HIS LORDSHIP

With their second album, James Walbourne and Kris Sonne aimed for the bullseye of good old rock'n roll: record it as-live, leave it alone, no polishing. And on Bored Animal their aim was true.

- Interview: Johnny Sharp

While a fair number of rock musicians of a certain vintage seem to ease into a mellow kind of semi-acoustic middle-age, Pretenders sidemen James Walbourne and Kris Sonne have felt the need to scratch a raw, bleeding rock’n’roll itch with their new band His Lordship, and this year’s second album from them, Bored Animal, is a supremely refreshing blast of high-octane, garage-rooted R&B. Titles like that and standout numbers such as I Fly Planes Into Hurricanes and The Sadness Of King Kong hint that this is anything but mid-tempo, ponderous stuff, although idiosyncratic psych diversions add further intrigue. We caught up with Walbourne in October while His Lordship were taking their splenetic live show to the US.

What have been the highlights of your year?

Well obviously releasing the album, but also the shows this year. We did a London one at Hoxton Music Hall, which was great. Our drummer, Kris, had to take a bit of time off, so my brother jumped in on the drums for a bit. It was the hottest gig I think I’ve ever been to. And I was playing it! That place has still got the music-hall air-conditioning in it – which is none. We’ve been playing shows in the States too which we’ve loved.

That makes sense. But how do Americans react to you exporting this distinctly American-rooted music back to them?