Sprinters Struck Gold: An Interview with Neil Jarvis & Show # 804

Sprinters are an indie rock band from Manchester. Fronted by songwriter Neil Jarvis, the band features Neil Jarvis (guitar/vocals), Jason Hughes (guitar), Jon Hodson (bass) and Sam Almond on drums/vocals. The band put out their debut full-length Sprinters in 2017 on Icecapades Records and a mini album prior to that called Float Along in 2015 released through On The Grind Records. Prior to performing as Sprinters, Jarvis simply released music as Neil Jarvis. Two lo-fi and sometimes experimental releases emerged from this time period, Weekends in 2012 and Halloween Summer in 2014. They were both recorded to 4-track tape. Sprinters doesn’t lose any of the nostalgic melodies that Jarvis has been known for, they only enhance them. Struck Gold is second full-length album from Sprinters and was recorded by Sam Almond at Abbey Mill Studios in Chorley, Lancashire. It was released in November 2019 via Meritorio Records. On Struck Gold, the band pulls in the same elements of surf, dream pop and indie guitar pop while also adding a new rock edge and layers of shoegaze to the mix.

The opening track, “Struck Gold” sets the tone. A short instrumental that drifts like clouds that break at dawn, it contains the same melancholic feeling that is omnipresent in Jarvis’ songs, but one that is more upbeat and promising. “3’s & 4’s” comes in seamlessly as the second track on Struck Gold. With its unraveling guitar leads and percussive rhythm that has a biting jangle, this song floats in between surf and dream pop. When the chorus hits Jarvis sings “It is what it is/There’s no escaping it” and the listener gets hooked within this beautiful, yet sad tale about trying to understand and accept an awful situation that is juxtaposed with more upbeat pop musical elements. “Missing” is more brash. The song is raw sounding, featuring distorted, jangly guitar leads that fester with a blistering intensity in between the unconventional, driving drumbeats that lock in with the deep bass grooves. When the reverb layered vocals combine with these musical elements, it also ventures into shoegaze territory. Lyrically, the song addresses an absence, a void of feeling that can exist even if you seem present. “The Light” is a ballad that revels in melancholy and glitters with its pop wonders.

“Ending” is another of the gems on Struck Gold. Clocking in at about four and a half minutes, the song flickers and drones with an edge not present in previous Sprinters recordings. Elements of shoegaze can be found here, but also guitar pop and primal drums that combine with the melodic bass and vocals. As the song drones in the chorus, the listener descends with the melody that lingers poignantly with the words “Far out/We’re going way down”. Around the 2:20 mark the band brings in a coda that builds with guitar distortion, psychedelic guitar lead lines that drone sharply and an unwavering bass and drum groove before fading out. “Demolition” has a more upbeat, lax groove. As the drums and bass float, guitar intertwines as hazy vocals hover over it all. The atmosphere here completely surrounds the listener as the words “We can’t go back to how it was”, “In the haze of a dream/We couldn't see the night through the blinds” and the repetitive chorus “It’s happening/It’s happening again” grabs hold. “It’s Gone” is raucous guitar pop. Surf guitar finds its way throughout the steady, calming drum grooves and mellow bass lines as lyrically Jarvis weaves a tale of innocence and desire. “Scream 2” is a reworking of an instrumental track from Neil Jarvis’ Halloween Summer. Here more noise is brought to the fore as the band really plays in the pocket.

“Virtue” brings down the pace a bit as it questions certain morals that people are supposed to have as the words in the chorus “You’re just virtue signalling/They said it” creates a haunting effect. “Undone” is a song with a shoegaze haze and has guitar pop that blends with acoustic guitar. Lyrically, it seems to entwine itself around a situation that involves a missed connection that was never fully realized the way that it could have been. A shorter, more experimental version of the album’s opening track ends Struck Gold that sounds as if it were recorded on a 4-track tape machine and slowed down. Throughout Struck Gold, Sprinters combine a certain melancholy that is often juxtaposed with more upbeat poppy and indie rock oriented music. This creates an album that is contemplative and one that also lingers with hidden lyrical and musical layers. On Struck Gold, Sprinters avoid a dull sophomore slump. They dig deeper on this record with a cohesiveness that creates an incandescent, lasting effect.

Listen to Revolution Rock's interview with Neil Jarvis (of Sprinters) here:



Show 804 (Originally Aired On December 7th, 2019)(Neil Jarvis of Sprinters Interview, Tom Waits 70th Birthday, Marshmallow Overcoat, John Lennon):

1. Marshmallow Overcoat - Groovy Little Trip
2. John Lennon - I Found Out
3. The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing
4. Psychic Void - Denim Daddy
5. Trophy Knife - Headspace Saver
6. The Constant Supervision - Wiggly Jiggly
7. Sprinters - It's Gone

NEIL JARVIS (OF SPRINTERS) INTERVIEW

8. Sprinters - Ending
9. Neil Jarvis - Shred Met
10. Shotgun Jimmie - Ablutions
11. Bill Callahan - Shepherd's Welcome
12. Tom Waits - Intro
13. Tom Waits - Whistlin's Past the Graveyard
14. Tom Waits - Chicago
15. Tom Waits - Big in Japan
16. Tom Waits - Goin' Out West
17. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
18. Meltones - Surfing Natasha
19. Run Coyote - The Chase
20. Bobby Tenderloin Universe - I Need a Lickin'
21. Bloodshot Bill - Stumble
22. Leonard Cohen - Puppets
23. U.S. Girls - 28 Days
24. Nov3l - Natural
25. Pop Group - Words Disobey Me
26. Motorists - Instant Replay
27. Tom Waits - Underground

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for December 7.

Show 803 was a repeat of an episode of the program that originally aired last November. It featured an alternate version of Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks compiled by selections from More Blood More Tracks Bootleg Series box set. You can download/stream this episode here and find the playlist here.