How do you think this EP represents SoSo as a band now, compared to the band you were when you first came together?
One of the cool things about this EP is that you can see the different influences shine through depending on the track. “Skywriter” for example, has hints of alt-rock or prog that had stuck around from old projects. “Yeah Nah” on the other hand is probably the most straight up Punk song we’ve done and is probably a pretty good indication of our goals to play Offensively Average music and just straight up have a damn good time.
“I Wouldn’t Call This Success…but It’s Close Enough” shows us developing our sound and identity. Having learned from the first EP, our new stuff is more focused, and with greater production influence from Mr Stevie Knight. We’ve started playing some of these tracks live because to be honest it’s kinda hard not to.
Is there a particular track/s that still stick out for you as a fave?
For me “Wasted Time” has to be the standout from this EP. It’s not as radio friendly as perhaps some of the other tracks with it’s long build up, but I’m stoked with how it turned out. It’s fun as hell to play live and Rhys’ lyrics really hit those nostalgia feels.
‘The Great Escape’ is the single we heard before the full EP came out; can you tell me a bit about how that song came together, and what you like most about it?
“The Great Escape” started out as one of our more traditional up pop-punk tracks. The chanted “check this!” which is my personal favourite part of the song came about during the very early stages of writing the instrumental, and the rest of the melody was formed around that. We tend to write all the instrumentals first, so coming up with a melody that fit with the chorus lead was super important.
There’s some great tunes on here that make us miss live touring – what do you miss the most about constant shows?
Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve ever had the luxury to have a consistent touring schedule! Our first ever show was cancelled in the first COVID-19 lockdown, and it’s pretty much continued with that theme since then. We did manage to string together a couple of shows with varying levels of restrictions in place, and especially when we were able to have a standing crowd, the atmosphere was awesome. I think people are really hungry for live music at the moment, so there’s a LOT of brilliant chaotic energy in the room.
You guys were getting some good momentum going as live performers before we went back into lockdown, too. What has been the best thing about playing with your bandmates?
Apart from the standard drinking beers, hanging out with your best mates and getting rowdy, one of the coolest things about playing shows has been experimenting with lighting and effects.
If people are going to make the effort to navigate the restrictions and take a punt on the show being able to go ahead, then you bet we’re going to try make it worth their time. Plus, even just the smoke machine on its own is a bloody good laugh.
How important has music been for you during the last year or so?
It’s hard to explain without sounding like a total cliché but music is pretty much all we do! Whether it’s writing new material, coming up with ridiculous ideas for skits and merch, or just hassling our mates to come out to shows.
If there is anything about this EP, what is it about this record that is gonna keep the fires burning until we can see you guys live again?
With any luck it won’t be too long until we get back to playing shows (fingers crossed). Until then we might have to go back through the archives for all the dumb content we took while writing the EP to see if there’s anything we can release to keep you guys entertained.
I Wouldn’t Call This Success..But It’s Close Enough is out now.
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