When he talks about making Hesitant Alien, it often sounds like he was pissing about like a musical Willy Wonka, fiddling with things until they scratched an almost childlike itch to create. He was able to revisit the music that shaped him, and chase the inspirations he wanted—David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Blur, Joy Division. It’s one thing having earned the right to do whatever the hell he likes (and he has), but Gerard is also reveling in a far simpler fact: this is brand new, and there are no boundaries and no preordained expectations.
dizzywithlove