By: Jennifer Vintzileos
Q) How would you best describe your sound? How has it changed over the years?
A) Our sound as a band always maintains some essence of itself. There is a throughline from our earliest stuff to now, maybe like a fingerprint that slowly morphs and changes over time but still remains linked to the individual. I think we’re always moving in a direction towards what excites us and feels interesting, fun and mutually fulfilling. I think the most literal change on the newest record is the addition of Maddy Wilde who brought her own musical DNA into the room and allowed us to push out into new territory.
Q) Who are your Top 3 musical influences?
A) Very hard to list just three, and I’m a terrible “ranker” of things… Probably stuff from my childhood that made it into my brain at a young age and just stuck in there – Radiohead, Alanis Morissette and Bob Dylan.
Q) Tell us about the themes you explore on your upcoming album Beauty’s Pride.
A) Every song was written in a sort of bubble, so they weren’t exactly aimed at the same target. Some are about time and its relentless pace, looking back and moving forward. Some are about the difference between knowing what you have to do for yourself and actually taking the step towards doing that thing. A lot of them are connected in some way to the birth of my son in 2023. I found out we were going to have a kid while I was writing the album. It is a monumental change in my life so it kind of reached into a lot of what I was writing in one way or another.
Q) With releasing the album, you also recently debuted a cinematic companion to Beauty’s Pride on YouTube. What inspired you to create a cinematic element along with the album?
A) I think the music video is in a weird place. I’m sure people obviously still watch them, but the entire visual landscape has literally shifted ninety degrees from horizontal to vertical. People rarely watch clips longer than a minute and most “music videos” now are quite simple – maybe someone lip syncing their song straight to their iPhone (we’ve also done this for the new record, so I’m not taking the piss out of anyone here). The idea of making something outside of a music video, more of a short film/documentary for the album and the band, was very appealing. It ended up being somewhat of a teaser for the album in that it only uses partial segments of songs, which I think is perfect. It is incredibly moving and wonderful.
Q) You got to work with Jared Raab, who directed the cinematic element of Beauty’s Pride. What kinds of conversations did you have with him in the direction of the film?
A) I feel like we gave Jared remarkably little to work with. We would have meetings and spitball ideas but we were still recording the record and I had a hard time visualizing anything. Or I’d come up with something too complicated or expensive and confusing and we’d hit a dead end. Jared really ended up running with his own thing for the most part. Then, in collaboration with Mitch [DeRosier] (who brought in the archival footage of the band), they put together this wonderful film that actually extracted meaning and themes in the music that I didn’t even realize were there. It’s really remarkable.
Q) Are there any favorite moments you had during the filming process that might not have made the final cut of the film?
A) I think it’s all in there!
Q) I absolutely love “Let You Down!” What song was your favorite to write and record for Beauty’s Pride?
A) Making records and being in the studio really is my happy place. I think if I had to pick one aspect of making music as a favourite it would be that. So, I think every song that made the record was a joy for me to work on. I remember wanting to cram a different sound into the bridge of the song “Hi” and I forced us all into the room on instruments at the same time (most of the record was recorded quite separated and isolated, instrumentally) and we just made a bunch of noise into a few microphones, everything bleeding together. Also, all the laughs.
Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can begin crafting lyrics?
A) I wrote poetry and lyrics as much as I can but if I write something in isolation I often find it hard to put it to music. So, more often than not, I need to have a guitar in my hands or some kind of music to inspire a melody which then guides the sounds of the words and all that. But it’s always different.
Q) What do you hope fans will take away from listening to the music from Beauty’s Pride?
A) I won’t mind if people don’t listen to the entire album, but I hope they do. I think it’s a beautiful record. We really knocked it out of the park, so I hope people feel the same.
Q) In addition to a new album, you are slated to tour this summer and through the fall. Are there any venues or cities that are you most excited to play?
A) I’m excited to play everywhere!
Q) What are some of your older songs that you still enjoy playing live or that you are looking forward to performing on this tour?
A) I have more and more fun playing the old stuff along with the new. The further away I get from that stuff the less I cringe at it and the more I embrace that younger version of myself. Excited to dig into the archives and craft a really good set.
Q) Who are some artists you are currently listening to that you think we should check out?
A) Ezra Furman’s new album Goodbye Small Head and also Sham Family, Mother Tongues and Little Junior.
All Questions Answered By Luke Lalonde