t have done anywhere near as good of a job as John Williams did.

Who designed/created the album artwork?

The album artwork was designed by us. We came up with ideas, found references, and decided to go with the cream colour this time. We wanted to have lots of little images on the front of the artwork, so we decided to do a jigsaw with lots of images in the pieces. Some of the images we used actually have meaning to them. Everything was carefully thought out and mocked up before we sent it to Paul Jeffery to do the final design.

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

As a band we have lots of musical influences, for example, Stereophonics, Kings of Leon, Kasabian, Oasis, DMA’s. Between us all though, we have lots of different individual influences which a lot of the times helps us come up with different ideas that the rest might not have thought about.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?

After the UK tour with Shed Seven at the end of the year, we will be releasing our new album ‘Everything Must Make Sense!’ on the 21st February 2025. To celebrate the release of the new album, we will be going on a massive UK/EU tour in April/May. We pride ourselves in being a band of the people, so we made sure we kept the ticket prices as low as possible so everyone can afford to come see us. They’re only £20 which is a bargain these days! We’re playing some amazing venues and we can’t wait to blow the roofs off them with the new tunes!!

Was it a difficult album to write?

It wasn’t difficult at all. We went into the studio with a bunch of half written songs, some of them not even having choruses fully written! But they easily got finished when we got in the studio jamming them out together combined with the amazing ideas that Dave Jones came up with. Songs like ‘Man on the Loose’ come together really easily once you start jamming it out. It’s the classic structure of a lot of well-known indie rock bangers. Driving drum beat, very guitar and bass heavy verses, a massive anthemic chorus, and obviously a ripping guitar solo!

What makes The Sherlocks happy and what makes you unhappy?

The support from the fans is what makes us happy and what keeps us going. We have incredibly supportive fans that always get behind us when it comes to album launches and tours, and we love to see it. Also, being on stage in front of our fans, hearing them sing along to all the lyrics and guitar riffs definitely puts a smile on my face! The thing that makes us unhappy is when we aren’t out on tour in front of those amazing fans!!! We thrive from playing live, it’s what makes us keep wanting to do this, so we are all unhappy when we’re not on the road!