Issue 105 / November 2019

Having known Chrissy pretty much since birth (“his parents
used to babysit mine!”), Lia had a readymade drummer at her
fingertips when needed. George’s acquisition can be as much
owed to his aesthetic as his ability with a bass. “When I met him
I just thought he looked quite cool,” she confesses, before adding,
“I assumed he played an instrument, just from the way he was
dressed.” A little further social media detective work and the
band’s fixtures were in place: “I stalked his Facebook until I found
him and sent a really long message like, ‘I’m not a weirdo, I’m just
looking for band members’.” It paid off, and the band have carried
on an upward trajectory since, sharing a journey from practices
in the front room, a first gig at 14, right up to the release of their
debut EP in August and selling out a December headline show at
Jimmy’s – almost three months in advance. It’s been a progression
they’ve undertaken together, as Lia explains: “It’s the first band
I’ve ever been in, so we’ve all grown up together with it.”
Despite starting so young, the three of them have grown into
the musicians they are under the watchful eye of James Skelly of
The Coral and Skeleton Key Records, who is also credited with
shaping the world of The Mysterines. “As we were so young
when we first started, Jay said to keep everything condensed,
music-wise. I suppose the mystery thing was an unintentional
way to protect our personalities because we were so young. But
then people caught on and we just blagged that we came up
with the idea. We’re sort of mysterious, but not to ourselves.”
The question on everyone’s lips then: why the name? Lia
starts: “I think we wanted something that was quite 80s, a Lost
Boys sort of thing,” she explains. “Jay was saying The Coral
got their name from a mouthwash in the 90s called Oracle or
something, so we were joking about saying Listerine and then Jay
said ‘Mysterine’. We were like, ‘Yeh, let’s just use it!’”
With Take Control now out in the open, the ‘Who Are The
Mysterines’ mantra less prevalent than regular mainstream radio
plays, it leads to the question of whether the band are now
looking to take control of their identity. Will they opt to sculpt
more shadows or present an open book to go with their hairraising
rock ’n’ roll? “I think it will be a good idea to keep [the
mystery surrounding the band] because we are still so young and
have opinions that probably shouldn’t be let out into the world
yet,” Lia adds with humour, casting light on the fact that the band
are still likely to be asked for ID upon entry to most venues they
play. “It’s like a cautious thing. I don’t really like sharing too much
as more music gets released either. I think, sometimes, you can
attach the artist to the person a little too much. For certain artists
that can work, but sometimes you need to take the artist for what
they are; music first.”
Lia’s maturity is palpable. Mainstream media tends to create a
preconception that young people in the music industry aren’t able
to handle the pressure. In this instance, writing music and gigging
from the age of 14 has sped up the steps towards gaining
confidence in ability, especially when it becomes your livelihood.
“There’s a lot you can take from it going in so young, but there
is also a lot that can fuck you up because you’re so young,” Lia
muses. “You don’t really understand how people work yet. When
we first started we just got thrown into the deep end. We were
just saying yesterday, it’s mad to think that we haven’t been to
that many gigs as spectators. Instead we’ve played hundreds.”
Playing such a large number of gigs is no easy feat, especially
when you’re trying to juggle school, the added pressure of
fronting the band and essentially being the spokesperson for
the group. It’s a role that Lia is happy to be taking on, but not
without its caveats of expectations for musical progression and
development. Lia shrugs off the standardised thought of these
expectations. “You get compared to people who have been in
the industry for years, like grown women and men. I haven’t
even finished puberty yet, you know,” she jokes. And it’s not
only confined to the stage and recording studio. While the
efforts are paying off, taking the reins of The Mysterines is an
all-encompassing endeavour. “It can get stressful because I write
everything. I do everything; social media and stuff, too. It’s all
from me, really.”
However, Lia is quick to outline that it is far from a selfreflective
endeavour. The Mysterines are a band that are toploaded
by the lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, but only with
all the other parts pulling in tandem do they become a force to
be reckoned with. “When I bring the songs to the boys they turn
it around in a different way. It’s like putting bread in the toaster,
the toast is the final product,” Lia explains. I like the analogy.
Bread is always better after a quick run in with the toaster; gives
it an edge. “There is definitely an energy there that needs to be
communicated when we play live.”
Beyond strong influences from Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, PJ
Harvey and Patti Smith, I’m intrigued to find out where she gets
her songwriting inspiration from. If I think back to when I was in
my early teens I wouldn’t know where to start with writing my
own music, yet Lia has managed to turn those turbulent times
into clever lyrics and angsty songs. “I think it’s changed over
time,” she muses. “Initially, when I was younger. it was from
my perspective on feelings, which it still is to a certain point.
Sometimes I’ll write something and I still don’t realise what it’s
about until I’ve got over the issue. I’ll look back at the song like,
‘Oh shit, that’s what that was about’. I think now, because I’m
a bit older, I like to get points across in songs, especially from
a female perspective. But love is probably the main thing, it’s
probably the main thing everyone writes about, really.”
Touching on the female perspective she mentions can often
be a subject lingered on when speaking to female musicians.
But when you’re fronting a heavy rock band in a city that lacks
this sort of genre, more so with the recent end of Queen Zee,
I want to find out how she feels being in this position as a
young woman. Does society load it with a greater responsibility,
expectation and rules, and does she even notice the pressure
at the age of 18? “I feel like a lot of people get those questions
and they are quick to jump to the answer of, ‘Being a girl in the
industry is no different to being a boy’, but it really is. There
is a major difference,” she says passionately. “The way you’re
perceived and treated is sometimes even more positive than
boys, but then sometimes it’s really degrading,” she adds,
with an expression that lightly leans on the experiences she
is mentally recalling. “The lads have gone through it with me
as well. Their perspective on feminism has changed over time
because they have watched me deal with it. Two years ago, if
you had asked them if sexism exists in the music industry they
probably wouldn’t be so certain, but now they would say, ‘Yes’.
It’s not in the way that girls are better than boys or boys are
better than girls. I think it’s more the fact you become a gimmick
in some ways. It’s mad, sometimes people shock you and treat
you normally, it’s good when that happens because you feel a lot
more comfortable.”
The Mysterines are certainly no gimmick. They’re in good
company, slowly on their way to sharing a platform with some
of the biggest female voices the band take their cues from. The
Mysterines are leading a charge. They’re leading it with a power
and maturity the music industry needs. They are only just getting
started with an exciting future built from the humble beginnings,
one where the alluring charm of mystery has paved the way to
near ubiquity within the Liverpool scene.
“It’s hard to see far ahead,” Lia says, as we wind down our
conversation. “We’re just taking it as it comes and not getting
ahead of ourselves because the pressure kicks in then. I’m just
letting myself grow into a style as a writer. Hopefully we’ll still be
doing this in five years, because if not I’d have to get a job,” she
laughs. As far as I can see, the only job now for The Mysterines is
to keep the music coming and the posters at eye level. Finishing
with a sigh and a smile she ends with a grounding comment, “It’s
been a long road and there’s probably more shit to come, but it’s
been great. It’s all worth it.” !
Words: Sophie Shields / @sshields43
Photography: John Johnson / johnjohnson-photography.com
soundcloud.com/themysterines
Take Control is out now via Pretty Face Recordings. The
Mysterines play Jimmy’s on 7th December.
Thanks to Vessel Liverpool Studios – and keep your eyes open
for behind the scenes content from this photoshoot on Bido
channels.
FEATURE
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