Hurled into an arena tour by Gene Gallagher’s father Liam, it was all or nothing for VILLANELLE from the very beginning, while the world watched and passed judgement. Nearly two years on, the London trio are readying their grungy debut EP, as they tell K! about the allure of “heavy-as-fuck guitars”, and why the pressure comes largely from within…
“I put on a brave face,” begins Gene Gallagher, “but I couldn't sleep the night before.”
It was the ultimate baptism of fire. Less than a year after forming, VILLANELLE were invited to open a 14-date UK arena tour for Gene’s dad, Liam, in celebration of Oasis’ Definitely Maybe album. Truthfully, that invitation was more of an instruction.
“He was like, ‘You're fucking doing it,’” recalls Gene. “He thought it was a make-or-break moment, if I was actually serious about doing the band. That's the sort of pressure he's putting on me.”
“We were as ready as we could have been,” admits guitarist Ben Taylor. “It was a sink-or-swim moment.”
Under the weight of expectation and to thousands of braying Britpop fans, VILLANELLE held their own, catalysing a year of underground gigging while they held back releasing music.
During their first rehearsal at Dalston’s Pirate Studios, Gene came to realise this trio possessed the type of chemistry that had long eluded him. Completed by bassist Jack Schiavo, VILLANELLE wrote last September’s debut single Hinge in that inaugural session, persisting with an approach that weaved jamming with trips to the pub and enough beer until “we thought we were amazing”.
Finding a middle ground between their love of grunge, alt.rock and shoegaze, the “die-hard Nirvana” fan in Gene dragged Ben away from the Fender Strat and neo-soul of his former life.
“I saw Ben’s potential and was like, ‘I'm gonna make you a monster,’” Gene beams. “I've always liked heavy-as-fuck guitars, loads of distortion, Limp Bizkit and all that shit. When I saw Ben do his swells and Wes Borland delays, I'd be like, ‘Stack them on top.’”
“We've all been pretty aligned on that [combination],” adds Ben. “I love my shoegaze. It was that meld of Deftones meets Nirvana.”
Indeed, vocal horsepower aside, VILLANELLE bear little resemblance to the typical ‘Gallagher’ sound. Hinge, follow-up Measly Means, and today’s weighty third single Placebo all belong in the ’90s grunge heyday, borne from lyrics that Gene was “dicking around with for ages”.
“They all seem to be about paranoia,” muses Ben.
“The pressure’s getting to me!” interjects Gene, who dances around defining his lyrics. “Placebo is like, ‘Is it real, is it not?’”
Is what real, Gene?
“Whatever. Is the song real?”
Consciously biding their time until the music matched their standards, VILLANELLE gigged their hype into existence, amassing a dedicated fanbase who flocked to consecutive shows and would memorise unreleased lyrics from YouTube videos.
“We had a spotlight on us from the start, which obviously brings benefits, but we had to do a lot of our teething, to some degree, in public,” reflects Ben. “There was that pressure, but it came from ourselves, ultimately.”
“Working with Jamie [Neville, producer] was when I really felt confident in what the songs were going to become,” says Gene, describing an environment where zero ideas were left untested.
Although the shows helped focus their intent, the studio is where the VILLANELLE sound truly clicked into shape.
“We're more self-assured of where we sit, sonically,” declares Ben. “In the earlier stages, we were still figuring that out in a very public way. Now? ‘Here's our lane and here’s our sound.’”
Bulking up their discography with formative tunes and fresh ideas, VILLANELLE already have a clutch of songs destined for a future album. Today, the confidence emanating from Ben and Gene resembles a band who have found their rhythm, meeting K! shortly before they support Miles Kane in Leeds.
“[We have] way more intent, confidence, everything,” agrees a bullish Gene. “It's actually so exciting to go into [the studio] knowing we can absolutely smash it. We’re way more comfortable in there… it hasn't happened overnight.”
Reminding himself to have a sense of perspective, Gene allows a moment to take stock of how far they’ve already come.
“You're constantly looking forward, wanting to be the best version of yourself, but only two years ago, I would have been happy being fucking able to sing in front of people,” he signs off. “Little things like that would give me everything. Now, you keep levelling up.”
VILLANELLE’s debut EP Measly Means is released May 6
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