Every lyrical idea that’s gone into Higher Power, the singer pivots, has come from one of his and Harley’s long morning strolls. While formulating sublime second album 27 Miles Underwater, prior to its January 2020 release, he was fascinated by the ‘Seven Year Theory’ that every cell in the human body is reborn in septennial cycles, and inspired by the idea that he and his bandmates were at the culmination of one such metamorphosis. In the 23 months since, he’s been facing up to a wave of far less theoretical change.
Lockdown happened, of course. “We were just on the cusp of something,” Jimmy sighs, almost reluctantly. “That was taken from us, but you can’t focus on it too much or you’ll be angry and bitter, and you’ll struggle to move forward.” Quietly, long-time guitarist and co-songwriter Louis Hardy decided to leave the band, too. “It was very out of nowhere, like, ‘Oh, wait, what?!’” the frontman shrugs, alluding to an “identity crisis” but ultimately refusing to speculate on his friend’s reasons for calling it a day.
Instead, Jimmy emphasises how the resultant self-examination galvanised Higher Power’s remaining members. With a full album’s worth of material banked before Louis’ departure, the option was there to recruit a replacement and reunite with esteemed producer Gil Norton. Rather, they chose to start again, returning as a four-piece to The Stationhouse studio in Leeds for a reunion with James ‘Atko’ Atkinson who’d overseen 2015’s self-titled demo and Space To Breathe EP.
“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s how quickly things can be stripped away,” Jimmy gestures. “We’d lost everything: touring, the ability to work closely with our label, even a member of the band. This was about asking, ‘What can we do? What have we got? Just the four of us.’ We wanted to explore this situation we’re in and get back to just doing things ourselves and with our friends.”