After a difficult couple of years in the wake of the Covid pandemic, Manchester indie rock band Courteeners have been back in the groove, celebrating the anniversary of debut LP St Jude, playing their biggest-ever shows and writing new music. A conscious shift towards a poppier sound, new album Pink Cactus Café is the act’s strongest set of songs since their debut - and fans are in for a treat on their upcoming tour, singer Liam Fray tells What’s On...

I can’t believe it’s been 16 years since St Jude came out. Thanks for making me feel so old.
We’ve just had our 18th birthday as a band, so you’re not the only one, bud. I’ve felt old for about 10 years.

The time has obviously flown by. Have you managed to learn anything or gain any perspective along the way?
Do you know what, even the big shows we’ve done recently [the band played a number of UK festivals this summer], you build up to it and there’s a lot of nerves and excitement, and almost as soon as it’s done, it’s like ‘Okay, what’s next?’ There’s never really a time to sit back and take it in. 

You played shows celebrating the 15th anniversary of St Jude last year, which obviously involved nostalgia and looking back. Did they inform how you approached the new album and the ‘what’s next’ you mentioned?
I think we changed from the first to the second record, the second to the third, and so on. We’ve always been a band that moves on. Look, I know what those songs [from St Jude] mean to people, but if you try to make your debut album again and again and again, first, it’d be pretty weird to have old blokes singing about standing at the corner of the bar, but also you have to stay true and honest to yourself. 

You clearly have been thinking about it, in terms of how you see your sound evolving.
Yeah, it’s quite difficult when you’re playing live and seeing how much those songs mean to people - you’ve got to trust your gut and think [the fans] trust us. We’ve still got that ‘last gang in town’ mentality, and it’s more to do with that rather than the sonics of the record. And people’s tastes evolve as well - you have to give them more credit than to think they just want what they were spoon-fed first time around again and again. That’s the joy of the tightrope as well - that’s the balancing act. How do we retain what we are, pushing forward and keeping it interesting for everybody, the listener and the band?

New album Pink Cactus Café definitely feels a bit fresher, and sounds, dare I say it, poppier…
Yeah, but it’s still us as well; it’s still got that heart, guts and soul - it’s not scared to wear its heart on its sleeve. And if that means being a bit more delicate in delivery so more people hear it, then that’s half the battle. You make the same record as the first one and nobody new comes along for the ride, and I want to reach as many people as possible. I don’t just want to play to people in my front room; I want to play to everybody’s front room.

Which in some ways is the opposite of the isolated way it came together. Is it true that when you were writing material, you weren’t sure whether it might be a solo record or some sort of side project? 
Because we were in lockdown, it was the first time I’ve ever just spent time writing with no real plan. I didn’t know when I was gonna see the guys again, so I thought I’d just keep writing so at least there’d be enough for when we did get back together. But it could’ve been three years, who knows?

And after writing in solitude, you’ve ended up with an album that features lots of collaboration with other artists. Were you just happy to see as many people as possible?
I’m lucky enough to call some of the people on the record friends - James Skelly [The Coral], Theo [Hutchcraft, from Hurts], DMAs… Brooke Combe. I think everybody in bands that has mates in other bands will tell you they’ve said ‘Oh yeah, we should do a tune together’. I just thought, let’s follow this up. It ended up being the most rewarding and collaborative thing we’ve ever done.

Friends or not, was it a challenge to offer up your tunes to other people?
“Yeah, it was really daunting. There’s a definite fear of falling, and am I gonna expose myself as a bad songwriter in front of people I really respect? But when something clicks and something works, it’s a real rush. 

And you end up with something greater than the sum of its parts?
It’s more of a relief, to be honest! But yeah, definitely. People think that all artists are super confident, but I’d argue it’s the opposite. When you go on stage, you put on that armour, but when you’re in the studio, these [lyrics] are like diary entries - they come from my heart and soul; they’re not made up. The lyrics are lived, not just platitudes to serve the song.

That sense of authenticity has often been cited as one of the reasons the band has such a strong connection to the fans, and your gigs become almost spiritual events.
We’ve got these arena shows coming up, and there’s nothing like having 10,000 people in a room all bouncing or all singing one of the slow ones. Someone said it’s a bit like going to a football match but everyone supports the same team, and I love that - everyone’s in it for the same reasons. We’re in rehearsals now, and it sounds massive; we’re raring to go.

Speaking of arenas, the upcoming tour is your biggest UK trek in terms of venue sizes, but it sounds like ticket sales are going well, including the Utilita Arena show in Birmingham...
Birmingham has always been so good to us, but everywhere has - even when we go down south, where people think we’re just this northern phenomenon. Until now the biggest venue we’ve ever done in Birmingham is the Academy, but tickets are flying out. We’re absolutely made up. That show is the last one of the tour as well, so out with a bang!

Feature by Steve Adams

Courteeners play Utilita Arena Birmingham on Saturday 23 November