Brisbane’s pop-punk upstarts Two Times Shy are soaring lofty heights as they let loose their …
With album number five, ‘Lament’, set for release October 9th (Epitaph Records), vocalist Jeremy Bolm of Touche Amore speaks about how the band adopted a new writing process for the upcoming release.
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“When we have recorded records we adhere to a strict guideline that we won’t enter the studio until all five of us love every single part in every song.”
There’s no compromise any more, which can be tough. It requires a lot of work and patience and understanding with each other but we are all much happier with the songs.”
Elaborating on how the group established such a harsh guideline and how recording strays from demos and ideas, Bolm says, “Sometimes I will have rough plans of what I think it will sound like, but once you get the five of us in a room—what we get is what we sound like.
“I fear saying these things because I never want it to sound too grandiose, but I know there are the type of bands that have been around a long time and are a few albums deep who will go into the studio with three to four really good songs and work out the rest in the studio. Those records often don’t hold up because they seem like they have a lot of fillers.
“For lack of a better thing to say, I think we have just gotten a lot better at writing songs so we trust ourselves a lot more.”
First popping onto the post-hardcore scene in 2007 and adopting a style of poetic lyricism, Touche Amore have worked hard to well and truly establish their place in punk rock communities worldwide. Now with Lament, Bolm hopes the group’s music will continue to reach new crowds.
“We feel very lucky to be in the position that our music has let us dip our toe into a lot of different worlds or scenes and find our little place in all of them and not feel like we are outcasts.”
I fear saying these things because I never want it to sound too grandiose, but I know there are the type of bands that have been around a long time and are a few albums deep who will go into the studio with three to four really good songs and work out the rest in the studio. Those records often don’t hold up because they seem like they have a lot of fillers.
[ Jeremy Bolm ]
“It’s funny, being this far into a…” he laughs, “I hesitate to say career because that makes it sound much more professional than being in a punk band is.”
“But, I admit that I really enjoy the flex of what we can pull and what we can do at this point.”
Expanding on that “flex”, Bolm told us about the newer collaborations that have found their way onto Lament.
“Getting to work with someone like Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn) is a dream but then we also understand that we are extremely lucky to be in this position at all that we can get someone like Andy from Manchester Orchestra to sing on the record.”
The aforementioned ‘Andy’ refers to Andy Hull, the lead vocalist of American indie-rock band Manchester Orchestra, who made a guest vocal appearance on the album’s first single, Limelight.
“We were surprised that everyone wanted us to do Limelight as the first single because I was unsure about a slower song being the first single,” says Bolm.
“We don’t actually pick the singles, so it can at times be surprising what the label does decide on.”
Regardless of the change of tempo found on Limelight, it has quickly become a fan favourite with it already having nearly half a million Spotify plays, a response which Bolm is thrilled by.
“The waiting process of once you finish recording and then you do all the prep and then all the singles; it’s such a long period of time. But, with all of us being stuck at home that waiting period has gone by the fastest it ever has but it has also been the slowest.
“It’s a weird feeling but I can’t wait. I’m so thrilled for everyone to be able to hear and experience it.”
Lament is out now through Epitaph Records
