Basement take us through new album ‘WIRED’ track-by-track

Ipswich rockers Basement, one of the best and most consistent bands in UK rock and emo, return today (May 7) with new album WIRED.

The band’s first new album in eight years solidifies everything that has made them a Transatlantic success story.

“I never thought Basement could sound like this,” guitarist Alex Henery says of the new record. “But in my head, it’s what I’ve always wanted Basement to sound like.”

Listen along to WIRED and read the band’s track-by-track guide of the new record exclusively on Rolling Stone UK below.

‘TIME WASTER’

Andrew Fisher (vocals): I remember really enjoying the rhythm to the main riff and just playing it over and over in my old living room when I was first writing it. It was one of those occasions where it just came out of me without thinking. It feels good remembering this being the first song of this batch of songs, because it takes me back to a feeling of excitement and inspiration and an overall atmosphere of optimism about what was to come with the band.

‘WIRED’

Andrew: I had the lead guitar part as something I would play in various forms, as a
way of sound checking guitars or even trying out new guitars I was interested in buying. I have certain things my hands just naturally do without thinking, and the voicing and the way it moves was something I’d been messing with for years without really thinking. I’m really proud of the way we played with dynamics in this song, which is something we have always done, but to me this feels like the most successful attempt at this.

‘DEADWEIGHT’

Ronan Crix (guitar): The dynamic shift between the versus and the chorus in this song is something that we haven’t really tried before and the first time I heard Andrew’s demo of it I honestly didn’t really ‘get’ it. It wasn’t until we all got together and played it as a band that it really grabbed me. When we came to record it, John suggested we use synths over the choruses to really emphasise the horror coming discordant lead guitar; it really made the song complete. It’s one of my favourite moments in any Basement song to date.

‘BROKEN BY DESIGN’

Alex Henery (guitar): When I wrote this riff I would just play it on repeat because it just felt so fun to jam. Once we played it as a full band it came together really naturally and I think by the second play through we already had the song written. The vocals and the melody took a bit more time but they are some of my favourite on the album. It tells a good story of where we are at as a band and the journey we’ve been on since we started in 2010. Being confident and happy doing the band the way we know how and working with people who understand us and have been with us since the start.

‘PICK UP THE PIECES’

Ronan: It took a lot of writing, deconstructing and rebuilding to get this song to where it
ended up. Initially we built this song entirely around one repeating sample style guitar part. I always loved how it sounded and knew that we had the opportunity to take the song places that we hadn’t really been before if we were brave enough. This song has so many elements that I love; the drums and bass are made for each other, the atmospheric second verse and added layers in the last chorus, literally every part of it gives me extreme joy honestly.

‘EMBRACE’

Duncan Stewart (bass): Recording ‘EMBRACE’ was an interesting challenge. We tried to create a song that had a heavy atmosphere, but still have our own sound shine through. This was a track where our producer John gave us some great guidance to get it to a place that we were all happy with. I remember really enjoying hearing Alex and Ronan experimenting with different tones and effects and really elevating the song.

‘SEVER’

Duncan: ‘SEVER’ has a hard and angular sound to it that I love. It was fun
pushing our respective instruments to achieve the sounds we got. It’s a track that was written literally days before we got into the studio, so it has a fresh energy that I think really comes across on the recording. Tracking ‘SEVER’ felt very cathartic, It felt like a
chance to process some emotions I was holding onto.

‘THE WAY I FEEL’

Alex: We wanted this song to sound “bittersweet,” balancing the melodic
vocals with a dirtier, more broken up instrumental sound. Working with John Congleton was awesome because he is so good at finding great tones for the guitars and giving this song some real grit and personality. Adding the distorted synth that runs through the chorus gave it an unsettling feeling instead of leaning into an overproduced pop sound, which we really wanted to avoid in general on this album.

‘SATISFY’

Ronan: This might be the most “Basementy” song on the record? Not necessarily because
it sounds like us but more because of the way it was written. There’s a lot of personalities represented on it and writing it was a true collaborative experience from us all. We wrote it entirely from scratch together at Electrical Audio during one of our writing sessions. I think Alex was playing some chords while I coincidentally was messing around with a slide and the song just started getting made. I love how this ended up sounding, for a while I was obsessing about how the slide lead part should sound and in the end John did a great job capturing it and matching it to the rest of instruments and the general feel of the song.

‘HEAD ALIGHT’

Andrew: Alex and I spent hours during one session finding the chorus melody. We knew we loved the chords and the movement between them, so the vocals had to live up to that. When it clicked it felt special – but it wasn’t until the studio, struggling to get the song to a place that felt right, when everything truly came together. John helped us strip everything back and focus on the simplicity of the song, rather than overthinking or layering it and making it too showy. Highlighting the way Duncan was playing the bass and that incredible tone opened it up to me in a way I never thought possible.

‘LONGSHOT’

Alex: This song originally had a more Modest Mouse feel to it, with the guitars
bending in and out of tune. But in the studio we landed on a softer brighter approach. Inspired also by our peers in Alex G, especially with the “ooos” in the chorus, the song gives the record a moment to breathe. We’ve always had songs with a more gentle feel on our albums and I think this one really captured the lo-fi garage sound of us just playing the song live.

‘SUMMER’S END’

Alex: In writing this album I noticed there was a connection in some of the demos that leaned into our British sound and highlighted British musical influences. Bands like The Verve, Placebo, Primal Scream and Catherine Wheel to name a few. This song in particular was one where that really shines. There’s a confidence in Andrew’s vocals that I really love hearing. And I think it’s a perfect closer to the album. I remember we jammed the ending until it felt right and I’m glad it goes for as long as it does. It captured the overall spirit of us making this record, just letting everyone have fun playing and not wanting it to end.