Bob Vylan team up with Laurie Vincent on powerful track ‘The Delicate Nature’
Lead singer Bobby Vylan tells Rolling Stone UK about the evolution of their latest track
By Nick Reilly
Bob Vylan have shared new single ‘The Delicate Nature’, a team-up with Slaves’ Laurie Vincent.
The arresting punk track follows on from the punk duo’s third album The Price Of Life earlier in the year and sees them reflecting on how life choices can eventually lead to bigger and more monumental changes.
“My lyrics are written from lived experience and this was an idea I had a while ago that didn’t quite make the album,” said lead singer Bobby.
“It’s this idea of growing up and seeing the split decisions you’d make and how they could result in such life-changing results. It was the life of poor estate kids who would play knock down ginger and then go on to rob the offy. One of those things, the knock and run, is kind of innocent, but robbing the offy definitely isn’t.”
These themes are addressed in the song’s central section, which sees Bobby chanting “things are changing round here.”
He added: “It feels like something we just did, but ultimately it can lead to people going to prison. They’ll then come out and I think that’s one of the central themes of the track, things are constantly changing and sometimes they can whizz past you.
“That’s especially the case if you’ve spent time away from an area and everything has changed when you come back. I’ve had friends go into prison, come out and they are just absolutely shocked at the changes. The world is changing, people are changing and others can be left out. It’s about things changing and how the decisions we make can impact that to extreme degrees.”
As for working with Laurie Vincent, Bobby explained how the pair became friends after exchanging a series of messages on Instagram. Bobby initially messaged Laurie to ask for the stems to Slaves ‘One More Day Won’t Hurt’, in order to remix the track. When Laurie became impressed with the results, the pair began working together.
“He wasn’t afraid to encourage us to try new things,” said Bobby of his collaborator.
“There’s a real sung section in the song and that is his influence. That’s where you can feel it on the writing, because I would never think to sing something like that. Over the last couple of years I’ve been going to where he lives and working in the studio and hanging out, building a relationship.
“He’s been incredible, man. He’s a really genuine guy, which you don’t always get in this industry, especially on the artist side of things. He’s a fan of what we do and we’re fans of him. There’s a mutual respect and if he offers some advice then I’m all ears. He’s open to advice too and that kind of relationship is exactly what you want from a collaborator.”
Elsewhere, the rest of the year will see Bob Vylan heading out on their own UK tour this November/December. Check those dates out in full below.
November
11 Newcastle University Students Union
12 Leeds Drown U Out
25 Belfast Empire
26 Dublin Button Factory
December
3 London Electric Ballroom