Introduction
When you think of rock duos , your thoughts might immediately go to bands such as The White Stripes or Royal Blood… Where it needs to go instead is Haggard Cat! The adrenaline charged pair from Nottingham will not fail to win you over.
There is also a touch of fun about them too with a bottle of Whiskey being placed on stage and them not leaving till its empty. Maybe that is how we need to write our reviews in the future…
Take a look at our interview below , and don’t forget to follow the band on all socials!
Interview
What was it like playing at Glastonbury?
Haggard Cat – I’ll start by saying it was an absolute honour, it’s one of those things that every band wants on their CV so we’re really grateful for getting the chance to do it so early on.
If we’re being completely honest however, the experience on the day was pretty strange, we weren’t on-stage until about 11pm after the Pyramid Stage had finished (does that mean technically we headlined? Maybe) and I remember jumping off of the stage and kicking through a power extension during the set that shutdown half of the stage for a good few seconds (enough time for it to get awkward).
What a putz.
What made you start this side product whilst being in the band Heck?
Haggard Cat – This band became our way of making the music that was most honest to ourselves. In Heck it felt like we were writing solely to stretch ourselves to the utmost limits of our playing ability, regardless of how musical that might have sounded.
But with HC it was always about reproducing the sound that came out when we both got into a room together, first picked up instruments and jammed organically. It was about making something fluid and natural to us, which is something that over the years we’ve evolved into a well-oiled songwriting machine.
What was the inspiration for the band name?
Haggard Cat – A bit of a long story, but the original band name was actually ‘Haggard Cat Bithday Present’, which we shortened after our old record label advised us to (thankfully, we listened). The Haggard Cat in question was a very ragged old-boy cat that used to live with a bunch of us in our old (squat-like) house.
On birthdays we used to wrap a little bow around him and let him into the birthday boy’s bedroom first thing so he was always the first to wish them happy birthday. Our Haggard Cat Bithday Present if you will.
What is your favourite venue you have played at?
Haggard Cat – There’s so many great ones on the UK circuit, when we started out touring we absolutely loved the Chameleon in our hometown of Nottingham. An absolutely awesome DIY venue that was the stuff of legend on the scene, basically a big open living room with an all-analogue PA rig that wouldn’t have been out of place in a venue 10 times its size.
Sadly the Chameleon closed down earlier in the year, but we were asked to return for one last absolutely chaotic show to say our goodbyes; it was emotional!
Are there any other duos in rock that you admire?
Haggard Cat – Absolutely! There’s something that has always spoken to me in bands that can create something great with a limited palette, it’s rock and roll in its purest form. In particular the White Stripes were always and will always be an enormous influence on both of us.
You just can’t beat those songs. White Blood Cells is a perfect album. There’s absolutely tons of dous that I love though, including The Black Keys, Death From Above, Big Black, Local H and Lightning Bolt to name a few.
Can you go into a little detail about what American Graffiti is about ? (it’s such a tune)
Haggard Cat – The lyrics to AG came about at a time when I was feeling super frustrated with the political sphere, it just felt like as a species we were openly, proudly going out of our way to repeat past mistakes and I just couldn’t understand it at all.
It was a shout out against the prevailing attitude of staying quiet because things were fine for you as an individual, without worrying about the wider implications of your actions. It’s sadly an attitude that has only become more present as time has gone on, and if anything feels even more resonant in 2024.
What’s the best song you have ever heard?
Haggard Cat – Massive question! It will probably be something by Pink Floyd, perhaps Shine On You Crazy Diamond – it just never fails to get my attention, no matter how many times I hear it, truly timeless, and epic.
Is there anything about the rock scene that you don’t like ?
Haggard Cat – Generally no, it’s an amazing, inclusive scene generally. It’s at its best when bands in the scene are supportive of one-another. We’re truly stronger together and it’s a space for everyone!
Your last album Common Sense Holiday came out in 2020 , what is your favourite song off it and why ?
Haggard Cat – I still can’t believe how long ago that was, but I think we have the lockdown to blame for the misleadings in the passage of time. 4 years gone and I’m still incredibly proud of the ambition of those 11 songs.
But in particular I have a soft-spot for the closing track ‘Ghosts Already’; we needed a suitably epic way to close out such a wild mix of songs that summed up the journey, so we came up with this Western opera. I still love playing it, it’s still silly.
Is there a follow up album in the works?
Haggard Cat – We’ve been intently writing for the past two years (although parts of this upcoming album have been in the works since we wrapped on Common Sense Holiday).
We’re finally booked into the studio to record with Adrian Bushby, March 2025, it’s been a long process, but I can honestly say the progression in the craft of this collection of songs is going to be absolutely worth the wait. I can’t wait for people to hear this insanity.
Are there any limitations to working as a duo ?
Haggard Cat – I think the limitations are what I like most about it! It forces your hand creatively. Having said that, on the upcoming album we’ve made the conscious decision to not let our headcount limit how we choose to build these songs. We wanted it to be layered and expansive.
When it comes to arranging these tracks for live performance is when the real creativity will start, where we pick and choose what goes and what stays and see how we translate the gravity of these songs between just two guys.
Who would you really love to collaborate with and why ?
Haggard Cat – I’d absolutely love to collaborate with someone that could bring something completely different to the table. Perhaps something like the old-school 80s rock/hip-hop mashups would be cool.
I’m loving the new Doechii album right now, I really love her approach and energy, I think we could do something really interesting together. Or on the other end of the spectrum, it’d be cool to work on something really weird and cinematic with Johnny Greenwood and Thom Yorke, I think their brains plus some Haggard Cat brawn would make for some sonic chaos.
If you had to describe your sound in one sentence what would it be ?
Haggard Cat – Ferocious, unapologetic stoner-punk rock that’s listened to Dark Side of the Moon a few too many times.
If you could spend 10 minutes with anyone in history dead or alive , who would it be and why?
Haggard Cat – Well you absolutely can’t go for someone living when asked a question like that, it just feels like a waste! It’s a real tough toss up, but I’m going to land on Hendrix. I wouldn’t even need to be one-on-one with him, just the opportunity to be in the same room as him in 1968 to watch in amazement with a room full of people as he jammed out Voodoo Chile, I can only imagine the pandemonium of people experiencing it almost 60 years ago!
There have been a few singles since the last album came out including Life and Limb, is this how you think the future of the industry is going ? Singles rather than albums?
Haggard Cat – I think if you were to ask a lot of people “in the business” they would advise you that playing the streaming platform game is the only way to go; single after single to keep giving listeners a taste of your music bit-by-bit every few weeks – but I’m really not a fan of this, it reduces art to being simply “content’ to be consumed and forgotten.
Although the odd one-offs are quite fun, and thankfully we’ve been in the position to produce some juicy tid-bits such as ‘Life and Limb’ and ‘Quit Your Jobs’ in our album interim period, we’ll always be an “albums band”. There’s something about the art of crafting a full length that will always appeal, and it will take human beings no longer being involved in the craft itself to get rid of that joy completely.
All rights to the songs used in this interview are retained by Haggard Cat. All photos used were provided by Haggard Cat and taken by Daniel Landsburgh.
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