Photo by Julie McKevitt
A truly beautiful dynamic runs throughout Future West’s sophomore LP.
Equal parts wistful and optimistic: from the angsty cries of Late Last Nite to the anthemic final moments of You Instead. On Who Will Forgive All My Sins, frontman Francis Watters’ writing is an exercise in re-evaluation and self-acceptance.
Melancholic musings about love and life sit atop a punchy, lo-fi sound that lies between the intersection of Interpol, Car Seat Headrest and Just Mustard. The result is a searing, victorious album from the Dundalk four-piece.
Francis Watters breaks down the genesis of the tracks below.
Faded
“This song was written long before the idea of this album even came about. We'd been playing live in a slightly different form for a while.”
Late Last Nite
“The idea for this song happened one evening and the song you hear now was finished the next. The drums were done in one take and the atmospheric guitars in the chorus were me trying to come up with a part and were also not recorded again once I heard them back.”
I Lost What's Mine
“Another quickly written one. This pretty much all came about in one session bar the lyrics. They took a few different re-writes. The keyboards at the very end were re-recorded by Peter (guitarist) without me knowing and when I heard them back I thought "wow, I don't remember playing something so beautiful when I recorded this"”
Give You My Time
“This is about the 5th version of this song. I just couldn't seem to get it how I liked it for ages. There's many demos (most using electronic drums) tucked away on my hard drive somewhere.”
The Pilot's Nightmare
“I was headed back to Ireland after a weekend in London visiting my girlfriend. My flight was delayed for like 6 hours. This song came out of it and they ended up squeezing me onto another flight home before most of the other passengers because I was one of the few being nice to the check in attendants. Win win eh?”
Joggers
“Like Late Last Nite, this was written one evening and finished the next. Nearly every single thing on the track was done in one take apart from some production overdubs done in the mixing stage of the record. I really love the way this one fades out into a busier variation of the drum beat. I don't know where the idea for that came from.”
All My Sins
“Another one the earlier tracks written for the album that we were playing live a little bit in a slightly different variation with electronic drums. It definitely doesn't suit electronic drums once you hear it with a full kit and big back and forth guitars over it.”
Three Years Asleep
“The oldest pick of the bunch. This was actually written in 2017 and intended for an earlier EP but it didn't suit the vibe nor could we get the mix right for it. Big blessing in disguise as I love the version we landed on here.”
You Instead
“Perhaps my favourite song I've ever written. This one is part of the written one evening done the next category too. I love the laid back vibe of it, the positive/hopeful major key that it is in, the lyrics, the structure, the big explosion after the breakdown. We were asked to shorten it for the single version but it just didn't feel right. It has to be as long as it is.”
