Band The Dreaming Spires release album about ‘normal town’ of Didcot

And now, Didcot.

The often-overlooked South Oxfordshire railway town may not seem an obvious choice for a musical tribute – but to one of the county’s best-loved bands, that’s the whole point. Having found sweet inspiration in New York, California and Memphis, country-rock band The Dreaming Spires have focussed their attention closer to home, with an album all about Didcot and its modest charms.

The album ‘Normal Town’ is the band’s third – and their first new music in nearly a decade. And it finds the five-piece of brothers Robin and Joe Bennett, Jamie Dawson, Tom Collison and Nick Fowler at the top of their creative game.

While the project is deliciously out of step with their sun-kissed Americana roots, it all makes perfect sense for a band, almost all of whom were brought up within sight of Didcot Power Station – Robin and Joe in Steventon, Nick near Abingdon, and Jamie in the town itself.

So when it came to writing an album about the most typical and average of towns, there was only one option.

“It is Didcot’s normality that makes it so special,” says Robin, who as well as being an acclaimed singer-songwriter is also a member of South Oxfordshire District Council – the town’s local authority.

He and Joe were also the founders of two of the county’s best music festivals – rock, pop and dance weekender Truck Festival at Steventon, and its more gentle offspring Wood at Braziers Park.

Robin recalls: “Some years ago, I read a story about a search for the place in Britain which most represented people’s viewpoints and political opinions – and it came out that the most ‘normal’ town was Didcot. I liked that and it triggered the idea of an album.

“At the same time, it was named as a Garden Town. That was before I was elected as a councillor and I had no idea I’d play a role in that. But I have always lived close to the town and have found it an interesting place in how much it was changing.

“It is the setting for so many people’s lives – including my friends and mine – and I have always loved its links to the railway which created it. I grew up next to the line in Steventon and was born in Paddington, so have never been far from the railway.”

It is all something of a departure for a band which, like its predecessor Goldrush, seemed rooted in Americana – shimmering 1960s West Coast pop, Southern soul, harmony-rich folk, and jangly country-rock.

Their engaging tunes sit somewhere between Big Star, Gram Parsons, Teenage Fanclub and The Byrds with nods to everyone from Tom Petty to The Kinks. And their sound has admirers including St Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell, with whom the Bennetts have collaborated and performed live, and legendary broadcaster and country music lover ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, who also hails from Robin and Joe’s stomping ground of Steventon.

Yet, while this album is different, it all makes sense. It is the sound of a band confidently cutting loose, playing on their formidable intelligence to pursue new ideas and explore fresh territory – even if it is right on their doorstep.

“Our first album was all about travelling the world and the people we met in New York,” says Robin. “It was exciting. But in many ways writing about our own environment is harder to do.

“But lots of people know Didcot or live in places like it. And the beauty of normality is that it is relatable.”

The album is conceptual and thought provoking but also fun. The band delight in celebrating the prosaic, the commonplace and everyday. Yet they never forget what they are here for – stirring our hearts and souls with beautiful songs.

It may be clever and richly observational but it is deeply sincere – and, crucially, respectful.

“We were really worried about it being perceived as a joke,” says Robin.

“But it is coming from a place of self-mockery. Most of the jobs I have had have been at Milton Park, near the town.

“People may think South Oxfordshire is all like something from Midsomer Murders, but that’s a fiction. Although that element still exists, it is not what life is like for most people.

“While we are not painting a rose-tinted vision of Didcot, it is a bit of a celebration.”

This Sunday, The Dreaming Spires play songs from the album in a show at the Bullingdon on the city’s Cowley Road. The gig is their first in town since their celebrated New Year’s Eve show at The Rusty Bicycle.

It is not the first outing for the album though. In suitable style, they launched it at a show in the heart of Didcot, at the town’s Cornerstone arts centre.

To Robin’s delight, art for the album is by Shaun Belcher who is also from Didcot.

“He is someone I have known since I first got into playing music,” he says.

Intent on dispelling myths about the town, Robin is keen to point out its own musical heritage – with Radiohead’s OK Computer being partially recorded on a fruit farm near Harwell; 60s psychedelic rock act Traffic recording near the town, and The Who’s guitarist Pete Townsend getting married at Didcot Register Office.

“It’s got a lot going for it,” he says. “So many people have known it and recall it with reminiscence. People can be quite cynical but there’s lots of energy going in to make it a great place to live.”

He adds: “It is a slight departure from what people know about us, and due to the way it was recorded in our houses it has a more intimate sound.”

And while it revels in the town’s heritage, it is also reflective with songs like ‘Normalisation’, ‘21st Century Light Industrial’ and the title track ‘Normal Town’ – a reference to its reputation as ‘the most normal town in England’.

It doesn’t shy away from less savoury episodes such as the tragedy of its power station boiler room collapse 10 years ago, and touches on crime and politics.

The album was mastered by Tony Poole, known for his work with Starry Eyed & Laughing and alongside Robin and Danny Wilson – of Danny and the Champions fame – in the trio Bennett Wilson Poole.

And it is going down well, says Robin, proudly.

“The gigs have been joyous,” he smiles. “And it is great to play as a five-piece.

“Many people will relate to this album. When you get really specific it becomes really general in a weird way!”

• The Dreaming Spires play the Bullingdon, Cowley Road, Oxford, on Sunday, April 26
• Tickets from wegottickets.com