Zach: I want you to have confidence in the first thing that pops into your head. You should say it.
Luke: Ok. I will then. I will for the remain of the interview.
Ashton: Oh, Gosh.
Luke: Yeah, maybe not. I'll throw a few things that pop into my head, we'll see.
Dan: Ashton's not in it?
Ashton: I'm definitely not doing that.
Zach: How are you doing?
Ashton: Doing good. I sat at the front, didn't I?
Zach: Right! Obviously ready to speak, to talk about this record.
Ashton: No, actually. I'm enjoying everyone speaking more these days, it's been nice. I feel like I used to speak too much.
Zach: Did somebody tell you to shut up or it just naturally happened?
Ashton: My subconscious. It was like "calm it down, dudе, other people need to talk."
Calum: Hеy, shut up.
Ashton: And I like that! What do you guys have to say for yourselves?
Michael: Calum actually just told you to shut up.
Calum: I was just saying "hey, shut up, mate".
Zach: I read Calum's message that you sent to fans along with the record "Teeth", and you were talking about how you were able to relate to this record, which by the way, is pretty fucking sick.
Ashton: Thank you. Are you talking to me or Calum? He's right behind me.
Calum: Hey, shut up.
Zach: I'm talking to Calum. Because you weren't in the room when the song was written.
Calum: I wasn't, but my spirit was.
Zach: So what did you think during your first listen?
Calum: I actually wrote something about this the other day, I said something along the lines of "when I first heard it, it was kind of another part of the soul that hasn't been discovered for this band", and I think it serves such a huge purpose in connecting our roots and what we're trying to achieve within this next record. It's a big bridge and I think it's a big step for us, so honestly, I'm pretty stocked, Zach.
Luke: That was crazy, because I read that somewhere - I was reading an article on the song, as you do on release day -, and you don't really see each other's quotes on the band 'cause they're usually sent by the managers, and when I saw Calum's, I thought it was a really good way of doing it.
Zach: You guys are in the room writing it, when you listen to it for the first time, you're not listening to it finished, right? Or are you listening to just the lyrics of it? Because you were in the studio when it was written, but when it comes to you, are you just reading to lyrics? Is the song done by the time the session is over or...? When you're ready to share, what stage is it at?
Michael: As someone else who wasn't in the room when it was written, when I heard it, it was pretty close to how it is now. Obviously, it sounded like a demo and there was a couple of things to do left, but it honestly wasn't a million miles away. When I heard it, it felt so different from anything we'd done before and aggressive, but it didn't feel like we were forcing this aggression or this tone out of it, it just feels like it comes naturally. It wasn't trying too hard, and that's what i love about it, this is what we've been looking for to get this across in a way, without it feeling like we're really going for it, in the same way that "Youngblood" does, it feels aggressive, but also somber and passionate at the same time.
Zach: I'd say it's more passion over aggression.
Michael: Yeah. So, that was incredible, when I first heard that, I was not expecting it, so it's awesome.
Zach: What’s the energy in the room? What story were you guys trying to tell with the rest of these writers on it?
Ashton: It was Ali Tamposi and Ryan Tedder and we’d written with them a lot - Ali is our main writing partner these days. We were already kind of manifesting a particular energy with our studio work at the time, and you can hear that flow over from "Youngblood", we made that song with them, and now we’re talking about: because that connected with people, that was influential in the way we’re approaching our music now, so we have chats about, where did that song come from, it came from this particular era and, at the time, we were influenced by X, X and X, so let’s add some other influences influences here into the mix that are revelant to those influences, so now we’re just exploring for instance. The way we played “Youngblood” live heavily influenced "Teeth", because we played it in a floor-to-the-floor emotion, we had to change a lot of it for it to be more clash esque, for it to make sense musically to the band, so we took what we’ve learned by playing a song like “Youngblood” live back into the studio, and then you just carry on the thought process.
Zach: So part of that gives a more live instrument sound, which is on all of your records. We talked about previous in the last interview, a lot of the times you guys would jam and that kind of gives you an idea of the production of a song. So you’re saying, how you played “Youngblood”, in terms of how "hardcore” it is?
Ashton: Yeah, we kind of just play it with a heavier musical intention. It’s the finale song for our band and we just play it a lot heavier, with more rock influence. So, taking that energy, bottling it up and throwing it into these new sessions and writing periods that we’ve had, had produced songs like "Teeth"
Zach: Which is an extention, sound wise, for you guys.
Ashton: Totally. It’s a great extention, I think, too, because it’s pretty much all of my favourite influences in one song. You're hearing industrial influences, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine is playing on this song, he's playing guitar, and just the fact that it’s such a riff-based song with a pop melody. At this particular point in musical history, I think it’s an awesome song in general, regardless of who it’s by.
Dan: If Tom's playing on the song, does that hurt your feelings?
Michael: Every time we say Tom's on our record, people are like "oh, yeah, so what are you doing in it?" but sometimes you just have to be like "ok, this is Tom's thing". Obviously, I'm not gonna be like "oh, maybe I should replay that guitar part, I don't know if Tom Morella did that right."
Ashton: What I really enjoyed about him, though, is that he had a really youthful approach and a really awesome approach to just playing songs in general. He obviously wasn't in the studio that day to play on a 5 Seconds of Summer's song, but Andrew Watt, the producer of the song, asked if he wanted to play on this and he said yes, and the fact that he's had a career like he's had and he's still motivated to just play and be a part of music and the process is great.
Zach: It helps push foward the next generation too.
Ashton: Yeah, totally.
Luke: It was definitely cool because he had already played on it and we came down and met him and he was stocked, he loved the song. He just played in it for fun, it was such a cool thing to do.
Zach: Also, a testament to the record. When you listened to that for the first time, do you take notes in your head or are you just totally obcessed about the fact that this type of icon put his freaking fingers on your record?
Ashton: Well, it became more a part on the energy of the solo of the song. I don't necessarily imagine Tom playing on this every single time I hear it, but I think it's awesome, because we're heavily influenced by 80s and 90s and everyone knows that, I guess, that pays attention to us, so just having his energy in there just made it more legit, in a way
Zach: So, "Easier" is in the middle of "Youngblood" and "Teeth".
Michael: It makes sense, right? It does!
Zach: If you were to put "Teeth" into a genre, which I hate to ask that, where'd you put it?
Ashton: I think it's industrial pop-rock.
Zach: Would you put "Easier" in the same category?
Ashton: Industrial pop.
Luke: Maybe take out the "rock", I suppose. But not really, it's kinda the same. Industrial pop-rock sounds about right. That's nice on the iTunes label.
Ashton: I guarantee you it won't say that.
Luke: It definitely won't. Obviously, we think about influences in the music side of it, but at the end of the day, if it's a good song, it's a good song. What we strive for in the studio and what kind of drives me, personally, is to write the best songs that we can, what's gonna jump out melodically or lyrically. That track, with the mix that it has, it's very rock, it's a very rock song. It's a pop song, all of the good songs are a pop song in the end, but it's really a rock-based, it's crazy.
Michael: And what's cool right now, I think, is that there's just way less limits on pop music in general. Right now, specifically, seems to be the time where it doesn't really matter. I think we're really lucky to be in this period right now where it doesn't matter what genre it is, if people like how it sounds, then it's just gonna be a popular song. I don't think anyone right now could define what the sound of pop is because it's changed so much, even in a couple years. There's so many artists that have changed pop's direction into different lanes. It's so open now.
Zach: 100%, anything is considered pop music because pop is just popular.
Michael: But I think, before you were able to define pop, you used to be able to say that Pop is a song that sounds like XYZ, and I feel like now, since artists like Billie Eilish have come, it's just out the window. It's just making music that is so good and it's undeniable and it follows.
Zach: What you guys are putting out now came from "Youngblood", just talking about this most recent era. It is really different to what else is being service to radio, and even a lot of stuff that's different that's making the straming services, because it is rock and twenty one pilots, you know.
Ashton: I agree. But also I think people are releasing their music differently and not persuing the same avenues we are. Because of our genesis as a group and our footsteps throughout our career, we are in a pop space, that's where we land and that's where we are. There's so many bands doing incredible things and they're just not persuing the same path as us, maybe they're not as visible in the comertial popular eye, but there are so many acts out there that are just playing their own game, and I really appreciate that.a little too fast these days.
Zach: What is your game? Because, even this week, we have a ton of new music drop.
Ashton: Our game is not too difficult, we make sure we're stocked as a band, 'cause nothing else really matters above that, if we sit up here and hate what we release and do, then it's a waste of time. We make this record and we think they feel good and serve what we wanna be as a band in a couple years, and you stay true to your fanbase. We're filling the gaps for modern rock groups, I think. I think we try out things, we're persistent we always push ourselves with our production and our lyrical and graphic content, and we become a band to follow and not a band following, so that's what we wanna do.
Zach: What you just said, being a band that is followed, doesn't do the following that is a huge statement. A lot of artists fall victim to following.
Ashton: Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to get to where you wanna get, and I think a lot of groups will copy each other until something of theirs pops off and finally they can make an individual creative move, because they will have then got the attention of people. It's difficult.
Zach: It's not until they have popularity that they choose to become creatively free?
Ashton: Yeah. It's like, you have pop artists on your show and your show gains popularity, you have the viewers and listeners, and then finally you can get a curveball on your show and you'll still have those listeners' attention. I think that's why a lot of people copy each other, they just want one foot in the door. I don't blame them, it's difficult.
Luke: We, to some degree, did that in the early days. Half because we were young and didn't exactly know what we were as a band, and I think, until we got that foot in the door with the first couple albums and we had a fanbase, that's when "Youngblood" and stuff comes. If you listen to our first album and then "Teeth", it's totally different things and that's awesome. It's difficult as a band to get through that. We've been a band for 8 years and to get through all that and still be stocked in the music we're releasing and not hate each other... There's a lot of little victories, and for "Teeth" to be out today is a big victory, but I can't believe that we can release that song and people like it. It's just a weird thing, it's a cool thing to be like "I can't believe I'm in this band". That sound like a funny thing but oh, shit.
Zach: But to say that 8 years later, that you're not sick of it, you're not annoyed with each other, you don't hate the music you put out or force to record.
Luke: Yeah, it's a strange thing. It's cool, though. It's awesome.
Dan: How have you seen your fanbase change over those eight years?
Ashton: We see them like everyone else who's new. That's a crazy thing to witness as a group: "Damn, everyone likes that person now. Oh, they're gone. Everyone likes this person now. Oh, what happened to them? Oh, they did this", you just see people come and go already in our career, and it isn't notable lengthwise in any way, 8 years is most of our lives, but we've still got a long way to go. I see a lot of people come and go, there's only a couple that are still around since we have been around as well, in the pop space.
Zach: Are you more proud of the music you put out over the last few months than ever before?
Luke: It's difficult because, obviously, at the moment, I'm so proud of "Teeth" and you've gotta stand behind that and I do, with everything. It's not like I hate our early stuff, but at the time I was like "oh, this is awesome, we're in a band and this is so fun, i love the music we're making", but looking back, I was 16, I'm 23 now, a different person than I was back then. It's not like I don't like it, but I'm definitely more in this very moment of "Teeth" than I am of "Don't Stop", for example.
Calum: It's different perspectives that you have overtime. I feel like everything is just relative to where you are now, so I instantely feel more connected to this music, just because I've been living in it for the last year or so.
Zach: Would you say it's the music you've always wanted to make?
Ashton: Yeah, of course it is. But we've had to change so many other things in our career in order to even make music like this in the first place. So it's like, one piece of a 12-piece pie that we've had to bake. It's been great. We're going through a liberating period of our career, which is awesome.
Michael: And the rest of the album we've made also is just so good. It really helps to shape the direction that we're at right now, and it's hard to get across when we're talking to people about it because there's only 2 songs out right now, but the rest of the album just lays these insane foundantions that just make so much sense with where we're at right now.
Zach: How many songs are done?
Luke: 12, maybe? We had a list and an e-mail the other day of a pre-tracklist. It wasn't in order.
Zach: Do you have a date?
Ashton: Yeah, early next year. I know that's not a date.
Zach: So close tour with The Chainsmokers and then the album?
Ashton: Yeah, but we'll have lots of songs out this year.
Zach: Songs that are a part of this album?
Luke: Yeah. It's gonna be a bit different from how we usually release music. [...] Everything can change but, at the moment, we'll put out our own thing after The Chainsmokers' tour.