Words by Annie Barber
Photos by Celia Croft
“This is like group therapy,” says walt disco’s Charlie Lock, laughing. The band are sitting in The Vic at Glasgow School of Art ahead of their appearance at fundraiser gig ‘No A Mean City’, reflecting on the journey that has brought them to their latest and self-titled album. walt disco are no strangers to stepping out of their comfort zone, and their newest music is no exception. Yet this time, the challenge was not to experiment as much as possible, but rather to rein things in and make an album that they feel is most true to them. After considering canning walt disco and starting completely afresh, the band continued to make music through a series of dilemmas over their direction, and the result is a collection of songs that are decisively them.
The band’s drummer Jack Martin pinpoints Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Strokes among the influences on their new music. “[They] made you want to pick up a guitar in the first place. Or a drum,” says synth and guitar player Finlay McCarthy, prompting laughter from the others. “We didn’t reference things too much,” adds lead singer Jocelyn Si. Instead, she says that the band wanted to make songs that remind them of “the feeling of listening to guitar music when you were young and getting into it.” Alongside wanting to return to their roots and the music that made them want to make their own, the band decided to be “less ambitious.” Charlie says, “we actually had to hold back, which was quite nice.”
After admitting to each other that they had not been true to themselves on their first two albums, they were determined for their next project to be more genuine. Jocelyn explains that people had previously questioned why they did not dress like they did in their music videos, admitting that they do not actually own frocks or know how to do their makeup that well. So, for their third album, they decided that they wanted to dress more like they do in their day-to-day lives — as well as pay homage to the artists that inspired them. It is unsurprising then, that this new era feels more authentic to walt disco in more ways than one.
The album goes through questions of self-worth and the path taken, towards a point of acceptance in its final songs, which are both bittersweet and cathartic. Sometimes volatile, sometimes still, ‘walt disco’ strikes the perfect balance between the two, capturing the messiness and wonders of life in its 11 songs. Jack says that the most “regretful number” is ‘Warmface’. The song came to fruition during a time when he was looking back on his life and the choices he has made so far, questioning whether he should have picked a more conventional route. It is something that all of them have thought about, especially recently. Jocelyn reflects on a moment earlier in the day when a sound engineer said to her that trying to make it in the music industry is like being a ‘professional gambler.’ She says that while it is a “shot in the dark,” they have no doubts anymore; they know that they have made an “amazing record.”
While trying to figure out what direction to take things in, all of them decided that they had to make peace with the band not working out. Coming to terms with the possibility of failure is central to ‘walt disco’. Instead of shying away from their fears and worries, they decided to be radically honest about them. Though the album draws on these anxieties and uncertainties, the result feels more confident than anything else they have ever made. “The fact that we wrote a self-assured album that finally feels like us after having an identity crisis is pretty funny,” admits Finlay.
Jocelyn says that the album contains many dualities, pinpointing the fact that while a number of its tracks may be “dark or self-flagellating”, there are always moments of clarity, hope, and kindness in them. These glimmers of faith are exactly what makes the album so special. A standout track on the album is ‘Never New’. Jocelyn reveals that she wrote it after she was nominated to be a judge for The Sound of Young Scotland Award which made her feel really old, “which is ridiculous,” she says. What began as a goth tinged track with a drum machine on it is now 80s infused with melancholic guitar. On it, Jocelyn grapples with what she calls her “dysphoria demons.” Her experiences as a trans woman have long influenced the band’s music, with songs like her namesake ‘Jocelyn’, from ‘The Warping’, charting her journey with her identity.
‘Look Out For Me’ is a similar track, instead inspired by a trip she took to her local GP to discuss her gender dysphoria. Understandably, she had been anxious about the experience and was relieved when the GP was kind and understanding. Both she and Finlay explain how the song is about the fact that the personal opinions of people working within the NHS can really affect the care that you receive. Finlay reveals that when he phoned his GP about ADHD, the person he spoke to initially was very dismissive. Now, a year on, he describes getting his diagnosis as being “life-affirming”. The group have always been vocal on issues that are close to them, such as these. Recently, they have posted on social media about the EHRC’s guidance on the Equality Act that ousts trans people from public life, and a Channel 4 documentary that presents the recent rise in ADHD cases as somewhat of a myth. This willingness to speak out about the things that affect them and others is undoubtedly one of the reasons that they have garnered such a dedicated audience.
“We were envious of seeing bands kind of spring up out of nowhere, and the sort of obsession with… this brand new band who have it all figured out,” says Jocelyn. This prompted the group to start thinking about rebranding and coming up with a new name entirely. They had considered ‘Warmface’ and ‘Total Surprise Machine’, two of the songs on the latest album, as new band names. In the end, they realised that you only ever hear about the successful rebrands, and that there are countless unsuccessful ones. On top of that, Jack points out that it has taken artists like Sabrina Carpenter a decade to find their audience and make it big. Despite having these thoughts, when they were making the new album, they decided they believed in the songs so much that they had to double down. So walt disco remains, and they decided to make their third album a self-titled one.
walt disco have indeed been doing God’s work for him and ‘walt disco’ proves that it has all been worth it.
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