THE WOT NOW: To Be Cringe Is To Be Free

Musical theatre meets pop punk. A tale as old as time (or at least as old as the latter), but not so commonly done in this fashion. As we delve into the history of Northamptonshire acoustic duo THE WOT NOW, made up of Katie Perry and Margot Taylor, as well as the beginnings of upcoming debut single Out of Time, there's plenty more than meets the eye with this new act. Together with Katie's background in theatre and her instinct for melodic hooks, alongside Margot’s love of pop punk and emo, their raw dynamic is one built for a disenfranchised generation. Routinely, enduringly popular songs allow listeners to reflect and find something to connect to, and the same goes here - “I just hope they know that they're not alone” explains Margot.

THE WOT NOW feels like a band for those who feel they don’t belong, for those teenagers and young adults coming into adulthood for the first time. Margot continues “We've said from day one, almost accidentally, that I think our music is meant to resonate with that 'growing out of being a teenager or young adult' faction of people. There's no manual for growing into adulthood.” Certainly something many of us have felt along the way, and it's certainly something the duo themselves feel; “I think on a certain level, all humans are deeply broken” Margot reflects. “The way you circumvent that is just by someone, whether it being in a piece of music, a painting, or someone sitting you down in person, telling you it is going to be fine”.

Starting out as a cover band, Out Of Time was the first piece of original music Katie and Margot wrote together, and somewhat poetically, “Pushed the boat out to the stream” was the lyric that started that initial spark. The song is, at its core, a look back at a childhood moment that you wish you could get back. “We found this old abandoned wooden paddle tub boat essentially at this lake near my house” Margot reminisces “I remember I was in school at the time and I'd be in maths class or whatever, looking out the window being like 'Oh, I can't wait to go out on the boat today with Ethan'". The song plays heavily with nostalgia and that longing for the past - “You know, him and I, as you do with a lot of childhood friends, you grow out of each other's lives and I haven't spoken to him in nearly seven, eight years, maybe.”

Their initial pitch for this new project was making a pact to themselves “But if we're going to write together, we have to be sincere to the point of cringe” Margot explains. “To be cringey is to be free”. Katie adds “You have to really get past that 'no lyrics are cringe' sort of thing”. That allowed the creative ideas to flourish into the identity THE WOT NOW holds today. Drawing inspiration from the greats of the '70s and '80s, such as FLEETWOOD MAC and MAZZY STAR, alongside contemporary artists that push genre boundaries such as JULIA WOLF, the duo began to carve out their own space.

One thing that stands out when you hear Out Of Time is the harmonious way Katie and Margot’s vocals intertwine with one another. When asked how they approached arranging those dual vocals, Katie responded that “It's very much what feels right in the moment in context to the song and the lyrics”. Margot added to that, saying “In the lyrics where there's tension growing, we'll tend to have like almost by accident, have crunchier, more clashing harmonies."

Crafting the instrumental side in a way that complements the emotional weight of the vocals is no easy task, but Margot was up for the challenge with her love of pop punk. “For a lot of pop punk specifically, but emo too, you essentially take these nursery rhyme-esque chord progressions, you speed them up to the point of silliness, add some extensions in there and put a driving drum beat behind it, and you have a pop punk song, which is so interesting," Margot starts, “But I think for this in particular, we knew that it was going to have these off-kilter rhythms and a lot of these weird slash chords and we thought, 'well let me apply that pop punk archetype of these driving melodies', to create something that's a little bit out there, and we ended up with this alternative folk whatever it is, you know?”.

The duo have gathered some real momentum playing live together too, alongside being bowled over seeing the crowd's reaction to their lyrics and how much they mean to others. Katie explains how she was quite surprised at their fans' reactions to The Wolf, another one of their songs. "Someone asked "Oh my god, did you write that?" and I said yes, and they're like, "Agh! That resonates with me so much, it's so honest!”. Katie continues, “It's really surreal, because I write music when I feel like there's nothing else that will explain how I feel or in the way that I'd like it to. For someone else to come out and say, 'Oh, I completely resonate with this' is just a whole new world”.

That surreal moment of recognition is living proof that their initial pact paid off. By choosing to be sincere, cringe and all, THE WOT NOW have built something far greater than just a mere "alternative folk whatever it is". Out of Time isn't just a bittersweet, nostalgic look back at an abandoned boat or lost youth, it's a reassuring hand for anyone trying to figure out adulthood without a manual. As long as Katie and Margot keep turning raw vulnerability into soaring harmonies, their listeners won't have to face it alone.

Words: Amy Lynch

Photos: The Wot Now

With thanks to: The Wot Now