Your last EP was the first release by a US band on British label Permanent Creeps.  What do you think about your particular brand of post-punk lends itself to resonate on both sides of the pond?

I think we are interested in making music that feels like a result of open collaboration and the interplay of our member’s diverse musical interests. We are really turned off by the idea of trying to be an homage to anything in particular and hopefully this creates something that feels fresh across many borders.

Your music can be atypical of the often compact-ness of the genre in the way that it is constantly shapeshifting and the tracks often don’t end where they started - do you find working together as a six piece especially often transforms a track from how it starts off to getting fleshed out?  

Yes, part of the joy of playing in this project is that we are very committed to writing as a collective. The direction of a song is very much dictated by the discussion that occurs in parallel with the songwriting. It is exciting for me to hear an element of shapeshifting and surprise coming through. I think when we are working well, we are the most open to each other and leaning into giving up control as individuals. This usually creates something much more interesting as it comes from an intent to channel and support rather than trying to control and perfect something.

Thematically, the music touches on a lot of aspects of living life in today’s dystopian culture, in a tone that oscillates between sincerity and sardonicism.  The new single is a good example of this - it’s danceable while delivering pretty relevant social commentary.  Do you feel like music is one of the only tools we have left to find joy out of the sometimes all-consuming darkness?

BLOOD
MIX

Music is definitely one of the most surefire ways to subvert an otherwise unlivable condition into an experience of transcendence and movement and joy. I think music is super reliable in this sense, but I do not think it is the only tool left to find joy in the all consuming darkness. I think every medium of art, theater, comedy, etc can create this experience for people. I believe the desire to experience joy and move forward and heal and be hopeful precedes the material creation or the artist discovers this within themself through the process of making something. I am firmly against leaning into apathy and fatalism and want to encourage myself and others to find as many ways as we can to inject joy where it doesn’t seem possible.

Philly seems to have a super exciting scene of unique artists at the moment.  Has the community you’ve fostered both through living in a house together as well as the general creative scene made a large impact on the band?

I think the funniest development from moving to Philly from Austin is that it took leaving Texas to find really good country music that we all love. This band Florry from Philly has been one of the greatest gifts locally. I have been in awe of how much effortless feel that band has and how immediate the songwriting is. Francie Medosch and all of the players in that band have incredible other projects as well. To me they are the center of the scene that matters to me and I’ll follow that crew into the dark. If we have lap steel on our next record, you can blame them.

Tell us more about the recording process/inspiration behind this new track!  

Last year, we had our first coheadlining tour with the band Family Vision from NY. The tour could not have been a better match and kicked off a love affair and collab across projects that is still going strong. This has been most evident in Dan Howard. Dan is the disgustingly sharp drummer in Family Vision. He offered to record Blood in his home studio and has done such a beautiful job from the get. It is extremely difficult for all 6 of us to trust someone with our music and he earned it from us almost immediately. He is such a calm in the storm and yet experimental voice in the studio. Total master of knowing just what you need to hear before going for a take. Dan completely elevated the song and provided the space and time for us to make it the wonderfully fucked up and giddy version it is today.

Any under the radar musical peers we need to know?  

 You gotta check out Family Vision, Florry, Brittle Brian, and Nino Soberon; our cellists solo project.

What’s special about the mix you’ve made?

The mix is a great display of how all over the place our music taste is. The big standout highlight for me is Colleen. Colleen is a French ambient artist I came across this year. Her music has really opened up a world for me that I feel like I have been looking for, for a long time. November is the album opener from her 2017 record. Its great for a long grey winter afternoon alone when melancholy can sometimes have a touch of magic.

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