INTERVIEW: LibraLibra on their new single, Candy Mountain
One of Brighton's finest, LibraLibra, return with their brand new single Candy Mountain, a genre-splicing outing into rage-fuelled rock.
The fearless foursome are no strangers to experimenting with their sound, as their 2020 EP Hail Mary proved. Armed with a catalogue including the glitter-coated fuzzy rock of Lonely Girl, the infectious Rock Band, and the downright-sexy frenzy of Juicy Lucy, LibraLibra have shown that they know how to pack a punch with their chaotic rock-meets-alt-pop soundscapes.
New single Candy Mountain sees LibraLibra continue to break the mould as it opens with lyricist Beth Cannon's raw, fierce vocals facing up against a ten-tonne heavy drum beat, setting the scene with a deliciously dark ambiance. Candy Mountain's chorus is a thrusting sugar rush of screeching guitars and violent instrumentals as Beth demands a call to arms against patriarchy and genre: "Bad man, time to put you down / Sick boy, no manners, I ain't messing around". The rage is visceral, and we fucking feel it. Fluidly stomping through a punk-infused chorus and flirting with gospel-esque harmonies, LibraLibra take aim at their enemies and shoot to kill.
A melting pot of fuzz-fuelled rock, gritty, glistening pop, and technicoloured anger, Candy Mountain is a vibrant display of the band's unique noise that is always surprising us - and if you ever get the chance to experience it live, don't pass it up!
After witnessing the mighty LibraLibra share the stage with SNAYX at the Edge of the Wedge, Portsmouth a few months back, we hit up vocalist Beth Cannon to get all the inside goss on Candy Mountain, feminist rage, and upcoming LibraLibra music:
Hi Beth, thanks for speaking with us! How are you doing?
Hi Chloe, thanks so much for reaching out, it's an honour to be asked! I'm good thank you, just getting stuck back into the daily grind on a Monday afternoon.
You've just released your first single in over a year. How does it feel to be releasing new music again?
It feels incredible! We've been sitting on this music for a while now and to be able to unleash it officially into the ether for all to hear is a beautiful feeling, albeit a little daunting because you never know how anything is going to be received, but the response has been really lovely and it's just got me all excited about releasing the next single off the EP.
We love that Candy Mountain is this fun blurring of genre. How would you describe your sound?
I'm probably gunna shoot myself in the foot here, but we really don't think about it too much. We are really emotional writers, myself especially, I love to hear a snippet of sound, a melody, a beat and then lyrics pour out of me onto paper and it's not until they are written before me and I've patched these words together do I really know what they mean.
I would say 100 percent our sound is full of feminist rage, and that, I would say, comes from my past and my traumas. Our sound helps us expel our demons, we love to have a scream on stage and entertain big dynamic builds. We each come from completely different musical backgrounds, and influences and that certainly plays an influence on our experimentation of genres, but ultimately we are loud, heavy and in your face. We love the idea of infiltrating a pop sensibility and fucking with it from the inside.
The video for Candy Mountain is this campy, colourful slasher film. What was the process behind that?
This was our first go at ever directing our very own music video. We just thought fuck it, one day, let's have a go at this ourselves. We invested in a camera and Joe got honing in on his editing skills. We love melodrama, we love theatrics, colour explosions, and a hint of comedy. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and when we create together we just have fun, let the camera roll and see what happens.
I love improv, and I used to love directing theatre so making a video is a dream come true for me. I wanted to encapsulate the madness that ensues when you are having a a full-blown drug-induced meltdown, the psychedelic rage that makes your blood boil and your skin crawl. It’s meant to be in your face because mental illness is fucking right at the forefront of your mind, it’s not pretty, it’s not clean, it’s a big bloody mess.
You've just played two single release shows in Brighton and London, how have those been?
They were honestly heart-warming and life re-affirming. You couldn’t ask for a better, more loving crowd at both shows. And it just makes you realise this is why we do it. Playing live is everything to us, not having that for so long made us thoroughly miserable and depressed. It’s coming back and it’s truly a beautiful sensation. Like the blood is coming back into our veins. It’s not about being on stage, it’s about that connection you make with people, that bond that you create through all this pent up emotion, it is a wonderful feeling. And the crowd, the audience are what makes a show!
Speaking of shows, we saw you play for ABH Promotions with our pals SNAYX. How did that gig come about?
We could never say no to our SNAYX lads and ABH Promotions! Absolute legends the lot of them! SNAYX are on to HUGE things, absolute beasts, and the nicest chaps you’ll ever meet! It was an honour to share the bill with them! And ABH Promotions are doing amazing things in Portsmouth for artists and putting on fantastic shows! Was an absolute pleasure to work with them.
I loved how you and SNAYX were each other's biggest fans at the gig. Are there any other bands that you have that sort of relationship with?
SNAYX are incredible, I’m a total fan girl and I fucking love it! The Brighton scene is rife with the most amazing talent. It’s a wonderful, crazy beautiful and chaotic community that has shaped us wholeheartedly. LAMBRINI GIRLS are another ferocious force of nature in Brighton, seriously the love affair we have with them is next to none, their shows are off the chain, you must check them out. CLT DRP are epic in every shape and form. WIFE SWAP USA blow my mind every-time I see them, ones to watch for sure! The Slaughter House Band are tight as fuck & the sweetest guys, Raz’s voice! Honestly I could go on and on and on but there are just so many amazing souls in Brighton!
Finally, is Candy Mountain the start of something bigger, like an EP? What can we expect from LibraLibra next?
100 percent, this is the lead single off our upcoming EP, Modern Millennial out in March 2022. Now we are gunna be dropping another single off that, Moonbeam early 2022 (more news to follow) and we will be touring! Gunna be announcing all of this very soon. But it’s been a long time coming - we wrote, recorded and mixed this EP ourselves, well the recording and mixing bit came from Joe, he’s honestly the wizard of the band, he’s an amazing sound engineer and producer so we are extremely lucky. But this EP is completely DIY. We do everything ourselves, it’s a labour of love and we can’t wait to unleash it into the world and get even more music out there, we already have a build up of more music. So it’s just the beginning!
We can't wait to hear Moonbeam and the rest of Modern Millennial. Thanks for chatting with us, Beth!
No, thank you! Xxx
Stream Candy Mountain on Spotify and Apple Music
Review and interview by Chloe Robbins
Photography by Bridie Florence
