Lead singer of the hot folk rock band SPEAK, BROTHER, James Herring, runs through the tracks on the band's debut album 'Young & Brave'

On the 13th April, the long awaited debut full length album by Coventry's Speak, Brother is being released. The band's frontman James Herring takes us through each song on the set.
"Magnificent"
Remember the last time you held a
new-born baby? It's powerless, frail and vulnerable as it rests in
your arms. It has no idea just how precious and beautiful it is. Isn't
it weird to think that we were once a baby, just like that? We all
start from that place of Magnificence. I penned all the words to this
song in bed one evening after watching the film 'Fences'. Based in
gritty 1950's black America, it's a tough story to watch. It takes you
through a few generations of a family whose upbringing was dark,
lonely and hard, but the last few scenes focus on this beautiful young
daughter whose eyes were full of hope and purity. This song is an
attempt to capture those emotions. In spite of the fears and pressures
that come later in life, this is a song of joy and celebration of the
beauty and incredible value each and every human that has ever walked
this earth contains.
"When We Were Young"
When we sat down to start
writing the album, this is the first song that came out. Thematically,
it actually carries the sentiments from the last track of our previous
EP 'Light Runs After Us'. In a way it also represents the main theme
of the album and contains the lyrics of the album title. The song is a
little bit of a nostalgic look back over my childhood. Where did my
insecurities come from? When did I first begin to fear, or experience
treachery? I remember as a kid at school I collected pogs. Remember
those? I had quite a nice collection. I was having a game with a
friend. It was my first game 'for keeps', and it was the day I first
learned the concept of gambling. I lost the game and he started
pulling all my pogs towards himself and I just burst into tears when
others stopped me stopping him. It's funny to think of my naivety, but
that day I lost a little of my innocence as I felt bitter against my
friend. As a kid I was unaware of anything. I just wanted to build
Lego, explore woodland, discover caves, climb trees, but somewhere
down the line I started to fear. Deep down, I still want to do all
that stuff. I want to love fearlessly. I don't want fear to get in the
way of my creativity. My work. My relationships. This song is yearning
to awaken that fearless inner child again.
"Pond Boy"
"Pond Boy" is a song about learning
to live life outside of our comfort zone - our "pond". Our
comfortable, familiar, safe little pond. Nothing changes here. Nothing
new. Aspirations are managed and dreams are contained or let go
completely and there is no vulnerability. I think this was where we
were at before we decided to crowdfund for this album. It was always a
risk. What if we don't reach our target? What if we can't find a
producer? What if we can't write good enough songs? What if we fail?
We didn't know what would happen. But adventure has to include risk. .
. right?
"Magnesium Burn"
This song is the summary of the
build-up of frustration of being contained and restrained from the
padded safe nature of the pond. It's a desperate answer to the call of
doing something different. Something with meaning. To put a foot out
into the unknown. I love what David Bowie said when asked about
creativity: "Always go a little further in the water than what you
feel you're capable of being in. . . When you feel like your feet
aren't quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place
to do something exciting." "Magnesium Burn" is the spark that ignites
a rocket to just run into the fear. Run out to the edge. Just before
recording the vocals, Matt and I decided to jump out of the studio and
run down the street till we were gasping for breath (which didn't take
long for me). It set the tone nicely.
"Father"
Again, this song looks back at the
child we were, but looks up and around to see that we aren't alone in
this. That although we are all different and beautiful in our
uniqueness, we are all the same and not on our own in our suffering.
It's a song about inclusiveness, and I love that we managed to get
loads of voices on it. It features the beautiful voice of Kirstie
Smith (Dan's wife) and a gospel choir at the end. I can't tell you
what the strange words at the end of the song mean. Gavin Monaghan,
our producer, who convinced me the end needed something, told me to
get into the vocal booth and "channel my inner goat herder" (whatever
that means ha ha). So I just switched the lights off completely so it
went pitch black and sang.
"Princess"
I read a news article a few years ago
about a young girl of 12 who was found in a park hanging from a tree.
She had written on her arms words like "The voices told me to do this.
They told me I have no purpose. So there's no point of me being here."
I was heartbroken and angry. How could this happen?! What haunts me
the most is that I've heard those same words from my own mouth. I've
heard them from people I love dearly. I guess these lyrics are a
message to that girl. Words that I want to say to those I love of who
they truly are. The words in the middle section are those of someone
dear to me in the depths of depression. A kick back I guess. Such is
the nature of depression. There's no quick fix. It takes time,
patience, love and then a little more time and patience.
"Lions Roar"
This song is inspired by a moment I
had with my nephew, Liam. He was very young and it was his first time
at the seaside. His first time looking out at the endless horizon. I
walked him to the waves, holding him steady. It was a chilly British
seaside evening and the wind and waves were loud. Liam was a little
scared and he was about to cry. It must have been very new,
threatening and uncertain. But suddenly he let out his loudest roar.
As if to silence the waves. Like a little fragile boy could stand up
to the forces of nature? But as long as I held him there, and his mum
wasn't far off, he was as strong as a lion. It's that strength from
knowing who we are and that we're not alone even in the midst of
uncertainty, inspired this song.
"Man Of Honour"
The song was inspired by a
friend of ours who is a police officer. He told us about an incident
he was in where a man was in crisis and was at the end of his will to
live. He was on his own with this man, trying to talk him round while
at one point wrestling him while he had a knife, trying to keep
himself and the man from being harmed.
"Two Bands Of Gold"
A song taken from our first
EP. It's a song dear to me about my grandparents and their life
together. I guess, in the midst of my own insecurities growing up
their dedication to each other right till the end demonstrated to me
the power of love and the purpose of marriage.
"Empire"
When it feels like everything you have
aimed for, worked towards and built and all falls to pieces. Ripped
under from beneath your feet and you're left with nothing. When you
hold onto these dreams so tight, your whole identity is in them. So
when they fail, you fail. It's a song of desperation, emptiness,
lamenting but ultimately a giving up of and a holding lightly of the
things that are given to you and that in fact we're not on our own in
this. Fear helps us understand the dangers, but it shouldn't stop us
or contain us. Regardless of what fears we have picked up in our lives
(of which there are many for me) we all still have that same DNA to be
a bit more wild.