For this month’s cover interview, Exposed grabs an 808 and enters the synth-infused world of Welcome to the Marble Zone, the sophomore album from Joe Carnall’s solo project Good Cop Bad Cop.
“The Marble Zone started as a bit of a joke,” says Joe Carnall. “I mean, the tunes on Sonic are pretty amazing and I was even toying with the idea of doing a cover at one point. But in my old house, where I first started making this album, I’d go down into the basement where I had my studio. I could hear the chaotic sounds of the world above, but I’d be immersed in this space downstairs, fully inside the Marble Zone, on the lava level!”
For those not sufficiently well-versed in the world of Sega’s famously nippy hedgehog, the Marble Zone is an ancient cave-like complex, filled with subterranean lava pools and all manner of tricky obstacles requiring zen-like focus (and plenty of frenzied button-bashing) to overcome.
Just as millions of gamers have escaped the harsh realities of life by spending some time engrossed in a pixelated underground maze, Carnall would slip down the stairs and enter his own personal sanctuary where, as he succinctly puts it, “self-reflection led to creativity and the minutes became hours”.
Settling down for a pint with Exposed, he explains that having a cathartic space like this was a blessing during a period which saw him juggling the myriad challenges posed by lockdown while bringing up young children with his wife. “During that time, I suppose we were all forced to look inward,” he reflects. “There were some beautiful personal moments but also some really tough ones. So, it’s a case of reflecting on a mad period in my life, but crucially, being old enough to want to write about it and not to feel like I had to lie about it.”
Unsurprisingly, the result is Carnall’s most introspective album to date, the second Good Cop Bad Cop offering which has seen him grow the synth-heavy sound with the addition of some hip-hop style grooves, cuts and edits courtesy of Sheffield-based producer GoldTeeth. The result isn’t far removed from what you’d expect if New Order, Gorillaz and LCD Soundsystem happened to be jamming together when Tier 3 restrictions were announced.
“This record was a real sort of diary entry, something which I’ve never allowed myself to do before,” he continues. “It’s a bit warts and all.” There’s a brief pause before he asks, “Do you know where that saying comes from, by the way?” I admit my cluelessness, and then, in true history teacher style, he dives into a detailed explanation of Oliver Cromwell’s role in coining the phrase. Look it up and pocket it for your next icebreaker.
As it happens, the duality between his jobs as a musician and a schoolteacher partly inspired the naming of this solo project (“and I think Good Cop Bad Cop just sounded cool”). Building on this theme, there are frequent nods to the creeping doubts and drudgeries of adult life and parenthood throughout the album, from the sentimental laments of ‘Running Away With The Circus’ (“Kick me, kiss me / Do anything but pretend that it’s easy”) to the inescapable grown-up reality of having to deal with dickheads on ‘Mr Misfit’ (“Why can’t you see I’m resigned / Bathe me in all your white lies”).
“There were some beautiful personal moments but also some really tough ones. So, it’s a case of reflecting on a mad period in my life, but crucially, being old enough to want to write about it and not to feel like I had to lie about it.” Photo: Rob Nicholson / Pedalo Photography
But nowhere else is the album more emotionally honest than on the fifth track, ‘I Cried for a Friend’, a poignant tribute to the passing of a cherished pal. “There was a clutch of people in my life that died recently,” he says of the song, “and some far too young. Writing about it felt like a natural thing to do to try and process it, but at the same time, I really struggled to sing some lines in the studio and had a hard time keeping it together. I think it’s something that will connect with listeners, as unfortunately, it’s something we all go through at some point. Not that it makes it any easier.”
There is, however, plenty of light to go with the dark, and more than enough upbeat energy to move the ruminations along nicely. ‘Madness in the Aftermath’ is a shimmering, lilting ode to those blissful moments when a hectic life balance stabilises and a sense of self is rediscovered, ‘Does It Get Any Easier?’ combines squelchy hip-hop beats with scything guitar riffs and album closer ‘We’re Alright’ will surely be the only Neil Kinnock sample you’ll find on a track this year, with the Labour leader’s 1992 rally call leading in a relentlessly-paced plea to restore some sanity in UK politics.
“I think, fundamentally, I need to do it,” he says when we move on to motivations for the Good Cop Bad Cop project and changing definitions of success. “Making a record like this is kind of like a form of therapy for me, or at least a temporary escape or release. I’ve been able to push the sound sonically with Andy [GoldTeeth], get some things off my chest and have a bit of fun with it. Making a record is a really special thing to do, and I’ve always felt that way. Maybe I appreciate it more because I’ve got this thing about everything being ‘my last one’, but I’ve been saying that for the last 20 years! That said, if I’m still proud of it in five years time and still enjoy playing the tunes, and if I have one or two conversations with people that it meant something to, that’s fine for me.”
Making a record like this is kind of like a form of therapy for me, or at least a temporary escape or release.
Carnall will be taking Welcome to the Marble Zone on a five-date UK tour during April, culminating in a gig at the Leadmill on the 20th. It’ll be a considerably more intimate live experience compared to Milburn’s next hometown appearance, a headline slot for Rock & Roll Circus at Don Valley Stadium. However, what both shows will share are setlists that capture snapshots from influential eras of the artist’s life: the brash riffs and infectious swagger of the mid-noughties indie scene juxtaposed with a far more reflective period almost two decades later, trying to make sense of the chaos while deep inside the Marble Zone.
Welcome to the Marble Zone is out now. Tickets for the Leadmill show on 20 April are available now from leadmill.co.uk.
