Long Read - The Special Return Of Kids In Glass Houses
One of the most talked about and anticipated bands of Slam Dunk 2023 were, undoubtedly, Welsh rockers Kids In Glass Houses. Not only did their debut album ‘Smart Casual’ get released on one chilly Monday, back on May 19th 2008 – making their set at Slam Dunk 2023 a long-awaited 15th anniversary show – but Kids In Glass Houses themselves were thought to be… gone. Their last show had been at the tail-end of 2014: there had been 5 UK Prime Ministers, 2 Olympics, one incredibly drawn out departure from the EU, a pandemic, and countless culture shifts over the 3,131 days that the now-Teens In Glass Houses had been absent for; not to mention, with a nine year gap, a lot of their fans likely had kids and families of their own by now. Everything had changed. Well, everything except a love of live music – so, being lucky enough to talk to Andrew ‘Shay’ Sheehy about what it was like being back, what was coming up, and what to expect before their first show in zonks was something special indeed.
But first, we had to get the lowdown on what it was like walking off the stage nine years ago. “Crazy. That’s the only word, really. It felt like the end of something! We were going from best friends seeing each other every day and doing everything together, to just suddenly not having that. Obviously, we were still close, and we’ve had WhatsApp groups and everything, but it didn’t feel the same. We never thought we’d be playing together again”, he admitted, a mixture of joy and anxiousness at being back, and perhaps a little shock still at the reaction the band’s reunion had gotten flitting across his face; “we’re just so excited to get back out there and play!”
It was almost as interesting to find out what they’d been getting up to in the meantime as it was to get an image of what to expect – for instance, guitarist Iain Mahanty has spent a lot of his time writing music for TV and Film, while vocalist Aled Phillips has worked as an art director and graphic designer, and Shay himself has spent time working as a producer for Film and TV for various network and streaming powerhouses – but that would have to wait; first, Shay was excited to share what was to come. “What can you expect? A celebration. A lot of fun, really! A lot of ‘Smart Casual’, of course, and then a good few other ‘hits’” – the sardonic smile at ‘hits’ perhaps belies a man unwilling to admit the band’s resurgence in pop culture, even if the pre-orders for the Smart Casual re-issue and the rate at which dates for their anniversary tour in October have been selling out, with Cardiff already gone and Manchester already upgraded, suggest otherwise. Though, he assures us, he still loves Smart Casual. “It’s held up pretty well! I think there’s a few songs that feel a little immature, which maybe haven’t aged the best, but maybe that’s why it still resonates with so many people. But that’s also why it’s been so good to remaster it for the re-release in September!”
Like clockwork, eventually came the question that’s likely plagued the band since announcing a comeback – one or done, or are Kids In Glass Houses back? Shay was unwilling confirm one way or another: “[w]e just don’t yet. We’re still new coming back into this. We never stopped working on new music, particularly Aled and Iain, so we’ve got a ton of material… we used to be a lot more immature, whereas now we’re wiser and better able to communicate. The dynamic has certainly shifted in that regard, in terms of creating and practicing, so I think we’re probably in a better place – God, I sound so old” he laughs, as if the length of absence had finally struck him. “I think the beauty of it is that now we’re just doing it for fun. We all have our own jobs and families, this is all just out of love for the music rather than having the pressure of having to play. We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to do, it’s all on our own terms.”
It felt right to ask just one more question, from a man who’s lived more lives in the past fifteen years than most people could ever hope – what does Kids In Glass Houses mean to you? “Everything and nothing at the same time, really. It’s a hard a question, especially as we’re just starting back up! I guess, just five best friends getting to play together. That’s what KIGH means to me.”
Suffice to say, Kids In Glass Houses means much more than that to a lot of other people – the October tour can’t come soon enough!'
Feature by James O’Sullivan
Live Dates:
October
Sun 15 Glasgow SWG3
Mon 16 Manchester O2 Ritz
Tue 17 Birmingham O2 Institute
Wed 18 London O2 Forum Kentish Town
Fri 20 Bristol O2 Academy Bristol
Sat 21 Cardiff Cardiff University Great Hal
