The genre chameleon that is Adam + Attack By Fire is well known to us here at York Calling now, but we’ve never sat down for a (virtual) interview before. I asked Adam about his latest release, Deep Pocket Sheets.
By Graeme Smith
“I do enjoy moving from genre to genre,” confesses Adam, “but it really is song-based. This one just felt folksy right from the start. I am sure the next song I release will be ‘80s pop or something.”
He’s not exaggerating. We’ve had ‘80s pop from him before as well as ‘70s glam and much more.
“I don’t stay in any one genre for too long,” he goes on to say. “Singles just feel more in keeping with that. But who knows? I may be inspired to write an album one of these days.”
Before that, it’s another single, this one called Deep Pocket Sheets.
“Deep Pocket Sheets is one of those songs that just came to me as I was playing around with my guitar,” Adam says. “I was feeling inspired and I hit on the melody pretty quickly. The rest poured out fast and furious. I don’t think there is any mystery as to what the song is about. I’ll let the vibe and lyrics speak for themselves.”
The song has the feel of an instant classic about it. The usual poetic lyrics greet us in the first verse, delivered with gritty ease by Adam’s vocal. Playful strings combine with acoustic guitar in a stripped back instrumental reminiscent of The Velvet Underground.
Unexpectedly, the track is a duet, seeing Adam team up with Shana Shelley. As well as singing together, the pair co-produced and are now considering songwriting together. “We have similar overall styles,” says Adam. “Hopefully, we can come up with some good tracks. And maybe that’s the EP or album you were asking about.
“Shana is a very talented singer and songwriter in her own right. She hasn’t officially released any music yet, but she’s written a bunch of great songs. She also has a great ear and her contributions to the production were critical.”
While I had Adam, I was keen to learn more about his journey into music.
“I started playing the guitar around eighteen years old but didn’t get really serious about writing songs until I was in my early 20s,” he says. “It became an important creative outlet for me. A way to express myself. I didn’t even consider releasing songs until many years later, however. I released my first album in 2019. Since then, I’ve been writing and recording as much as possible. Making up for lost time probably.”
I’m certainly glad that he is. I’ve really been enjoying what he’s been putting out over the past year or so, and how he keeps us on our toes genre-wise. I’ll leave the last word to Adam.
“I truly hope folks like the song. It is heartfelt and genuine. I also think it is catchy, but I am biased of course.”
Deep Pocket Sheets is out now, and you can listen to it below.