Interview | Her Picture | James Taylor

(from L to R): bassist Cat Reid, guitarist Lewis Docherty, lead vocalist Anny Tahaney and drummer Finlay Smith

Words and interview by James Taylor

Few bands on the scene rarely combine the poetic, scintillating lyricism and ferocious energy so well, and to such major impact, as Her Picture. Previously known in the Glasgow music scene as Fauna, their new title reflects the painting of Lily Briscoe in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse, a text lead singer Anny Tahaney knew well from her time as an English Literature student at the University of Glasgow. The musical characteristics this literary influence suggests, such as the importance of creative composition in the face of prejudice and doubt, is perfectly encapsulated by the novel’s last lines - ‘…she laid her brush down in extreme fatigue, having had her vision.’ Their unique, radical and entirely authentic sound, and the highly impressive vocals of lead singer Tahaney, does lead the listener to consider the visionary here. An amalgam of post punk and rock, their sound feels particular to Glasgow but also deeply universal in it’s concerns and advocacies.

Indeed, what’s doubly fascinating about the band is their sense of positionality, of how societal - particularly class - injustices frustrate the inner freedoms we all possess. When a band so emphatically vocalises these collective resentments towards bodies of power and elitism, and the narratives they seek to purport, the music of a band like Her Picture becomes not just important, but essential. We had the pleasure of chatting to the band about their influences, ambitions, and what’s important to them - and getting their tracks onto your rotation immediately is not just important, but absolutely essential.

INTERVIEW | HER PICTURE

Thanks for agreeing to interview guys, it’s such a pleasure to chat with you. Must be a cliche introductory question by now, but how did you guys get together at first? What prompted the initial design of the band? 

Well, we initially met when we were about 15/16 by participating in Behind the Noise, a music education programme that taught school kids about the music industry and performing. I think something clicked when we all met; being in a band was something we had all individually aspired to, so meeting other people who felt the same was so refreshing. We started meeting up after the programme finished and the rest is history! We’ve been playing and writing music together ever since. 

Some people might recognise you by your band's previous name, Fauna - what made you decide to metamorphose, so to speak? What's changed, and what's stayed the same?

FAUNA was our childhood band, it’s an era that will always mean so much to us- we grew up with it! However, as we’ve gotten older and progressed both as songwriters and as people, we realised that what we were creating, and the reasoning behind it, no longer felt connected to the old project and its history. The pandemic also had a lot to do with it. We had always cared about the band, but we realised how much we needed it when the music industry came to a total standstill. I think that sort of defines what has stayed and what’s new really, we’re the same people, but our sound is more developed and our songs talk about subject matter that is a bit more complex, given our current ages and experiences e.g. mental health, grief, alienation, identity, political and social frustrations… We’ve also thrown ourselves into this new project like we never did with FAUNA, it’s a career-goal for us now, not a hobby. 

You’ve had such an amazing reception for your debut single, ‘The Nature of It’. How do you feel seeing the response it’s having? 

It has honestly been so lovely, we feel like such broken records from continually thanking people! The song has so much frustration to it, lots of bitterness about having to get up everyday and go through the necessary motions that leave you with no time and energy to be creative. To have people respond positively to the song feels like a resistance to all that negative energy, it pushes back against it. 

I’d love to know a bit about your creative process as a band. How did a track like ‘The Nature of It’ come to fruition? Were there specific inspirations or influences on it, especially as the band's calling card? 

We always, always write together, whether we’re all sitting in a room or bouncing a logic file back and forth, it’s all four of us in each track. The Nature of It was written in the prior format, in the attic of Finlay’s house. It was a really organic process. We’re all massive Pink Floyd fans, and that prog energy is right at the forefront of this track, especially with the intro. As well as having all the components of a rock song, the track is also very synth and sample- heavy. We love to experiment with different textures and sounds when writing, it can totally elevate the track. Our core goal essentially is to make our songs as sonically interesting as possible, and that’s something people have commented on and recognised with ‘The Nature of It’. 

What does it mean to be a band that hails from Glasgow, or developed within the Glasgow scene? Do you feel the specific environment of the city has shaped you as a band at all? 

Growing up in the Glasgow music scene has entirely nurtured our growth as musicians, there’s no doubt about that. There’s such an amazing sense of community and support, I personally (Anny) would never have had the courage or confidence to pursue music as a career if it wasn’t for the scene. I think that’s what it means to be a Glasgow band for us, knowing that you’re involved in, and contributing to, an environment that is so much bigger than yourself. It’s such a vibrant and dynamic time to be a musician in Glasgow right now, the city is bursting with talent.  

You’re releasing your next single, ‘I’m Still Here’. Tell us a bit about the single, and why you decided this was the track to follow from the success of ‘The Nature of It’. 

‘I’m Still Here’ is a song that has been with us for a while. We initially wrote it a couple of years ago, but we’ve never retired it; whenever we felt tired of it we just rearranged it instead. I think we all knew that it had the potential to be a  great song and that, with some time and nurturing, it could eventually get there. Consequently, it’s become a pretty sentimental song for us all; it feels like it totally encapsulates our journey as a band and the progression of our sound. We always had such high expectations for eventually releasing it, and we’re so happy that it’s finally at that stage. We can’t thank our producer, Jamie Holmes, enough for his work on the production of the track, it’s exactly how we always imagined it. 

OK, let's say you were headlining or touring, and could choose any band or artist to support - collectively, who would you pick, and why?

There are so many bands that we look up to, so it’s hard to whittle it down! We’d love to open up for the likes of Wolf Alice or Biffy Clyro, their crowds always have such amazing energy. We’re also pretty obsessed with Ben Howard and his sound, so going on tour with him would be one for the bucket list (even if our songs are heavier than his, one can dream!)

What other bands out there at the moment do you count as inspirations or models for your own style or aesthetic? If any? her picture has a really unique and distinctive alt-rock sound, after all. 

We have a really interesting blend of inspirations. We all collectively love artists like Pink Floyd, Ben Howard, Phoebe Bridgers, Wolf Alice etc but our individual influences also bleed into the songs quite a bit. For example, Anny really likes Kate Bush, Aurora and Florence + the Machine, so that filters into her singing, while Finlay’s drumming style is influenced by the likes of Biffy Clyro and Muse. I think the eclectic blend of influences is good, it allows us to pull from a range of different styles and sounds. 

And to finish, what does success mean for her picture? When could you, or when do you already, look up and think, yes, we’ve really made it? 

I think it’s probably very hard for artists to have that moment because you’re so caught up in the graft/ continually pushing and promoting yourself. I think we’re all in the same boat where success to us means doing the band full-time and not having to compromise or share our time elsewhere. That’s what we’re all working and striving towards! I think it’s also good to appreciate the little successes when you’re an independent artist; selling out a show or hitting a number of streams is still important, even if the numbers aren’t crazy high. Recognising little victories like that gives you the motivation to keep going.

Her Picture are performing on Saturday 8th October 2022, at Tenement Trail on the Winged Ox stage. You can buy tickets here.

You can follow her picture on Spotify, as well as alternative streaming platforms you can access here. Get updates on upcoming gigs on their Facebook and Instagram. For even more Her Picture content, you can check out their Linktree.