War of Words

★ War of Words are Abi Browning and Lucy Duffield. Both are 22 years old. ★ When Abi was younger she wanted to be a pirate, but soon realised this might not practical. Fortunately, her other passion was music so she left home to go to the Brit School and later met Lucy at an audition for a short-lived Motown-inspired girl group. Lucy had been doing a bit of acting, which included training as a sword-fighter, so a friendship was obvious. ★ As well as 'swashbuckling', the pair bonded over a mutual love of 90s pop (specifically Ace of Base's ‘All That She Wants’) and ‘Buffalo Stance’ by Neneh Cherry. “I always the Ace of Base track for the melody,” Abi says, “and with Neneh Cherry it's her attitude. It's very us.” They decided to form the band that would become War of Words (whose name came from a lyric in ‘Battleground). ★ La Roux’s Ben Langmaid met Abi and Lucy through a mutual friend, liked them and decided to produce their debut album. “He used to be a DJ in the 90s so he knew a lot about that era” says Abi. “It's got that modern twist to it too,” Abi adds. “We brought our own style and the vocals are pure R&B.” ★ Like 97% of great pop songs, ‘Battleground’ and ‘Panic’ deal with the subject of love, but from opposing ends of the spectrum. ‘Battleground’ questions love through the prism of conflict, while ‘Panic’ is giddy with the rush and fear of starting something new. ★ Both songs were written from personal experience, with Panic influenced by the start of a new relationship. “We both got boyfriends at the same time so ‘Panic’ is about when you meet someone for the first time and you get that panic, but it's beautiful” says Lucy. “Like falling in love but you're like 'oh wait, do I want a commitment?'” confirms Abi. ★ Other things that make them panic include the dark (Abi) and cats (Lucy).