Birmingham band The Clause are hopeful their debut album can help to put their home city back on the map.
The four-piece, comprised of Pearce Macca, Liam Deakin, Jonny Fyffe, and Niall Fennell, are preparing for the release of Victim of a Casual Thing on October 17.
Having formed back in 2015, the prospect of sharing their own album was something they could only imagine during their early days as a band.
“It’s pretty surreal, we’ve been dreaming of it since we first started a band when we were young teenagers, but now it’s finally here – it’s been a long time coming,” frontman Macca said.
“If I told teenage me, he’d probably say: ‘What have you been smoking?’
“We always knew we’d get to this point, but we didn’t think we’d be where we are in terms of the gigs we are doing and the festivals we are playing.
“We’d all be proud of ourselves, but the job isn’t really done yet; we’re not where we want to be in the industry, we want to go right to the top, and hopefully this album can do that.
“There’s a lot of stuff on there that’s observations of me doing a little bit of social commentary on the people that I’ve grown up with. Like, our culture, what I’m seeing around me, and the things we get up to – and the good, bad and evil of all that.
“There’s other bits where I’ve opened myself up a little bit more to the emotional things that have happened to me, like relationships or times where you weren’t having your best day. Every bit of it is in this record.
“There’s parts that will make you laugh, parts that will make you want to lose your head, and there’s parts that will make you cry as well. We’re going to have a good time unpacking all of that.”
Macca states the process of recording the songs was a smooth process, and was left excited after listening it back in full for the first time last month.
“It was pretty easy going when we got into the studio,” he added.
“When you’re writing an album, there’s always obstacles that you encounter and you’ve got to push through to get things over the line – that’s just the nature of writing music.
“When we got into the studio when the songs were ready to go, we realised we had a special piece of work. We’ve wrapped up the mastering, so we’ve listened to the full thing, and it’s a special record.
“The process of recording your music was a dream – we had a belter.”
The four-piece released their latest single Elisha last month, with an early phone recording of the song shared on social media shortly after.
The Clause – Elisha (Official Video)
“It was around July last year at 3am, I was just lying in bed thinking about it and the words came to me so I had to drag myself out of bed to run down to the piano,” Macca noted.
“I had to blurt it out into my phone microphone. It’s kind of funny listening to where the song started to where it’s got to because it was definitely miles away to what it is now.
“It’s good to hear the conception of things, that’s the bonus of having a smart phone. You need to do it because of the amount of ideas you get in little fleeting moments that you don’t catch and just float away.
“It could happen at literally any point of the day. There’s been times before where we’ve been on stage doing a gig and I’ll be thinking about other songs.
“There’s a line in a song off the album called Exception and I thought of it on stage. I had to try and remember it for a whole set to put it in my phone after.
“I zone out in the middle of the pub and have to get my phone out under the table and hum some melodies into the microphone. Nine times out of 10 it’s pure f***ing s*** but you’ll get that one that’s half decent and will turn into a song.”
Macca states the band’s home of Birmingham played its part in influencing Victim of a Casual Thing, and believes the city can be overlooked.
“The closer on the album is a bit of a nod towards where we are from, and how people are scared of being proud of our culture and our heritage,” he stated.
“There’s a stigma around Brum where it’s shameful to big it up because of how other people around the country see it.
“It’s our home – it ain’t beautiful and it gets overlooked a lot, but it birthed us and birthed so many great musicians over the years.
“It’s a shame it does get a little bit overlooked because there’s so much culture in the city if you care to look. It lies within the people that live here – there’s some great characters and great places.
“The place has moulded us into the people we are now. It’s a place that puts hairs on your chest and it can be brutal sometimes.
“You see big touring artists skipping out Birmingham now because it’s notoriously a difficult place to come. We’ve made it a goal of our band to change that and put our city back on the map to show there’s something still bubbling here. There’s beauty here if you care to look.”
On the back of releasing their debut album, the Clause head out on a UK tour throughout the final two months of the year.
The band’s final show of 2025 comes at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on December 19.
“Our hometown shows are always special nights – we always throw a big party afterwards,” Macca shared.
“It’s a big community thing, but it’s great to see people travelling in from all over the country; it’s not just Brummies filling the place out. It’s good to get people here and making noise about the city.
“The timing is on purpose because it’s a time where everyone lets their hair down and have a bit of fun. We wanted to cap off the year with a massive tour.
“Our first goal when we started this band was to play the Academy, so it’s strange to think we’ll be living that by the end of the year – it’ll be a wicked night.”
The Clause’s debut album Victim of a Casual Thing is out on 17 October. Catch them on tour this winter.
Follow @theclauseuk on Instagram for updates.
Enjoyed this interview? Check out our recent chat with The Royston Club.
