Where are you currently based?
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
What’s been happening recently?
Despite the new album just releasing, we’ve been writing more tunes for our next album. We’re also locking in some Australian tour dates at the moment.
Your album ‘One Way Ticket To Midnight’ will be out Friday 21st July, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Musically, Mainland Break is propelled by a passion for jangly, guitar-driven indie rock. Over the past few years we’ve been inspired by a wave of great bands who have built on that classic sound by injecting some modern indie rock/post-punk attitude, instrumentation, and production. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Quivers, and Ducks Ltd. are prime examples of bands that do this very well and motivate us to make music.
What would you like the listeners to take away from the album?
Indie rock isn’t dead!
Where and when did you record and who with?
We recorded the album in late 2022 with Mark Anderson, at his studio (Cowboy Cowabunga Recordings) in the secluded mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado.
What’s the meaning behind the album title?
The album title is a direct quote of something we heard during a night out. We were walking along an urban Denver street when a passerby on a little BMX bike came speeding down the sidewalk, standing on his pegs, repeatedly shouting “I’m on a one-way ticket to midnight!” He embodied the feeling of freedom and excitement that we felt could only come from having some kind of “one-way ticket to midnight.” We aspire to capture the energy of that moment in a lot of our music. Ultimately that’s how the phrase made its way into the title of the album and the lead single.
Favourite things about Australia?
The music! And the Betoota Advocate.
Favourite Aussie bands at the moment?
We’re big fans of Quivers, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Jacqui Lumsden, dust, and Major Plains.
Any memories/stories from the filming of the music video for Portland?
During the shoot, we stopped by the famous Hotel Caesars (which makes a cameo in the video) and had the original Caesar salad. Many of the shots in the video were inspired by the colors and vibrant life around the hotel and downtown Tijuana.
Please explain the importance of the overarching theme of a setting sun and the journey through the night:
The whole album follows the course of a night – starting at sunset and working towards the hours before sunrise. Many of the songs are inspired by time spent with each other and friends, and often, the songs are pining to have those times back again. We use the setting sun as that unobtainable eternity – something to always be chased.
Favourite moments as a band?
We loved performing with Quivers here in Denver and taking them out for pizza and doughnuts after the show. We’ll also never forget accidentally filling a 750 litre septic tank with lake water and nearly sinking a houseboat together.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
We can’t get enough of Kiwi Jr., Public Body, dust, and Slow Pulp.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2023?
We’ll be releasing a single at the end of 2023, then we’ll be heading out on an Australian tour in early 2024.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
When we’re hanging out together, we’re often eating corn dogs at one of our favourite dive bars…potentially engaging in some karaoke, depending on how much mustard we put on the ‘dogs.
