After several years away, Birmingham band To The Wall are back with Pariah, a new release that bridges the past and present of the band’s journey. Originally recorded just before the world shut down in 2020, the EP captures a moment in time that’s now been revisited, remixed, and finally brought to life all these years later.

In the time between releases the members kept busy with other projects, but a chance return to the stage in late 2024 reignited the spark that first drove the band. With new recordings already on the horizon and a renewed energy behind them, To The Wall are stepping back into the spotlight.

We caught up with the band to talk about rediscovering old recordings, the creative process behind Pariah, and what the future holds.

•⁠  ⁠It’s been several years since your debut EP in 2018 – what did that time away from To The Wall give you creatively and what else have you all been up to?

Gavin: We had quite a lot of energy for To The Wall following the first EP and were grateful to have some good opportunities to play some cool shows. We set to the studio in early 2020 to record some new material and then the pandemic came along. Momentum got lost and without really splitting up as such, it just didn’t feel like TTW was happening. In the meantime some of us started playing music in Mt. Yonder, as well a couple of small stints playing alongside friends projects, including S.T. Manville & The Agony (Wiz on drums, Gavin on bass) & Katie Malco (Gavin on drums).
Late 2024 we filled in last minute for a Mt. Yonder show and re-ignited our love for To The Wall. We forgot how much fun it is, the energy it brings us, and the joy of seeing people resonate with it. So after another couple of gigs, we decided to dust off those recordings and get TTW back on track again.

•⁠  ⁠Pariah is built from material originally recorded pre-lockdown – how much of the original songs survived, and how much was completely reimagined?

Thom: The recordings themselves are the original takes and passes from 2020 but they were remixed and remastered. Also, Sam did some extra bits of musical production on them which really helps add layers to the songs (you can really hear this on Cold Souls).

•⁠  ⁠Were there any songs that changed drastically in meaning or tone compared to when they were first written?

Thom: I don’t think any of them changed drastically. We spent a long time working on them in the run up to recording in 2020 so we were really happy with them back then. We almost just popped them on a shelf for a few years, then took them down, blew off the dust and unpacked them from exactly where we left off. 

•⁠  ⁠What did working with Sam (Manville) bring to the process that felt different this time around?

Thom: Recording this ep was completely different experience for me (Thom Peckett) as when we did the first ep, the guys had already recorded the music in El Paso with our friend Chris. So I tracked vocal on to it back in England (in Leicestershire! Hardly as glamorous as Texas haha). This time, we were all in the same room tracking together which I think really comes across in the final recording. He really managed to capture the feel in the room whilst we were playing. We practise in a little room in a studio in Birmingham which I believe shapes the music a little bit – it feels very close and on top of you – so it was good to have this transferred to record. 

•⁠  ⁠Which track on the EP feels the most personal or significant to you, and why?

Thom: To me personally, there’s a lot of stuff on there lyrically that’s been rattling around in my head for a while so it feels particularly good to get those songs out. Lots of different themes and ideas based on stuff I was thinking at that particular time. It’s almost a bit nostalgic in a way (even though it’s a new release) to hear something that makes me go “ha! I wrote that when I was walking back from the pub in 2019! A lots changed since then!”

•⁠  ⁠You’ve previously played festivals like 2000trees – how important is the live setting to To The Wall’s identity? Got any festival appearances on the horizon?

Thom: We often joke about how old we are now and how we can’t really do it but performing live is a bit like our sip from the Holy Grail. Playing onstage with Wiz, Gav and Steve fills me with the same energy and joy that it did when we played together in our 20s! We genuinely love performing live – recording is great but I see us very much as a live band and you really need to hear the songs in the flesh! We have nothing booked festival wise this summer but we are getting to work on some other things too…

•⁠  ⁠Looking back at your time recording in El Paso with Chris Common, what stands out as the defining memory from those sessions? If you could go back and speak to yourselves during those original sessions what would you say or do differently?

Gavin: These sessions were really exciting for us. We hadn’t really got a full band together, as it was only 3 of us at that point, before Thom joined. We hadn’t played a single gig and weren’t really a band as such. Chris Common is such a great producer, and he was setting up a new studio at Omar Rodirguez-Lopez’s home, so we simply couldn’t pass off that opportunity! The defining memory is a general one for me – it all felt like quite a dream, in many ways; jet lag, hangovers, heat exhaustion, so many changes to our day-to-day, yet the sessions were super productive, fast-paced and creative. We really feel like that first EP sounds like the environment we made it in. If we could speak to ourselves then I’d push us to continue the drive we had, as this band has been so on/off over the years. But hindsight isn’t helpful really.

•⁠  ⁠Was there ever a point where you thought To The Wall wouldn’t come back at all?

Thom: I think we got a bit busy and didn’t do any To The Wall stuff for a while but we were never going to say ‘That’s it!’ with it. It’s such a great band to be a part of that I don’t think we’d ever say it’s done forever. Even if we had another 5 year gap we’d definitely be back again – just this time in our 60s haha 

•⁠  ⁠What’s next for To The Wall after Pariah?

Gavin: we’re eager to keep TTW moving this time. We already have a bunch of tracks ready to record, which we’ll be doing with Sam again in May this year. Then after that, we’re keen to explore other areas that we can take the To The wall sound. We have a wide variety of influences, and despite TTW having a “sound” we want to see how we can push that. We’ve got a couple of gigs lined up over summer, and looking to get more booked in. So, hopefully, we’re back for a bit longer this time!

You can catch To The Wall live this summer when they play for bUTTONpUSHER at The Carousel in Nottingham with Benthos on the 1st August