On September 6, Philadelphia-based band Webb Chapel will release their highly anticipated album World Cup via Strange Mono Records. Formed in 2021, Strange Mono is a charity label donating all proceeds from sales to the artist’s chosen organization; Webb Chapel has selected the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). The album's lead single, "Springtime," delves into themes of life, death, and renewal, inspired by vocalist and bassist Rachel Gordon’s experiences as a grave gardener. World Cup represents the band’s transition from a solo project to a collaborative effort, recorded over six days with engineer Dan Angel. Featuring Rachel Gordon, Zack Claxton, Josh Lesser, and Christian Millieux, the album showcases their evolution and solidifies their presence in Philadelphia's music scene. We caught up with the band to talk about songwriting and music in general:
Q: In your opinion, what are the essential qualities that make a “good songwriter”?
We've all been home alone but if you watch the movie Home Alone you get a specific reference point that transcends being home alone, and transcends being merely a Xmas movie.
In the same sense a good song would be something you could play alone on different instruments and still get the same frequency, A good songwriter would be someone who achieves this.
Q: What is the basis for writing attention-grabbing music in this day and age?
I’m not sure there is a basis, ideally you would try to zig where others zag
Q: Can you pinpoint some specific songs and songwriters that changed the way you write music?
I think Mary Sleeps Alone is a great song, I like Mary Goes Round and Thomas Leer, Space Lady over Weird Al, Grateful Dead minus Bob Weir, the troggs
Q: Do you find it hard to be inspired by artists that are younger than you, or are you motivated by their energy? Can you name any new artists you find inspiring?
I don’t really pay attention, I covered a band called Acid Freek on one of my records I think they’re kind of young
Q: For your new album, what inspired the lyrical content, album title, and overall vibe?
I like phrases that can change when you sit with them for a while. World Cup is soccer but it’s also the world as cup, or a cup as world, micro/macro do you follow any Terence McKenna? He’s obsessed with this concept, likewise, the lyrics can be about relationships, decay, growth, memory between two people or between one's self, minutia as ultimate importance, ultimate importance as minutia,
Q: Do you find that you ruminate over writing songs and hold on to them for a long time before including them on a record? Or do you prefer to write them, release them, and be done with them? Do you ever revisit old material to do a re-write or once it’s done it’s done?
I try not to have a way of doing things. I've done most approaches, this one being the most methodical, in the sense of pre and post-production, rehearsing with a band, etc. I usually write as a kind of neurosis, it's only recently that I’ve started trying to exist publicly with it, most of what I’ve made I’ve either deleted or lost.
Q: Were there any lessons you learned in the writing and recording process for your current release that you will take with you into your next project?
Patience is a virtue, I'd like to be able to have more polished ventures and more anti-musical escapades that can exist under the same umbrella, with two schools of thought over which is the real me, then I can finally go poof and reveal the big twist at the end of the puzzle.
https://strangemono.bandcamp.com/album/world-cup