STEALING Sheep are a three-piece all-girl act from Liverpool who were once memorably described as “more Cat Power than Atomic Kitten”. Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer have just released a brilliantly eclectic second album, Not Real, which merges nagging melodies, insistent beats and dreamy harmonies.
After the `pagan folk/pop’ of 2012 debut album Into the Diamond Sun, the new album is more electronic and experimental. Sequence, Deadlock and Not Real are just three highlights on the album and Hawley is looking forward to bringing the new material to Belfast tomorrow night.
“Our gigs will be different each night, because we’ve written over two hours of music now," she says. "I suppose it’ll be mainly new tracks on this tour. The live shows are where you’re most `in the moment’ and there is a real rush because you’ve spent a long time preparing for it. It’s such a pleasure and it’s great to see the energy the audiences have.
“We’re pretty excited about Belfast. We have a few friends there too. The last time we were over we travelled around Ireland in a van and played loads of mad gigs and had a really good time."
For the new album, their inspirations included Grace Jones, Maya Deren, Eden Ahbez, Delia Derbyshire, Moondog and John Carpenter. “We’ve actually been doing a cover of a song by Delia Derbyshire and the Radiophonic Workshop,” says Hawley.
The band went to Paris for Record Store Day and they even recorded a French version of their single Not Real. “We’re going again in May to support Unknown Mortal Orchestra. We’ve also supported St Vincent, The Postal Service and Alt-J there, so France is quite good for us.”
Hawley is from Staffordshire but has been based in Liverpool for 10 years, so considers herself to be “an honorary Scouser” now. She says the song She was the first one written for the new album and helped steer the sound of the record. “We used Casio beats and programmed beats and more percussion and I suppose the backbone of that track redefined the new direction.”
The band like to mix up their live shows when they can. “Sometimes we get a marching band or dancers or puppets to join us, but that’s mainly at festivals," Hawley says.
One of the quirkier venues they played when they were starting out was Aintree racecourse. “That was a long time ago and The Farm were headlining. That was a weird one. I think it was one of the first gigs that somebody offered to pay us for, which is why we did it,” she laughs.
:: Stealing Sheep play The Black Box in Belfast tomorrow at 8pm, as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (cqaf.com). Tickets £10.
