John McNulty and The Dimestore — “Up All Night” In the City of Lights
Sound-wise, Up All Night snaps, crackles and pops like a big production created by legendary Jeff Lynne — with hints of Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison…and Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup that Lynne also co-produced and played in.
Ambient-wise, getting into the groove of Up All Night, by John McNulty and The Dimestore, is like savoring some deep dark Pinot Noir or getting lost in the swirl of sipping Pernod and water, with shifting images of lovers past, seductively strolling by. In fact, one of the 12 songs on the LP is called “Bring All My Lovers Back to Me.”
Now, that’s a stirring reflection.
The Paris-based band, currently comprised of John McNulty on lead vocals and guitar, David Weeks on bass, and Frederic Stiefel on drums (along with Rodric Yates on electric guitar), has been playing live on the scene in the City of Lights since the early 2010’s. Producer/musician David Weeks suggests, “John McNulty and the Dimestore is about storytelling but also the power of melody. Maybe, it’s as if the beat poets stayed in Paris to create all their work here with the guiding musical spirit of an artist like Tom Petty.”
Weeks, a British expatriate and lifelong fan of London-based Tottenham Hotspur, talks to us about their new LP and asks that we give a listen to something upbeat and fresh during these holidays. Indeed, Up All Night is highlighted by rich and textured songs, big acoustic guitar and plaintive vocals, with a bit of R&B/Motown flavor thrown in, and some classic American pop and rock.
— How was this LP physically put together?
— We recorded remotely, each musician at home. It started after the lockdown but this way was easiest for us to record. I’m outrageously proud of what we produced. There’s some luscious guitar playing (“Queen of Montparnasse”); horns that we had done by a great band in New Orleans (504 Horns); and strings from a guy in Argentina (channeling the spirit of footballer Coco Lamela — Spurs fans will know); along with my production and arranging, while playing bass and keyboards. Basically, whatever I felt like the arrangement needed, we just got it done. So, why did we do it? Because it’s there. Our motivation is just to make the best version of these songs. We’ve done previous albums but this one is the most accomplished. We’d love it to reach out to or make new fans. But mostly we’re just making music we wanted to hear
— Was it a conscious effort to create a production sound that harks back to that supergroup Traveling Wilburys, which was produced by Jeff Lynne?
— Amazing you notice the Wilburys. We were indeed trying to channel the Jeff Lynne production sound and feel. I think it shows most on “Willow Tree.” Otherwise, the influence is the classic American pop and rock of the 70s and early 80s. Great songs written by John and a polished sound. But, we also kind of strayed to New Orleans on “Bring All My Lovers Back to Me” or to Detroit on “Drink Your Wine Alone” or more country/folk on “We Don’t Need Words.” But, the spine is classic rock with John’s big Martin acoustic and his wonderful broad voice and cinematic songwriting. Overall, I guess the source of inspiration are the classic albums produced by Jeff Lynne, including: “Cloud Nine” (George Harrison, 1987), “Mystery Girl” (Roy Orbison, 1989), “Full Moon Fever” (Tom Petty, 1989), “Into the Great Wide Open” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1991). Those massed acoustic guitars and the proximity of the voice — it rocks but it’s also so smooth.
— Do you have plans to perform the LP live?
— We intentionally paid no attention to whether we’d be able to reproduce it live. It’s a really good question and one we went over. We could perform all the songs but they would all come out more “rock” than the album and that’s just fine. For now, probably no concerts short term…but stay tuned, and enjoy the music. Happy Holidays.
Drop in on the band’s Linktree link, and on streaming sites like Spotify.
