Interview by Kris Peters
After sixteen albums and rising, you would think Bruce Soord from The Pineapple Thief would know pretty well what he is doing with himself and the band musically.
Essentially a rock outfit, The Pineapple Thief have released a consistently steady stream of albums, amassing a staunch, loyal and growing fan base with each one.
Their place in rock history is assured, but despite having done the hard yards already, Soord refuses to rest on his laurels.
As a songwriter he can lay claim to being amongst the best in the business but with the band's recent album It Leads To This, Soord has managed to tap into a delicate nuance of material and compile it in such a way that what would generally be a depressive and seemingly hopeless landscape has been transformed into a bright and optimistic take of life itself.
The basic premise for It Leads To This has Soord reflecting on the world and fearing for the life his children will inherit, but at its core is an introspective look at life and each of our roles within it.
Soord sat down for a chat with HEAVY to tell us more.
"It's been good," he enthused at the early reception for the album. "You know what it's like, you can't hide from the reaction these days on social media, so you get to see everything. It's been really positive, thank goodness for that, because the internet and online can be quite brutal sometimes."
We ask Soord to dive deeper into the concept of the album.
"I've always written about things that…," he measured. "…I wake up in the morning and how I feel. You put the news on and look out the window - I live in a small town in the South West of England that has its fair share of problems like drugs and alcohol - so you look out the window, and you see it. You see these lost souls walking around. You read the news, and it's just getting worse and worse then you look at the kids and my kids are a lens to the world. I think, 'oh shit, what's going on?' and then you pick up a guitar and that's the inspiration. But the thing about it is, even though it's all dark thoughts about the future and what the Hell are my kids going to inherit, it's still positive. There's still a positive message. It's not all doom and gloom."
In the full interview, Bruce talks more about the idea behind the album, how he puts a positive spin on it, if the personal nature of the subject matter made it a difficult album to write, runs us through each track individually and the message behind it, talks touring plans and more.