Breaking Boundaries with Mutual Blue: The Story Behind "It’s Only You"

Lighthearted laughter, recognizable rhythms, and familiar guitar tones are the key ingredients in the unique songwriting journey of Mutual Blue. With their latest track, “It’s Only You,” the band delves into unexplored sonic territory, achieving their long-held desire to blend the fragile mix of '90s influence with their own modern guitar sounds.

In an unexpected twist, the lead guitarist expressed doubts about the track’s unconventional style, candidly admitting, “I told Ed not to do it. He did it anyway.” Yet, this very decision has resulted in a track that epitomizes the success of creative exploration and the rewarding outcome of going against the grain.

As a band committed to breaking away from the cookie-cutter sounds of 2000s indie, Mutual Blue offers a refreshing sincerity and nuance that harks back to the more intriguing music of past decades. Speaking on the release, lead singer Ted Parsons shares, “Bringing these kinds of sensibilities back into the mainstream is something we’ve wanted to do since we started. There's no reason why clever, interesting writing can’t be pop rock and still remain accessible.”

In this interview, we sit down with Mutual Blue to dive deeper into the making of “It’s Only You,” exploring the band’s creative process, the risks they took, and their vision for the future of pop rock.

1. Your new track "It’s Only You" is described as a mix of 90s influence with modern guitar sounds. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this blend and how you managed to achieve this unique sound? 

I’ve been a big fan of that 90s guitar music sound since my dad introduced me to bands such as The House of Love and Ride. That jangly, dream pop sound is something that as a band we’ve been chasing and trying to hone in on, whilst also still fusing together all our individual influences too. It’s taken us a while to find the balance between where everyone comes from musically but we feel we’re getting to somewhere where we’re creating something exciting and fresh. So it’s that influence of jangly rock and shoegaze, maybe janglegaze is what we should call it? 

2. The lead guitarist expressed uncertainty about "It’s Only You," stating, "I told Ed not to do it. He did it anyway." Can you elaborate on the creative disagreements within the band and how they contribute to your musical process? 

Well, I was quite influenced by a song from this one band, I won’t name them here but it’s pretty obvious so 10 points to anyone who can go and work that out, so naturally the rest of the band were wary as to whether we should go down that avenue creatively and sonically for the song. However I was eventually able to convince them to give it a go as it’s got this real immediate and summery quality. Being only 2:50 ish it was one of our shortest songs which was something we’ve needed for it bit, so that along with its great hook in the chorus it seemed a no brainer to me. I wanted to make sure though that whilst we wear the influences of said song well and truly on our sleeves, that we do it in a tongue in cheek and self aware way. So that fans of us and that band will know that we know that they know that we know what we’re doing, quite meta in that way. 

3. You’ve mentioned that Mutual Blue aims to bring sincerity and nuance back into mainstream pop rock. How do you balance clever, interesting writing with the need to remain accessible to a wide audience? 

You see so many bands these days that are just purely white noise, “loud and shouty” as my dad would say, they hide behind the music and the distortion and don’t really ever convey anything more than pent up masculine angst. There are so many more eloquent ways to vocalise one’s emotions and I think this is what I mean when I say sincerity. I struggle to write about topics that I don’t hold very close to my heart. They've got to make me feel something as it’s the only way I feel I write meaningful words, and so then when I do finally get down to writing hopefully it can’t help but come from a sincere and

passionate place. In terms of getting that balance of clever and interesting writing but still remaining appealing to a wide audience, I think its a case of looking specifically at those two words. I’m a firm believer that if you’re clever with how you write a part or a song, it will be both interesting and appealing, in mutual blue we certainly prioritise melody, and simplicity above everything so the trick is how do we make this part interesting but as simple and distilled as it can be. To say something is interesting and clever doesn’t mean it has to be complex, getting a memorable and singable solo is the clever part. 

4. Mutual Blue strives to provide music that is not cookie-cutter 2000s indie but still fills that void. What do you think sets your music apart from other contemporary indie bands, and how do you see your role in the current music landscape? 

It’s the combination of a few key things that sets us apart, first and foremost it’s the fact we all derive from very different musical influences. The push and pull of those aspects has meant we’re starting to create something that’s fresh and interesting that can’t be found elsewhere where there aren’t the four of us playing together. I think it also comes down to the sonics, we’re big fans of chorus whether that be like the smiths or stone roses and that quickly became something that made Mutual Blue sound like Mutual Blue. It’s also down to the writing of the guitar parts, we’re trying to write just like Terry Bickers or Johnny Marr who were all about simple, melodic guitar lines that can just take off and rip where they need to but come back and play with all feel and emotion in the world. Arpeggios not riffs! In the current music landscape blimey that’s a big question. Well it’s hard to say as we’ve yet to put out our debut record and I think when we get to that point it’ll be easier to tell you, but right now we’re certainly doing something in our little live scene. People come to the shows and see how tight and electric the band is, and that sorta coincides with the live record we put out last year, live is where it’s at for us at the moment. 

5. Given your desire to reintroduce certain sensibilities into mainstream music, what are some specific 90s influences that have shaped your sound, and how do you integrate these influences while maintaining your originality? 

Ride's debut record is a great place to start in understanding where Mutual Blue came from, it’s beatlesque songwriting with big guitars, beautiful harmonies and a killer rhythm section, with those aspects influencing you you’re most of the way there, but then there are few other key elements that we’ve been championing for a couple years, and as I talked about earlier that's simple but melodic guitar parts a la House of love and then wrapped up in chorus drenched guitars of the stone roses. Nothing is ever truly original these days but your originality depends on your record collection. If you’re listening to Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift or Twenty One Pilots then your songs are going to sound shit. I’ve got to thank my dad and uncle for giving me the right musical education and setting me up with some really cool and interesting bands that have subsequently become core influences for this band, that certainly helps. What I’m saying is the better your influences are the better your songs are going to be.