On April 13th The Leisure Society release their fourth album The Fine Art of Hanging On, via Full Time Hobby.

Alongside a new creative peak tied together by a distinct theme, The Leisure Society’s prior sounds are still present – namely Nick Hemming’s intensely personal and honest lyrics which adorn the band’s warm, blend of folk, pop and indie.

“‘The Fine Art of Hanging On’ is a recurrent, linking theme, although this wasn’t an intentional concept album”, explains Nick. “It’s about clinging to something – be that a relationship, a career, or life itself. All the way through writing the album a friend of mine was battling cancer. I reached out by sending him the rough demos of this album. By giving him this access to the work in progress and by him giving feedback, we formed a close bond. Sadly he lost his battle, but his input and presence is there in the album.”

The closing track ‘As The Shadows Form’ is a song explicitly about death – intentionally sequenced as a poignant and literal ending – “a full stop” – as Nick describes it. Elsewhere, the ‘hanging on’ theme explores the plight of single boat fishermen.

“I took a visit to Hastings and I noticed several tall black cabins, which inspired the song of the same name. These structures are used by local fisherman for drying their nets. Theirs is a small and shrinking industry, but they have a passion for their trade and keep it going, even though it’s not always financially viable. We recorded the album onto analogue tape at Konk studios and mastered it at Abbey Road Studios. We wanted to make the best record we could, so despite the expense we crafted it in this way – not for money, but for the love of making it.”

Nick grew up in Burton-on-Trent. As a teenager he formed the indie band She Talks To Angels with his art college friend, director Shane Meadows plus the actor Paddy Considine. Following the band’s split, Nick was scooped up by local indie hopes The Telescopes, who were signed to Creation Records.

Everything changed with the arrival of fellow Burton-on-Trent exile Christian Hardy, the outgoing yin to Nick’s shy, reserved yang. The Leisure Society was born.

Tracklisting

1. The Fine Art Of Hanging On
2. Nothing Like This
3. Tall Black Cabins
4. The Undefeated Ego
5. Outside In
6. I’m A Setting Sun
7. You Are What You Take
8. You’ll Never Know When It Breaks
9. All Is Now
10. Wide Eyes At Villains
11. As The Shadows Form