The First Step

The Southwicks are no strangers to taking their time, having been on the local scene since 2011. But slow and steady wins the race, 2014 sees the release of their debut EP, Euphoria. “If you get down about everything you do wrong, you'll never do anything right,” states frontman Joshua Goodacre. “My ethos when it comes to playing music is 'Try to achieve something but if you don't achieve it, own that.' I don't really achieve the tone I want to, but I still try to own it.”

Owning your imperfections is one thing, but having to also own those of five other band members weighs heavy on the singer. Goodacre is upbeat but realistic about the experience. “It was a good experience, but you learn quite quickly the limitations of not getting it right the first time. If you've mixed a song and it's pretty much done and you go 'Well, the drums don't sound right here or the violins don't sound right here,' or whatever, you can't go back and fix that.”

Having spent a few weeks with a dozen people couped up in a recording studio, where tempers can flare easily, Goodacre points out the necessity of staying calm. “It was important to be very positive the entire time. As soon as someone was negative, it didn't matter how constructively they said something it'd just spin us all out. You're tired and exhausted and one person would tell you they didn't like your take and you'd just flip out.”

The recording process was tough, but the finished product is undeniable. As their debut release, Euphoria stands as testament to the art-from-adversity history of the band.

“The EP is a good snapshot of us in July last year,” says Goodacre. “This is Act One for us being musicians – the first statement. Euphoria is all about realising everything you live for is all really a lie. Your job you're told to go into is a lie, you didn't choose it even if you think you did; you're a robot. But maybe if you decided to wake up and reset who you are, you could be anything that you want to be. You don't have to define yourself by your family or gender or race, if you want to [do something] you can try. Euphoria is all about realising that.”

This long-form approach to songwriting is critical to Goodacre, who is adamant that taking the time to perfect the narrative is crucial to the band's atmosphere.

“It's all about telling a story, and if we don't tell the story from the very beginning then people won't get the context. I don't want a song to be an impulse purchase. I want it to be relevant and mean something to me, something that defines us as a band, so that when people look at this release they know that everything fits and is conceptualised. Then we can move on and take a different approach.”