HARD NOISE: COMEBACK KID // The War of Art

Mainstays of the hardcore community, Comeback Kid have once again exerted their dominance over the scene with the release of their brand new album Outsider, which hit shelves earlier in the month.

The release was preceded with a number of singles, which allowed a sneak peeks of the greater beast and from the get-go, Outsider resonated with their following. The record bought all the staples of the Comeback Kid from yesteryear, while successfully bringing the sound in 2017 via tight production, killer instrumentals and of course, hard earned life lessons being beaten into our skulls via our ears. He band has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Australia, meaning an album tour can’t be too far off.

Following the craziness of the release, and before they take it to the road, we caught up with the main man, Andrew.

Hysteria: So what’s happened? Outsider is out now. The people has started to sink their fangs into it, and now that it’s had that time to resonate, how do you think it all went down?

Andrew: It’s all feeling, really, really good so far. Right now, it’s a bit of the calm before the storm for us. We’re just rehearsing the next couple of days here and then we start tour this week. So I think that’s the true test for our band is seeing what happens when we play live because a lot of times, I’ve seen because where you get like a mediocre response on the internet and then it’s like just killer live or vice versa, seeing a lot of love on the internet and then just doesn’t really translate live. So for us that’s like the true test, ’cause when we start playing these tours and these shows and see what really connects with the audience.

The album might be out but the battle still continues.

Sometimes you know, there’s bands there that’s otherwise fake on stage or something like that. We don’t wanna be fake literally or anything.

What’s some of the feedback that you’ve got already? Asking friends and social media, it seems like a lot of people were digging this, straight from the first announcement of it. Was I reading that right or did I get that wrong?

No. I mean, it’s cool for me to hear you say it. Again, it’s all kinda sinking in for me right now. To me, on my social media, it seems like a lot of people are posting in it and everything but at the same time, I’m always wondering like, “Oh, is that just because I’m like following all these people? It’s like people in my immediate circle around me or?”

Am I inside an echo chamber.

Yeah, yeah, or like, “Is this actually like a thing?” But then I end up like, “Well, I didn’t really see this so much on our previous record but was there like as much Instagram, blah blah blah, going on back then?” I don’t know. So I’m trying not to celebrate quite yet. You know what I mean? I’m still trying to take it all in.

To me, it’s an album that we’ve wanted to make for a while. I’m glad that we took a few more risks on this record and we put some of the weirder songs [on there].
[ANDREW]

From as one of the dudes that wrote the thing, how are you feeling about it? I understand that and artists job is never complete, and now there’s the constant need to want to tinker. But how does it feel to have it out now?

Oh, I’m ecstatic about it. I think it’s like, it’s pretty. To me, it’s an album that we’ve wanted to make for a while. I’m glad that we took a few more risks on this record and we put some of the weirder songs [on there]. We put some of the stuff that on previous records we may have shoved certain styles onto the back of the record but we really were upfront about it and we’re really obvious with our themes and really trying to put, accentuate, certain features. I don’t know. I’m just really happy with how the songs came out and I think there’s a lotta diversity on the record, which is what I like.

When we’re writing too many fast, double picking songs or something kinda like that, that’s definitely gonna motivate me to write a bouncy melodic song or something. You know what I mean? I love a record that’s moving into different places and different avenues personally.

Now this it out, it’s 10 years since you guys did Broadcasting. So it’d be interesting to know, again from your perspective, what’s it like to think of the Comeback Kid of 2017 that made Outsider compared to the Comeback Kid of 2007 that made Broadcasting? How different are the two bands or are they any different at all in your perspective?

I don’t know. I think of 2007, I think myself with long, greasy hair and just kinda feeling up the part. I played guitar in a band before, when Scott was singing. And when I entered the position of being singer of the band, I was try to make a transition. You know what I mean? So I would try to kinda do Scott’s style. I sang in a band before, my vocals were naturally a lot heavier, you know? But when coming in to the Comeback Kid role, I really tried to make it sound like Comeback Kid.

Along the way, along the records, if you’ve heard our band and checked out our records, I think you could see that it’s been a very gradual progression into the voice that it is now, which feels super like me. You know what I mean? It feels like Comeback Kid, but it still feels like, “Yeah, I’m just doing my thing now.”

And I’m happy that we’ve been able to make a pretty solid move into that direction and I’m allowed to have more freedom melodically ’cause I love doing hardcore. I’ve always loved playing hardcore music but I also like singing a little bit so I’m glad that we did incorporate some of that in there.

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