Adam Green - Photo by Will Sterns

If there ever was a clear-cut case of market saturation then it’s singer songwriters. It’s like every fuckwit that grabs a guitar out of their rooms at house parties has decided ‘actually I can make it in the music industry and the world is finally ready for my salt-of-the-earth mockney bad-grammar take on modern life’

But before we put the whole bloody lot of them to the sword, there are a few people doing it properly, and as per usual they’re American.  Adam Green is the former lead-singer of The Mouldy Peaches – one of the most important anti-folk bands of the last 10 years. Seriously, without the work of these guys, your average singer-songwriter type would still be singing about astrology, cider and The Vietnam War, let alone dressing up like cats and opening art galleries.

Since the break up of ‘The Peaches‘ in 2002, Adam has been a solo-flyer coming up with music that is arguably more out there than his previous band. Armed with the ability to make almost every fucked up situation seem somehow normal (and sometimes quite sweet), he writes twisted grunge-like psychedelic dirges on topics as varied as drug addiction, internet porn, wife beating and Jessica Simpson:  all in a voice that sounds like a cross between Nick Cave and Tony Bennett.

Your latest album ‘Sixes and Sevens’ is quite long for one of your albums. Is it a reflection of the time it’s took to write and release?
I don’t think so, I’ve been writing a lot recently. There was a point back in 1920 or something when I didn’t write songs, but since then I’ve just been riding these constant waves of inspiration. It’s quite funny because I don’t write songs that fast; I do a little bit, stop, and then do a bit more. I mean one song could take three weeks, but that’s what I enjoy. I suppose the reason why this one has taken so long to write is that I’ve had the time to produce the songs properly, which is kind of a new experience for me.

I think this album is a little more pop than your other records, was this intentional?
Ermm, yeah maybe on some of the songs like ‘Morning after Midnight’ and ‘Tropical Island’, but it’s definitely something that I never intentionally went for when I started on this record. You can’t really compare the songs on the record to each other. Most of them were recorded over a year ago, have been demoed a couple of times, and come out at the end completely different to what I started with. It could start with a song being played slow and then I listen to it back, decide I don’t like it and try it again.  I suppose the only difference between this record and my last one is that I’ve been able to work on the arrangements more, meaning that I’ve been able to mess around with instruments, the way songs sound and things like that.

This is quite eclectic when compared to your previous records, what with backing singers, violins and calypso melodies  – It sort of reminds me of one of the later Talking Heads albums. Where do you get the ideas for your songs? They can seem a little weird.
I could see why someone would say that, but I don’t think my songs are all that weird. I just write about what’s in my head, so I guess to me it’s normal. In one sense I can see why people take my songs like that sometimes; I try and put an alien quality into my stuff and make it a bit exciting I guess. Then again, I don’t have the listener in mind when writing; I just think of it like ‘if this is exciting to me, then people will find it exciting too. Song writing is something I’ve been doing since I was five years old, so it’s always going to be a pretty personal activity.

One of your songs almost caused a traffic accident. I was listening to a mix tape a few years ago and ‘No Legs’ comes on – me and my friend started laughing so hard we almost crashed the car.
No way! I guess that song should have a health warning.  “Don’t listen to No Legs whilst driving”. Actually that’s kind of a good illustration to what I said. I mean, ‘No Legs’ can kind of come across quite humorous the first time you hear it, but I think it’s quite sentimental when you think about it. To me music is more of an emotional thing than cerebral one. I mean, that songs completely true, I know a friend who took a girl on a picnic and she had no legs. We were talking about it a few days afterwards, and I just shrugged and said “there’s no wrong way to fuck a girl with no legs” in a flippant off-hand-comment sort of way. Later on I was thinking about it and the song started from there.
I quite like being outrageous sometimes; it’s a liberating thing as a songwriter. After all, if it’s offensive it’s never going to be on the radio and that means that I don’t really have any limits in what I can say and what I do with the song.

Do you think that people in the UK are more receptive to your music than, say an American audience?
I don’t think it’s anything to do with reception per say, more with exposure. I mean it’s like politics; the guy who normally wins is the guy who has been out there the most, kissing babies and what not. In the States at the moment I’m enjoying quite a lot of notoriety because that movie Juno had a bunch of Mouldy Peaches songs on it, so I suppose for arguments sake, you could say that people are ‘getting me’ now.
I do love coming to the UK though; some of my favourite shows have been in London and Manchester, especially the one at the Union Chapel – the atmosphere was amazing, but it’s not because people ‘got me’ more, it’s just the ambience was right and everyone got into it; me included!
That’s what I look for playing live I guess. I used to think ‘if I’m loud, then people will listen’, but now I think the best shows are the ones where the atmosphere is just right; it sort of tunes in the audience so that they’re really receptive.

What do when you’re in the UK?
Oh, you know the usual. Hang out do a few shows, drink coffee, have beers with friends…same things I do in New York really.

Yeah, that was a bit of a dumb question, here’s another: Barack or Hillary?
Oh, wow a politics question. Hmmmm I like Clinton, but I think Obama will win. Then again I’m a liberal so I win no matter what, right?

Adam Green’s new album Sixes and Sevens is out on Rough Trade now.
Words: Dominic Haley