Lily and Lewis Rage Against the Machine on Their Latest Album, What a Life.
Furious anger has long been an important part of rock and roll music. Maybe it’s discontent at a broken relationship, an unfair situation, or indignation at oneself. Sometimes, however, it’s a good old healthy rage against the machine.
Life’s not perfect and neither is society. One of the ways in which humans constructively identify issues that need improvement is through music. Often, that entails a barrage of electric guitars and a charismatic singer who can snarl and wail with the best of them using lyrics that underscore their specific complaints.
Lily and Lewis Meff (The Meffs) - with production support from UK punk-folk stalwart Frank Turner - have recently released What a Life (Bottles to the Ground Records) and it’s a scorcher. While much of the Meffs lore seems to be wrapped up in the punk rock spirit, their new record leans heavily on grunge and even some metal touches; they’ve created a sound that swerves away from the expected.
Lily was kind enough to chat about the new album, their growing fan base, touring with rock and roll heavyweights Alice Cooper and Primal Scream and how long she can keep roaring before she needs to take a breather!
ezt: You’ve described What a Life as an evolution from the Broken Britain EPs. What specific changes or new elements can your fans expect to hear in this debut full-length album?
lm: My songwriting has changed both lyrically and in terms of the riffs on this record, but every song still has that Meffs sound. Some of the subject matters are different because the times we live in are forever changing, and that's what I focus my lyrics on; what's going on around me. To me, both records will hold up over time because the world continues to be messed up and the world always needs noisy bands shouting about it!
ezt: Much of the new album seethes with an institutional distrust. How did you decide on weaving these themes into the tracks on What a Life, and what personal experiences or observations inspired that mood?
lm: Without going into too much details, every song is based on what I see around me or what I have experienced. The first two EPs focused on the state of Britain at that time, but was also relevant for people all around the world. WHAT A LIFE focuses more on society in general, rather than purely politics. Being grabbed by a punter on stage, being told that wearing a dress on stage would sell more tickets, governments trying to take rights away from minority groups, going into my hometown when the COVID pandemic settled. Those sort of things inspired the album.
ezt: Your sound is reminiscent of the golden age of Britpunk, but I can also hear strains of Nirvana, etc. You’ve got a great scream! “What” gets into almost metal, Pantera territory. What are some of your key musical influences?
lm: Cheers for the references! Grunge and Riot Girl are definitely genres that influenced me growing up. My older sister loved Nirvana and Hole in her teens, so I grew up with that sort of music around me. Right now I love some of the newer hardcore like Turnstile and SPEED. They might not directly influence The Meffs in terms of writing but they're examples of how to push your message and let everything out.
ezt: There’s a lot of energy and power in your vocal approach. How do you maintain that level of activity in the studio, but also on stage? Are you able to pace yourself?
lm: The studio is the perfect place to test capabilities and push yourself. There's an end goal and your time there is finite. On the road though setting a pace is 100% what I do. A massive part of it is staying fit and healthy. Bet that sounds proper boring but I'm not bothered if it does! I'm not one for vocal warm ups but I drink mad amounts of water. Our set is tailored around the time we have because if we have a shorter set, we can think about adding songs in that push my vocals a bit more, for example. When we started we hadn't done touring before so neither Lewis nor I had any idea how our bodies would work on the road. Turns out that getting wasted and eating fast food didn't do either of us any good when we were playing like 21 shows in 25 days. Funny that…
ezt: Have you connected with any figures from punk rock’s classic days that have been either disappointing or inspiring?
lm: Can't think of any disappointments right now. Rhoda Dakar is a champion. I love her vibe. Definitely as a person she's inspirational but well down to earth. Karina Denike, too.
ezt: Working with Frank Turner as a producer has clearly been significant for you. How has his influence shaped the sound and direction of this new album as compared to your earlier work?
lm: He was a great person to be in the studio with because he was a producer, he didn't just press record and sit back. He had ideas around phrasing and even drum patterns. He had one rule and that was if an idea of his was bad, tell him to "shut the (blank) up" so it was an easy relationship. He got us to push our voices harder than we had done previously too. We loved the process and love the end result.
ezt: How has your relationship with fans evolved in the last few years, and what role do they play in your creative energy?
lm: Our fanbase is the best fanbase out there. Conversation over. They've named themselves the Meff Army and they're integral to what we do. They show up, they tear it up and they rave about it. There's no Meffs without them, and there's no them with The Meffs. Easy. WHAT A LIFE is dedicated to everyone who got behind us over these last few years.
ezt: With your tours supporting both Primal Scream and Alice Cooper, how do you plan to maintain thematic cohesion in your set-lists while appealing to diverse audiences who may, or may not, share your particular viewpoints?
lm: You've hit the nail on the head. We went into the Alice Cooper tour knowing that our sound or views might not appeal to everyone out there but that was even more of a reason to stay authentic. We're not here to tell people off or make people change their views, but we're still going to share ours. We're getting to the point where we have some bigger platforms to challenge inequality, for example, and I feel a duty to do that. It's 100% my pleasure too. In terms of sound, we added a couple of heavier songs into the set for that tour and loved them so much that we actually kept the set the same for the following Frank Turner tour in Europe!
ezt: After a whirlwind of tours, what have you learned about yourselves as a band, and how does that learning inform your music and performance style? Have you had any ideas about how to improve your live show?
lm: I'm always looking at ways to change our live shows and make them bigger. I pick up ideas from other bigger acts who we tour with too. Get ready for our WHAT A LIFE tour in 2025. It will be better than ever. Tickets on sale now.
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