Interview - Joe Martin
The big splash that changed all our lives in the spring is still causing ripples.
As has been thoroughly discussed and debated, gigs are off the agenda so musicians have had to be more creative in their thinking, be it live streams in lieu of concerts or just as promotion for a new album. Which is all well and good for those that can, but what about the artists that were in a precarious position beforehand?
Post-punks (for want of a better moniker) Cabbage were unfortunate enough to be on the back-foot anyway, having changed labels since the release of their debut album Nihilistic Glamour Shots. Its follow-up Amanita Pantherina has been gathering dust on the shelf for the best part of a year; “We finished it last year, towards the end,” co-frontman Joe Martin tells Live4ever. “October, November it was finished and then it was supposed to come out in May. Obviously, it couldn’t come out so that was a pain in the arse, but hey-ho.”
Did the enforced break perhaps allow time to make adjustments? Unfortunately not. “We had more time to work on artwork, but the bulk of the music had already been done and mastered. We’ve always released music constantly, so this is the longest it’s been without releasing any, which is just bizarre for us.” Speaking of bizarre, what of the unusual album title? “It’s a poisonous mushroom. We were mulling around for ages, and someone came up with that! As an analogy, it’s big and colourful but on the inside it’s quite venomous and poisonous.”