The Shires released their fifth album, Good Years, right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted any plans the UK country duo, comprising Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, had to tour or celebrate the release. That experience, along with deep periods of contemplation during quarantine, had a profound influence on its follow-up, 10 Year Plan. Hope and gratitude abound across the LP, which pairs hook-laden anthems with messages of love and encouragement, as heard on standout songs like the sweet “I See Stars” and the reflective title track. “I think the underlying message of this one is just being uplifting and hopeful,” Earle tells Apple Music. “Most of these songs were written in the midst of the pandemic, so writing songs was kind of my solace and my way to get my head out of this world and back into something really positive and hopeful.” Below, Earle and Rhodes break down several key tracks on 10 Year Plan.
“Cut Me Loose”
Rhodes: “With every album, we always love to go back over songs that didn't make it on the last album. And so we're forever sort of diving into our back catalog of songs that haven't been heard. It didn't quite work out for the second album, but I championed it to go on this one.”
“Sparks Fly”
Earle: “When we first started out, a lot of our love songs were quite naive, which is lovely. I love that kind of naive perspective of love. But as you get older and you have relationships, you realize that it's not always simple. It can be quite complicated. And I love that lyric of ‘If you want to have sparks, sometimes you got to have a bit of friction’—you don't always have to agree on everything, and that's a beautiful thing.”
“10 Year Plan”
Earle: “For me, it was just looking around being grateful. And it was like, ‘Yeah, there's things I want to achieve in my life. There's a lot of things I want to do, but if I can just make you happy, that's the only thing I do in my life, even the next 10 years, then that's enough for me.’ And I think that reflecting on that over the pandemic really hit home to me how grateful I am for what I have and who I have in my life. So, that's where the song came from.”
“I See Stars”
Earle: “It was a Zoom write. It was late. I was on Nashville time because I was writing with a friend of ours, Jeff Cohen. And where I'm sat right now, outside here when it's dark, you can see all the stars at night for some reason. I'm not that far from London, but you can just see all the stars. And that idea of, again, holding on to hope—it's like, as long as I've got you, all we need is one star to form. Just one thing to hold on to. And sometimes those ideas are really hard to put into words properly. But me and Jeff, we just got it that night.”
“Wild Hearts”
Rhodes: “Everybody’s saying that they can't wait to get to the festivals and sing along to that song. It’s just so uplifting, and I think, especially at the back of the pandemic, we all just need that uplift right now. And that song is just like, ‘Let loose!’ Do you know what I mean? Have a good time and just go wild, basically, and just go with it. It's so fun.”
“Peggy I’m Sorry (Demo)”
Earle: “It's basically about my grandma, who was hugely important to me growing up, my nan. And she's got Alzheimer's and the last two to three years have just been awful, just seeing her get worse. And yeah, the song really is about my guilt of not really being able to deal with it, if I'm totally honest. And it's quite a vulnerable song. There's quite deep, personal lines in it. And that is all one take, as well. I played the guitar, sang at the same time, and just sang that song.”