Interview: Other Half - Cal Hudson on completing their trilogy with 'Dark Ageism'
Other Half
It is no secret that we love Other Half and seize any opportunity to see them live. The band have such an infectiously chaotic stage presence that they are the kind of group around which a scene can be built. With the impending release of their third album, Dark Ageism—a record that completes a trilogy with their previous albums, 2020’s Big Twenty and 2022’s Soft Action—we thought there was no better time to catch up with the band’s shouty, screamy, and occasionally singery guitarist, Cal Hudson.
In our recent conversation, Cal opened up about the influences and inspirations behind his music, his reflections on ageing, the intricate songwriting process, and the memorable collaborations that have shaped their latest album.
As soon as you start chatting with Cal, you can’t help but notice his deep-rooted love for the bands that shaped his formative years. "Pavement have always been a big thing for me," Cal admits. "I had a friend with a cool older brother who handed us a CD. It was unlike anything I'd heard before. It wasn’t about technical perfection; I was just so enamoured by that," he explains.
During our conversation, Cal also mentions other influences that have shaped his musical style, talking about the impact of bands like the Jesus Lizard, Nada Surf, and Johnny Foreigner on their development. “I saw Nada Surf and Johnny Foreigner for the first time at the same festival when I was 15. They both made a genuine impact on me, and that was when I was first starting in bands; I saw Johnny Foreigner as a just about attainable version of what we could be.” The influence of these bands goes beyond their sound; it’s about their attitude and approach to music.
We clearly caught Cal in a reflective mood, something that is mirrored in the lyrical content of Dark Ageism, with many of the album's tracks exploring personal growth and the passage of time. Cal shared some insightful thoughts on how ageing has influenced his music. "I’ve become acutely aware of my age, the decisions I’ve made, and the stupid things that I’ve decided to do in my life." He goes on to explain that both he and the band’s bassist, Sophie, have moved back in with their respective mothers, this return to the nest has helped fuel the reflective nature of the album and the realisation that they are now committed for the long haul. “Three albums is more than many bands manage to produce, so we now know we’re in it for the long haul. It was nice, in a meta way, to use the Other Half universe as a way to delve into my anxieties as an ageing man.”
The conversation naturally turned to the album and the songwriting process, discussing how the album completes a trilogy with their previous two outputs. “I always intended to carry on from what I'd written in that first album. I think it would be lying if I said that I had a neat little story that I wanted to tell the whole way through, but I always intended to stick to those characters and those settings. Mainly because it's a lovely, easy crutch to fall on isn't it, like a device of writing? If I ever got stuck on what to write about, I'd write about them.” “The first album culminates in a very definite event.” Cal goes on to explain, “I wanted to explore where that took all the characters. And it felt like this one was the end of the trilogy, so I started tying up little threads that were maybe hinted at in other songs. It’s a fun thing to do, I really enjoy all the wanky stuff."
The album also presented the perfect opportunity to collaborate with some of the band's biggest influences, bringing in Matthew Caws from Nada Surf and Alexei Berrow of Johnny Foreigner for separate spoken word tracks that bookend the album. Cal explained that the album seemed very vocal-heavy with a lot of intense vocals from him and Sophie, and they felt daunted about leaving open musical sections. "It's very rare for us to leave open musical sections because I so often feel the need to fill them with lyrics. Probably a defence mechanism thing, but If I'm going to fill the album with lyrics everywhere, it would be nice to have a few different voices. So, why not ask people that you adore?"
Speaking about working with Alexei, Cal mentioned, “We asked them to do a lot of heavy lifting by requesting a three-minute spoken word piece within a week and get it all recorded and sent to us. Even though we weren't expecting it to happen, they also added a load of harmonies over everything and sent it back. So that worked out nicely.”
Regarding how the collaborations came about, Cal explained their history with Alexei and Johnny Foreigner. “I’ve sent Johnny Foreigner things from every band I’ve ever been in, hoping they might notice. One day, they responded saying they quite liked it, and through the band circuit, we ended up chatting to the point where they asked us to support them. So it felt like we’d put in the groundwork to get there with Alexei.”
As for Matthew Caws, it was rather more serendipitous. “He happened to walk into the shop where both me and Alfie work. I wasn't there at the time, and Alfie didn't recognize him. They got talking about local music and gigs and Alfie asked, 'Oh, you're in a band?' and he just said, 'Yeah, Nada Surf.' We took that as a sign, and next time we were in Cambridge, we’d ask him to come down and watch us. He kindly came along with about 20 other people, watched the whole thing with the most charming grin on his face, and when it came to recording the album, we thought to reach out to him.”
When it came to recording the album, the band once again enlisted long-time producer Owen Turner and recorded with him at Sickroom Sdtudio. Cal shared, in classic Other Half fashion, that they completely underestimated how long everything would take. "We did what we always do with him and grossly misjudged how much time we would need to record all the songs," Cal laughs. "I think we ended up booking fewer days with him than for the last record. But luckily, Owen understands us as people in the studio, and it’s nice to have a fourth Beatle involved."
Originally, the band recorded 14 tracks for the album but cut two of them for the final release. Hopefully, as fans, those tracks will see the light of day, like the "Hi, Hello"/"Midnight Visitors" release from the Soft Action sessions.
Cal hopes that listeners will spend time with Dark Ageism. "I mean, I would love them to listen to it as an album. I'm guilty myself, like anyone else; it's very easy not to listen to a whole album these days, you can just skip to a playlist or whatever. But we exclusively make albums because we cherish the experience of sitting down and delving into something. If people could do that, I'd love it. But also, don't worry about it. Life's hard and full of distractions. Honestly, I don't really know. We never really make albums for anyone else but ourselves, which is a cliché thing to say, but it's true. Even if no one were releasing them, we'd probably still make them because it's something we enjoy. So if people can at least see that we're still enjoying ourselves, that's all we can ask for."
During our conversation, we had to bring up the recent incident that saw Alfie accidentally flood a Travelodge bathroom the night before they played a festival. "We tried to clean it up with mugs at first – not the best idea. Eventually, we switched to towels, but by then the water had spread to the entire corridor. The cleaners at the Travelodge were absolute heroes. They mopped it all up and didn’t report us, so we managed to escape without a fine."
Talking about touring, we discussed Other Half’s plans for the rest of the summer and their tour with Single Mothers. Cal explained the impact Single Mothers has had on the band: “Single Mothers are another band that are pretty integral to Other Half ending up sounding like Other Half.” He went on to tease future show plans later in the year, with the caveat: "We work at a glacial pace, so when these things become a reality is another matter, but yes, there are things happening.”
In the meantime, Cal is finding inspiration in new music and old favourites alike. "I’ve been listening to a lot of Martin Newell lately. He's been doing his project Cleaners from Venus since the 1970s; it’s just incredible. It’s lo-fi and unpolished. I discovered him about two years ago and I haven't fallen in love with music like that for the best part of ten years. It made me realise that you can fall in love with music the same way you did at 14.”
He also mentioned he's been listening to the new Kulk album. Like Other Half, they are a Norwich-based band: “They’re a really heavy two-piece and their album is properly good stuff.” Cal goes on to add that he keeps finding new bands on Spotify. “What I will say for Spotify, as much as it’s a purely evil thing, is that it means I can go from artist to artist and find things that I love every day. I just found bands like Dog Faced Hermans and The Ex that would have been otherwise confined to CDs that had a print run of about 50. It’s amazing how much great music is out there just waiting to be discovered.”
Cal’s passion for music, his reflective nature, and his infectious enthusiasm make him a captivating storyteller. Whether he's talking about the bands that influenced him, the personal experiences that shaped his latest album, or the humorous mishaps on tour, it’s clear that Cal Hudson is an artist dedicated to his craft and to sharing his journey with others.
Roll on Friday and give Dark Ageism a listen. It’s a heartfelt, introspective, and utterly compelling piece of work that showcases Other Half at their finest. And remember, it’s the raw, unfiltered moments that often resonate the most.
Dark Ageism by Other Half is out Friday 21 June via Big Scary Monsters. Pre-save the release on your favourite platforms. Catch Other Half on tour this summer with Single Mothers and at the 2000 Trees Festival.
