As Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville were working on their second IDER record, they noticed that the word “shame” was cropping up in nearly every song. Almost subconsciously, they had presented themselves with the title and theme of their album. “Lyrics have always been at the heart of our music, and they’re very direct and confessional,” Markwick tells Apple Music. “But this time around, it felt even more to the point and very honest, wanting to share shame.”
A relocation to Berlin from London prompted a creative reset for the duo, and shame sees them both refine and expand the experimental pop grooves of their 2019 debut Emotional Education. They emerged with a record that takes in gliding R&B ballads (“cbb to b sad”), atmospheric electro (“Knocked Up”), and dreamy indie anthems (“BORED”), all pinned together by the pair’s indelible melodies. “Sonically, we’re inspired by so many different genres of music,” says Somerville. “We’ve always prided ourselves on pulling those genres together.” Their approach has resulted in the definitive IDER record, hook-laden pop gems with a strong emotional anchor. “It’s about self-acceptance and acceptance for your shit,” says Markwick. “Sex and love and relationships have always been a strong theme for the music we write, self-worth and the human condition.” IDER takes us on a track-by-track trip through their captivating album.
“Cross Yourself”
Lily Somerville: “This was the first song that we wrote for the album. It always felt like a bridge between this and the last one. The song is about a search for purpose or meaning and wanting something to believe in that you can put your faith into, because it relieves you of responsibility, maybe. We thought it was quite interesting that the album started in that way, talking about believing in shame, and then it goes into tearing it apart and not believing in it and opening it up and sharing shame, in order to get rid of it or make it less.”
“cbb to b sad”
Megan Markwick: “This is basically about getting ‘the ick.’ We decided that there are plenty of songs about when someone rejects you and unrequited love, but we didn't think there was a song about what it feels like from the other side, when you've got ‘the ick’ and you're in a relationship, you're dating someone and you've gone in too far and you're like, ‘Oh fuck, I really don't want to be in this relationship anymore.’ It can be equally as traumatizing. The slow-paced dance beat reflects that whole feeling that you're just going to carry on dancing and ignore the fact you’re in this stagnant relationship.”
“Knocked Up”
LS: “It started as a lot of prose, loads and loads of lyrics. I'd tried to put them into a bit of a melody and then ended up bringing it to Meg. It comes from quite a personal story of mine, of growing up and my experience of being a woman and the shame that comes with that, body image and sex and relationships and all of that stuff. We spent a long time figuring out how all of these words, how to honor the story, whilst also shove all of these fucking words into a melody or something that makes sense as a song.”
MM: “The chorus is like your older self patting your younger self on the back a little bit. That's what we had in our minds as a visual thing for that song.”
“obsessed”
LS: “This started out as this long line of questions you have early in a relationship, very universal questions that just would be awful if anyone knew you thought them, even though they think them too. It’s this idea of questioning that obsession in those early days of a relationship.”
“BORED”
MM: “This was a big stream of consciousness that, all in one go, fell out of my mouth. It's about all of the frustrations we were feeling about the music industry at this particular time. We felt like our voice wasn't being heard. As the song developed, it went more into a general feeling of frustration towards corporate power, a comment on society and where we are and what we do, false advertising and people talking shit.”
LS: “The chorus is a mantra to failure. There's so much keeping up appearances, it’s like, ‘Just fucking say it how it is, make a mistake like everyone does. Let’s all fuck up together and celebrate that.’”
“waiting 17 03”
MM: “There's a producer that we worked with, a really good mate of ours called Heck. I woke up from having been out the night before in Berlin and listened to this little track that he sent over. I felt quite inspired and sang my vocal, lying in bed, over the track—I couldn't be bothered to go and get the microphone, so I just sang it into the computer. We thought it was quite cool, we threw on some effects and stuff, but that's my raw, crusty morning-after vocal that ended up on the track.”
“embarrassed”
LS: “I really remember the night that you wrote that chorus—it was 1 am and you were playing it on the piano. We were singing the lyrics, trying to figure out the harmony and shit. And then we went out and partied to celebrate.”
MM: “It’s another super honest display of emotion, the early stages of a relationship moving from a friendship into a relationship with someone. We've got a bit of a habit of things we feel embarrassed, we really share. I think it must be some sort of coping mechanism.”
“Midland’s Guilt”
LS: “Meg's from North London and I'm from just outside Birmingham. When we started releasing music, we were dubbed in any press that we got as this North London duo, and I suddenly had this real guilt that I wasn't representing where I was from. For quite a while it was a bit of a joke, my ‘Midland’s guilt.’ Here’s a feeling of impending doom and that the world's going to end. And if it does end soon, then hopefully I make it back to the Midlands.”