Sea Power at The Roundhouse: 'We always give it everything we've got'

The six-piece Indie band - who recently dropped "British" from their moniker to distance themselves from nationalist implications - released Everything Was Forever in February and are keen to share it.

Despite being completed during a pandemic, it's an optimistic record according to lead singer Jan. (aka Scott Wilkinson).

"It was five years overall - the longest gap since we started," he said. "There is a slightly sad element to the album but the mood is quite optimistic. I have always enjoyed that bittersweet element."

Musing on nostalgia and memory, the title is inspired by a rather dense book about the end of the Soviet Union: Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More.

Sea Power's album Everything Was Forever is released by Golden Chariot Records (Image: Supplied)

"We were struggling for a title and had almost everything else, and we were drawn to the line at the end of one of my brother's songs," says Yan. "You can find out where something comes from and it ruins it, but this seemed to sum up the album's slightly regretful mood. There's something strange about looking back, wondering what's happened to things you took for granted, what has gone or changed."

The album had the benefit of extra time "to reflect on things and make sure you put it together properly".

"There's normally people pursuing you to finish but this was the reverse, 'take another year, no rush' so we took longer in the mixing stage working on how the songs fit together and we are really happy," he says.

"I don't know whether it's just being older but I feel quite differently to [previous albums]. Once I've finished I don't want to listen to it for years unless you have to remember the words, but this has been on in the car. I've enjoyed it and been really happy with the way we all work together."

With a bit of outdoor space and bandmates used to working separately from around the country, he feels lucky that lockdown gave him "a bit of quiet time".

"I was off the treadmill - I had never really stopped since we began. I didn't produce much but found I was doing the groundwork in my mind. It felt like a very old fashioned Sunday in the days when everything was shut. It doesn't suit everyone but I was quite at home in it really."

When the touring re-started he was initially nervous but says "old habits kicked in."

"Occasionally you feel a bit odd. You see some brave person at the front in a mask and think 'this is a hot box of germs'."

Renowned for their live gigs which balance attention to detail with chaotic misrule, Sea Power promise "something for everyone" at the Roundhouse, living up to the album's closing track We Only Want to Make You Happy.

"We always give it everything we've got," says Jan.

"[The Roundhouse] is amazing looking, when it works it's fantastic, but it's a big open space and you have to get it right sonically for your set to work. We'll play a good number of songs off the new album but we don't want to do a four hour Rolling Stones extravaganza. Space is quite tight on the set list and we want to keep everyone happy with the songs they are expecting and throw in some surprises. It should be as good as it gets."

Yan still enjoys performing live and says the pandemic has taught us not to take it for granted.

"A good gig is something to do with a very intimate feeling then by end of it a great big feeling of togetherness and a lot of singing. The last couple of times we've been blown away at the end with the energy that's coming back. It genuinely seemed like the whole room had their arms in the air, relieved to be lost in the moment again, to have finally forgotten about the outside world."

Sea Power play The Roundhouse on April 14. Visit www.roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/2022/sea-power/