Swing It Back

There are a couple of misconceptions about Swing Out Sister that need to be cleared up.

Yeah, the twice Grammy-nominated band’s breakthrough number six hit "Breakout," is as bubble gum as they come, but don’t for one second mistake them for a pop band.

Sure, they’re often regarded as one hit wonders (although they had two hits in the U.S., if you count their 1992 number-one adult contemporary cover of "Am I the Same Girl," which experienced a renaissance in recent years in promos and in the introductory theme for the "Martha [Stewart]" show), but that doesn’t mean that they’ve since disappeared into some sort of 80's time warp.

In fact 21 years after making a dent in the U.S. pop charts, existing members: keyboardist Andy Connell and bobbed model-turned-singer Corrine Drewery -- who since forming in Manchester in 1985 with former drummer Martin Jackson have gone on to influence outfits such as Stereolab, St. Etienne and later Everything but the Girl -- have just released a ninth album that will probably defy the expectations of most American listeners. It’s as soulful and jazzy as the 1945 film (about two people who secretly get jobs at a jazz club without their upper-crust families' knowledge) from where the band took its name.

Aptly titled "Beautiful Mess," the album fuses Swing Out Sister’s jazzy sounds with sexy hip hop hooks, lush 60's pop, smooth 70’s R&B/funk and laid back Latin grooves. On the album’s soulful opening track "Something Every Day," Drewery sings, "The best is yet to come… there’s no need to ask… we’re made to last…" By the time you reach the album’s end, you will most likely wonder not if but when lightning will strike twice for this "one-hit-wonder" band.

In a recent interview I chatted with Drewery about this, their upcoming tour, the gay fans, and her musical love affair with the legendary lesbian songstress Dusty Springfield.

Corrine, what can audiences expect to see on this tour?

Well, it’s probably a bit more up close and personal than people are used to. It’s a slightly smaller band, so it’ll be more jazzy acoustic. The smaller band will also allow us to be a bit more spontaneous and change things or reinterpret songs as we go, on tour. Some people say that it’s the best tour we’ve ever done.

One song that gets a major rehaul on the new album is "Breakout" with the stripped down, slowed-down acoustic "The Breakout (Latenight Studio Take)." Why did you decide to re-record that song in that way?

Well, we were in the studio rehearsing anyway and thought, ‘Let’s record it and hear what it sounds like.’ So we just recorded a rehearsal and played it back, and thought that maybe people would like to hear it, the people who can’t come to our shows. People always asked to remix that song. But we wanted to do it ourselves, so we remixed it... because it can take it. It has been the other thing, the pop, exuberant song, so it seemed like, ‘Hey, let’s take it right down now.’ It still works with a bit of melancholy and reflection.

Watch the behind-the-scenes magic that went into the re-recording of this classic track:

When I heard the song in that way I couldn’t help but think how especially inspiring the lyrics are in this economy. Do you see that?

I do, actually, when singing it. I think it’s affected lots of people. When I perform it live, I see that it means a lot to people. People have made major decisions to that song. They’ll send letters or emails... a lot of gay people said that they came out to that song, as well. It’s changed quite a few people’s lives. I’m very touched and moved by that. A song can be something to confirm your thoughts or take on any meaning that you want it to. Maybe it’s not written for that situation or moment, but people choose to take it to give them strength. I came out of what I was feeling that inspired that song, in a pretty literal way. I was stuck in a situation that I did not want to be in, and thought, ‘Hey, just go for it and see what happens.’ Sometimes you have to just close your eyes and dive in.

Please explain the title of the new album to me.

It’s a combination of being halfway through the recording and wondering when we would be finished. It was the first album Andy and I produced ourselves. Normally we worked with a longtime producer, but for our ninth album we got some material together, and thought that it would be nice to do this in a low-key way, very up close and personal. I even learned how to use Logic. For me to take control of my destiny, I should be able to use it. I was sitting, being a producer. But we thought, ‘How on earth are we going to get this finished?’ because you need a third party to take that step outside; when no one tells you what they think, it’s hard for you to know when you’re so close to it.

I thought it was interesting how you released some of the album's singles and videos online ahead of time and asked fans to come up with the name of the album. It’s like they were in the studio with you.

Why did you decide to take this tactic?

They’ve given us lots of encouragement.  Andy embraced the whole online thing a lot sooner than I have. It’s a great way to reach people, globally.

I like getting fans involved. When you don’t have a team of people urging you to finish, in a way it’s the people who are urging you to finish. It kind of helps you. When you do it by yourself, you need motivation from where it’s going to end up, so you want the feedback of listeners.

Under what circumstances do you see this album being played?

Hopefully it’s a great sound for bringing people together at a gathering or party or drink with friends. I like driving when I listen to music, because you get the full hit when driving. It’s a time for reflection, a time to be exuberant... because hopefully you’re heading to a great place. We called the first album ‘It’s Better to Travel,’ because music sounds great when you’re on the move.

This album is very soulful. For Americans who are only familiar with "Breakout," do you think they’ll respond to this music as favorably?

They might be surprised by it, but judging by the response of listeners [in the U.K.], I think it’s a welcome kind of progression. People don’t want more of the same, they want something familiar, but with elements that are distinctively our sound. We want to bring something else to the party and don’t want to do the same thing over again. This album gives a glimpse to how we are... it’s a musical conversation without as much of the production process that we normally have. It’s like they’re in the room with us when we’re putting the tracks down. It’s more intimate.

Swing Out Sister has consistently done well in Japan chart-wise and award-wise. There have even been Japan-only releases of your music, a ‘Live In Tokyo’ LP and one of your songs was even used as the theme of a Japanese TV program.

Well, I think they’re very loyal, the Japanese. They want to hear everything. There’s an element of every country’s audience that’s very faddish, but in Japan, there are a lot of loyal listeners, who are very interested in music. They’ve also got quite a large jazz audience, so they picked that out of our sound quite early. It wasn’t just fast, faddish pop to them. Our music was something that would be here for a while.

The gay community has also stuck by Swing Out Sister. How do you explain your gay appeal?

I mean, it just shows that the gay community has very discerning taste. I think fans of our music are like us -- patient, sensitive, discerning, and willing to go the extra mile, and obviously have impeccably good taste!

The Swing Out Sister story is that you started singing for the band without any prior experience. Did you just fall into singing or was that something that you always dreamt of doing?

I wanted to sing since I was very young. The first time that I saw Dusty Springfield, I was mesmerized by her look and sound... I didn’t know what she was. Looking back on the songs that she was singing, they were such great productions and songs. I just remember thinking that I wanted to be a singer and go on tour.

Were you surprised to discover years later that she was a lesbian?

Not really. When she started singing it was so shocking and outrageous, so it made me feel quite sad that she had to suffer in silence, but I thought it was great that she did not have to base her career on it. People just took her music for what it was. It didn’t make any difference.

How have you changed as a singer and performer over the last 20-something years?

I don’t know... I suppose I’m a bit more picky, because we got through so many phases and fads and things that came along. Now I know what I like. I’m a bit more experienced, maybe a bit more confident. I started blissfully ignorant. I was 25 when I first started making records, which is older in an industry with an emphasis on youth. I think it’s better to get success when you’re older because then you have more experience and are not getting pushed around by people. Luckily Andy and I had enough experience to know what we wanted to sound like. When you’re older, you also share a lot more. You’re more relaxed, more confident, and not so protective.

There’s that cliche about cats having nine lives and I was wondering, on the eve of your ninth album release, if you think that the same holds true for bands.

I have not thought of it in that way. With every album, we approach it with as much enthusiasm and wouldn’t want to make a record we didn’t feel excited and enthusiastic about. I think in that respect every album that we create is a new lease on life. We only make a record when we’re ready, when we’re excited about it. Because if it’s not enough to make us jump up and down, then it won’t be enough for others.

Catch Swing Out Sister’s "Beautiful Mess" U.S. Tour in a city near you:

June 3     San Francisco     Bimbo's               8p.m.
June 4     Los Angeles        El Rey Theater     8p.m.
June 6     Washington, DC/Columbia, MD Capital Jazz Fest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion     7p.m.
June 7     Philadelphia Café Live                     TBC
June 8     New York City     BB King's            8p.m.

Photos courtesy of Penetration Inc.