kindacool. issue 05
YUNGBLUD
TWENTY ONE PILOTS SWMRS SNOW PATROL CLAIRO COIN + MORE
the yearbook edition
SOUNDS OF THE
2010’S As 2019 comes to a close, so does the era of the 2010’s — and what a great decade it was for music, pop culture, and the growth of the entertainment industry. For our December 2019 yearbook issue, the team decided to reflect on the past 10 years of music and choose a few tracks that defined each year of the 2010’s.
2010: Teenage Dream - Katy Perry Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People
2015: Stressed Out - Twenty One Pilots Here - Alessia Cara
2011: Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae Domino - Jessie J
2016: Closer - The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes
2012: Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen Die Young - Kesha
2017: New Rules - Dua Lipa Sign of the Times - Harry Styles
2013: Royals - Lorde My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy
2018: no tears left to cry - Ariana Grande Havana - Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
2014: Shake It Off - Taylor Swift Counting Stars - OneRepublic
2019: Truth Hurts - Lizzo bad guy - Billie Eilish
Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2RVy8Qd
contents issue 5
december 2019
5 Bears In Trees 10 COIN 18 All Things Go Fall Classic 22 My Chemical Romance 24 Readers’ Submissions 26 Snow Patrol 32 Clairo 34 Twenty One Pilots 45 Top 19 of 2019 54 YUNGBLUD 68 SWMRS
10
COIN
26
54
Twenty One Pilots
YUNGBLUD
26
SWMRS
kindacool. Founder/Manager Meg Clemmensen Copy Designer Rebekah Witt Copy Editor/Distributor Mary Perez Cover photo courtesy of Jonathan Weiner
kindacoolmagazine.com
Contributors Mia Andrea, Polina Bakgof, Ravyn Cavanaugh, Gianna Cicchetti, JenaRose Dahlstrom, Lexie Dopwell, Emily Ellis, Sarah Evangelista, Ashley Gallegos, Sophie Harris, Jenni Johnson, Emily Lantzy, Faith Logue, Katie Marks, Jessica Matilszki, Lexi Matuson, Natalie Melendez, McKenzie Moore, Emilia Rangel, Emily Richardson, Piper Rosas, Cris Rulli, Ibbi Schwartz, Leeann Spangler, Kariann Tan, Chelsea Tiso, Devyn Vaughan, Hannah Wayland, Mickayla Whitt, Tanya Wright, Emily Young
@kindacoolmag
on our radar...
BEARS IN TREES
As we enter into the colder, icier months, it’s important to look after yourself and remind yourself of what you hold dear. Be that family, be that friendship, be that music, we look to art to help us deal with whatever life throws at us. This month, we look at Bears In Trees, a self-sufficient hardcore ukulele punk quartet from East London, UK, who capture the sentiments beautifully. From an outsider’s perspective, they already appear to be such a tight-knit group. When I met them at Croywall back in August, you could feel an overwhelming sense of home. Bears In Trees, made up of Callum Litchfield, Ian Gillespie, Nicholas Peters and George Berry, represents that for so many people — bringing a community together through their eclectic, progressive and punky ukulele tunes.
The band formed in 2014 and released their first album, Let’s Sleep On It, early Autumn of 2015. Since then, Bears In Trees have released another album and two EPs. Though they have not made it mainstream yet, their loyal following lifts them up and promotes everything they put out, creating a reputable name for the band on social media. Chances are, if you have an online profile in the pop punk realm, you’ve heard the name Bears In Trees, even if you haven’t heard their music. Their most recent release, I See Blue, features the five tracks: “Nights Like These,” “Life’s a Beach,” “Don’t Drink Coffee,” “Starting Fires,” and “I Am Cold.” This EP, released on August 23rd of 2019, is as fresh and as poignant as it comes. For anyone who is aware of the university life in the UK, these songs will remind
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you of the cascading events that university life throws at you. The lead single, “Nights Like These,” released on July 26th, features a beautiful preamble on their Bandcamp page that, when you do hear the track, makes it all that bit clearer: “Have you ever had one of those nights? Where you find reconciliation for your entire being in the love you share with friends and the freedom you share? Where you find divinity in the dead of night?” The band prepared for the full launch by slowly letting fans into their world of anxiety and recklessness one track at a time, beginning with the intro track on the EP. As touched on above, the appeal of Bears
6 • kinda cool.
in Trees does not stop purely at their musical talent. Their social media presence is endearing and witty and it translates into their performance and their interaction with their fans offline too. Just take a peek at their Twitter page and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Bears In Trees let you into their personal bubble, no matter your age, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, follow count, etc. If you’re a fan of the music or the memes, you’re automatically a friend. They let you into their colorful world and they show you that although you may see in blue, you’re still going to be alright. Written and photographed by Chelsea Tiso
Simple Plan
by JenaRose Dahlstrom
by JenaRose Dahlstrom
State Champs
kindacool.
kindacool.
kindacool. The Offspring
by Meg Clemmensen
kindacool. Sum 41
by Meg Clemmensen
LILY MAS SIE debut EP Thought it was Harmless out now available on all streaming services
@lilymassie @lilymassiemusic
diving into
Dreamland
with COIN
Your first new album in nearly two years is coming out very soon! How are you feeling about that? Chase Lawrence: Excited! That’s the only answer, really. It’s been a long time coming; we’re ready. What exactly do you hope that fans feel when they hear the phrase Dreamland? That album title depicts very specific imagery, at least in my mind. CL: It’s specific, but it’s also so broad! People have taken different meanings to it and taken it to fantasy land, which is fun too. Escapism has been a theme that people have attached to it. For us, it was more like I had felt like I had been existing above myself while living here right now. Like, if we’d had this interview two years ago, maybe I would’ve been like, “What am I doing next?” But now I’m just focusing on the fact that we’re having this conversation. So I feel like I’ve been in dreamland for the past two years. The title came from [when I] came home from this tour and my girlfriend was telling me that my cousin got married, my sister moved out, and I had no clue about any of this stuff. I came home and I was just lost. And this man who was totally removed from our conversation was like, “Son, you must be living in dreamland!”
Have you ever met a band that carries an indescribable, positive energy with them everywhere they go? No matter how many shows they play or how many singles they release, it all just feels like safety and community. Or as COIN and their fans choose to describe the feeling — home. As the band is gearing up for the release of their third LP, Dreamland, they’ve been on the road nonstop touring these new songs before they’re even released. The feeling of home is ever so present in the new music and each live show experience they produce, making it easy for anyone to feed off the trio’s energy. On November 9, I had an enlightening experience interviewing the group and getting a more personal, in-depth look into Dreamland before they played a sold-out arena show opening for Arkells.
want fans to feel whatever they want to feel in it, and I think the album will attach meaning to that. But until then, it can mean whatever they want it to. JM: We’re all living in our own little dreamland, and this album is the journal of that time period. CL: It’s so cool! I think that as this cycle goes on, it’ll become a lot of different things. We have a meaning for it, and we think listeners are going to build their own meaning for it, which is really special. How did you develop the artistic and visual concept behind the record? There’s a lot of bright colors, abstract, and geometric shapes going on in everything I’ve seen so far. CL: I think a color we’ve gravitated towards for this era is orange.
Joe Memmel: So tight.
Definitely.
CL: It resonated so hard within me. So I think I
CL: Symbolically, I think it’s like a sunrise. I was
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saying recently, there’s nothing wrong with dark and night. Some people find themselves in the dark and the night, and I think we’ve been in night and that’s fine. But I see the sun on the horizon, and it just felt right to go to warm colors. The geometric shapes, I’m not even sure! Ryan Winnen: I think it all comes together as a result of the music, typically. For some reason, it’s less of what looks cool to us and more of what we feel best represents the songs. That might be a stereotypical answer, but it really does feel like they come naturally, as opposed to when we were maybe squeezing the music, we were squeezing the visuals as well. It’s very freeform now. It’s happened very naturally, like what Chase said about the sunrise, because
you can’t have light without dark. We feel like we were in the dark for a little while and there will be dark again, but right now, it’s just taking the light with the dark. That’s why we have orange; it’s this beautiful color! It can also be seen as symbolic of the sunset, so it’s like sunrise and sunset. You also recently created the Committee for Sound & Mind. Can you discuss that a little bit and what it’s going to mean for this album? RW: I think what it represents for us is shared ownership over our music and over all things COIN with the fans. We’ve never really been in a position where we’re able to do that. Of course, the shows are a symbiotic experience and the energy transfers there, but we feel like we were never really able to fully own what we’re doing. CL: We want to tell the story. RW: Exactly! We feel like our fans tell the story better than we do half the time, so it’s allowing that narrative and that voice to just become louder for the times when we maybe weren’t able to or other folks were controlling what was going on. I think it’s just furthering that experience from us to the fans so it doesn’t feel like this separation, which I think a lot of artists experience with their fans. There’s this separation between the artist and the person coming to the show, but for us, these are just our friends and people, and it just feels like this community or a family. We just want to create a home for that! That’s actually something I was going to talk about later on. You definitely try to make everything feel like a community and take that fan-artist relationship to a new level. Why is that so important to you and to COIN? RW: Well, thanks for saying that! CL: It’s because this would be nothing if we didn’t have people to share it with. Like I was saying earlier, we make things, and we make things to let our emotions out and to almost transcribe our life. It’s our self-expression, but
12 • kinda cool.
those would be words in a can if we didn’t have an audience to attach meaning to it. Dreamland meant something to us, but if they don’t give meaning to these songs and our career and our shows, we’re doing it for ourselves, which is fine for some people, but it’s so important for me to have this. It’s so cool to watch people make friends and find family and feel so welcomed and at home, even for just an hour and 15 minutes. RW: Our artistic creation is very much of a two-step process, and we definitely needed to make this album and make this music and write these lyrics for ourselves. But we don’t need to get on stage for ourselves. So the touring entity and going out and playing all these cities all over the world — we don’t need to do that for us. We do that because we see how people have responded and how they’ve taken kindly to what we do. CL: We didn’t understand that for a long time! JM: Community is the interaction. And it gives it a lot of purpose. CL: I’m not saying we’re like philanthropists, but we love touring because we see how much meaning it brings to people. It’s not that it fulfills is in a massive way, even though it is fulfilling. It’s important. But it’s fulfilling because we see it for other people. JM: That’s why we interact so much with people, because we do want to know how it’s changing people and how we can do things differently. RW: People are not numbers. People are not items. People are not products. We’re not a product and there’s not a consumer buying us. This whole thing needs to be debunked; more artists need to realize this. I’m not saying we’re some professionals for realizing this, but this is how it’s always been for us. We’ve met these people from day one. So as soon as we saw the type of person who was coming to see us, we realized that’s where our focus needs to be — on keeping them. And I feel like I always see the same few
people coming out to all the shows on a tour. RW: Yeah, there’s loyalty for sure. And we’re loyal to them. A lot of unreleased songs have been circulating your set at your live shows for a while. Will all of these be seeing the light of day in February with the Dreamland release? RW: Most of them! The ones we played will definitely be on the album. Am I correct in guessing that the album has been finished for a while since these tracks have been on the set for a while? kindacoolmagazine.com • 13
CL: I think we finished it in April. It could’ve been done a year before that probably, but we set aside the time, and there’s just so many hoops you have to jump through. It’s just a matter of hurrying up and waiting, but the songs were written as they were written for the past two years. We just got them out. It’s not like we went into the studio for a month and went “Alright, let’s record these songs, let’s write these songs.” We wrote when we were on tour, we wrote when we were at home. Interesting fact — we didn’t use one studio in this entire process. [It was] all done in bedrooms, green rooms, locker rooms like where we are right now… What are you most excited to release off of the album? CL: We’ve played a song called “Youuu” for like a year and a half now, and we don’t play it at every show, but I think it’s gonna be surreal to watch people actually have that song and not just watch it live. So many people were just like “What is that? It’s different!” It’s just exciting that they’ll actually be able to access that. We’re releasing a song next Friday too! Oh awesome! Are you able to talk about that one at all? 14 • kinda cool.
CL: Cool! It’s called “Let It All Out,” and it’s the most important song I’ve written in my life, and we’re excited to share it. That’s been written on your drum kit for a while, hasn’t it? JM: Yeah, it has! Joe and Ryan, do either of you have a song you’re most excited about? JM: I was actually gonna say that song. We haven’t been playing it live, but it’s so exciting to share it. That one is like Chase’s baby for sure, but when we finalized that song and finished it, [it] definitely made me cry many, many times, and it’s very close to my heart. It’s a very important song. RW: That one’s probably true for all of us. I like a song called “Valentine” because it was one of the first songs where the three of us had lived in different cities after this writing process had already been well underway, and I remember that song being one of the ones where we sort of stitched it together via text message. We just sent each other the ideas to finish the song. That was just a cool process because we’d never
really done that before. So that one for that reason. “Crash My Car,” “I Want It All,” and all your other 2019 singles will be on the album too? Or were those just filler songs? JM: They are! Except for “Growing Pains,” which was released way longer ago. Even though you’ve put out tons of music since your debut album, you’ve always closed with the track “Fingers Crossed.”
probably two weeks of playing music together. That song feels like when we met to me. It was on the first album, of course, but it’s kind of like all of our instruments and all of Chase’s love and wild energy on stage singing. It feels like each of us individually, like this is who we are. CL: It’s catharsis. RW: It really is, it’s just so wild and sporadic and fun.
CL: We didn’t the other night!
JM: I just can’t honestly think of another song that we would play right now that would make me feel like I was done.
JM: It felt — we were like, “Wait, are we actually done right now?”
CL: It’s that we’re used to it, but it’s also… yeah, that’s all I’ve got.
RW: It did not feel right.
RW: Totally! Like, if anyone didn’t have a crazy experience at our show in the first hour and 10 minutes, here’s your opportunity.
Are you planning to continue that tradition then, or are you ready to switch it up for the new album? CL: I’m gonna continue as long as people keep coming to shows. It’s a thing now. RW: It’s strange that it epitomizes our first
JM: Also, to be very candid, let’s say if there was a show where — and this is only me personally — I feel tired and I’m like “Come on dude, you’ve gotta give it more energy! Give it your all dude!” That song is the one where I’m like, “Alrighty, here we go!” I just go all out.
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shows in Canada for Arkells? RW: It’s beautiful! How does that dynamic shift? CL: It doesn’t! JM: They are the nicest people ever. RW: They’re amazing. JM: Just extremely accommodating and beautiful humans. Oh yeah, I feel like you definitely focus on energy a lot as a component in your performances. Is that for motivational purposes?
CL: It’s just perfect.
CL: It’s just fun!
CL: We’ve done arenas a couple of times.
JM: We just genuinely enjoy ourselves.
JM: Definitely our first time doing it in Canada! They’re hockey arenas!
CL: It’s not something we typically talk about. It just comes? CL: Yeah! I’m not saying there aren’t times I don’t feel like a character on stage, but it’s passion. It’s just passion. When we started, people would be like, “Your energy is wild!” I never thought about it. I was just like, “I’m gonna go on stage and I’m gonna do what I do and whatever comes out is what comes out.” JM: We can’t really sit still often. Like if you watch us watching someone else’s show, all three of us are gonna be bopping our heads and dancing. RW: It’s more like our relationship with music than our choice to be crazy. This is how we respond to music! And how did it feel to go from headlining in the USA with Arkells opening to now opening 16 • kinda cool.
And this is one of your first times playing in arenas, correct?
I think I’m running out of time, but there’s one more thing I absolutely need to know. What is the significance behind “10:05?” How did that start and will it be something that is displayed in its own way on the new album? CL: Okay so, my whole life, I don’t know why, but I’ve just seen the number 10:05, and I think that I’m still figuring out what it is. I don’t know why I’ve always seen it, just probably luck of the draw. Maybe it’s like this mental thing. For a while, I was like “Oh, that’s a good thing. I’m in the right place.” I’m not saying that’s untrue, but for the past two years, I’ve seen it in a lot of unfortunate situations. Just change at a restaurant, getting deep in thought or sadness and pain. I kind of realizing coming through all of that that maybe the prosperity, the disaster, all of it is just a fact that you can acknowledge that you’re here right now, that we are together and your heart’s beating and your blood is pumping. You focus on the little things, and it’s easy to feel
grateful in that moment, you know? So yeah, it could be four, it could be one million, it could be a color. I don’t really think it’s the number, just for me specifically, it’s sometimes a check to just take a minute to realize what’s around you. Because I’ve said this a few times recently, but it’s been so long, for the past five years of this band it’s just been staring up and trying to figure out how to get to the next step without realizing there’s so much beauty around you right now. That fully manifested itself in the Philippines last year. We went there and I just couldn’t find myself there; I was thinking about what we’ll do next time we come to the Philippines. I was just thinking about what was next without taking it in and realizing how amazing it is that I’m across the world. You just lose sight of the fact that you’re there. That’s where that song “Let It All Out” [came from], and it’s actually called “Let It All Out (10:05).” So that’ll be represented in a massive way.
“Let It All Out (10:05).” The group will also be embarking on yet another headlining tour across North America in support of Dreamland, starting March 10 and closing April 12. Visit them online at www.thisiscoin.com to immerse yourself in their world. Chase, Joe, and Ryan are hard at work authenticating themselves and creating some of their most raw, honest, and meaningful work yet. Be sure to hop on the COIN bandwagon now, and you’ll find yourself head over heels for the distinctly unique energy that can only be produced by COIN. Hosted and photographed by Meg Clemmensen
Cool! Now since this will come out about a month before the album release, is there any last thing you want people to know about the album before they hear it? JM: Merry Christmas, everyone! CL: That’s cute. I like that. JM: Preorder! RW: It’ll be the first time where we haven’t planned something so previously and carefully, but it’s the most beautifully composed thing we’ve ever made, so if people find the honesty in it that we did making it, that’s really all we can say about it. That would be the hope. CL: As much as I’ve ran every lyric I’ve wrote, I considered every person in our crowd. I thought about what these people would think. But at the same time, we wrote this for ourselves. So I hope that people find whatever pain, whatever joy we felt. I hope that people find a purpose in all of it. COIN’s new album, releasing February 21, 2020, features the band’s latest singles such as the uplifting “Crash My Car” and their latest,
kindacoolmagazine.com • 17
COIN
OLIVIA O’BRIEN
ALL THINGS GO FALL CLASSIC
OCTOBER 12 & 13, 2019 • UNION MARKET, DC PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY PEREZ
MUNA LANY
TEAMARRR
MXMTOON
SHENNA
CARLIE HANSON
ARKELLS
CHELSEA JADE
kindacool. Arkells
by Meg Clemmensen
kindacool. Mayday Parade by Devyn Vaughan
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE The Emo Band of the 2000’s is Back
M
y Chemical Romance (MCR) is easily recognizable as one of, if not the most famous emo band and they are back for good, it seems! In 2013, to the disappointment of their fans, the band announced that they were breaking up, but most fans kept their hopes up that it wouldn’t be the end of MCR. Despite the band’s insistence that they were better off solo, the mark they left on the emo scene in the 2000’s never truly stopped shaping the scene as we know it today, making them an unforgettable name. Fans kept their love for the band alive, and on Halloween 2019, MCR announced through a series of vague posts leading up to a reunion show announcement that they are, in fact, getting back together. It didn’t take long until social media absolutely blew up with fans sharing their excitement for the return of MCR, as well as their anticipation to see what the band has in store now that they have made a comeback. Twitter was exploding with tweets from fans excitedly portraying their desires to see the band live and hear new music from them for the first time in years. Fans from all over the world posted about how the MCR reunion is finally
22 • kinda cool.
happening and hopeful posts about the band announcing a world tour soon. Attached to the band’s post about reuniting was the previously mentioned show announcement in Los Angeles, CA this coming December. Fans from all over the world took to social media, tweeting and posting about hoping and wishing that they could find a way to the angel city for the MCR reunion show on December 20th. I have looked into flights myself and wish there was a way I could get there to see what is sure to be an unbelievably iconic set that goes down in emo and pop culture history! The reunion has brought together so many people who share one common interest and has given us all a sense of unity as we share and discuss our reactions, hopes, and expectations for what comes next for MCR and their fans. When a band as iconic and wellloved as MCR makes a comeback after almost seven years, it is always a great feeling seeing both the new and old fans interacting and getting excited over their love of the band. Whether you still listen to the band daily and spent your time praying for a reunion or it’s a name you
haven’t heard in years, everyone knows something about My Chemical Romance and has some point in time they can reminisce upon while the band is so present in the media. For me, and I can only assume for many others as well, MCR’s reunion is a chance to relive my emo years from middle and high school. It is a chance to listen to all my old CDs from ninth grade and dance around without a care in the world like we would have done back then. It’s a chance to be nostalgic of a time that was not necessarily a good one for everyone, but a time that most people can look back on and say shaped them into who they became in one way or another. The band announced a few more shows that will follow the one in L.A. in December, which will take place in Australia, New Zealand and Japan in March 2020. The band appears to be making quite a bit of their comeback via festival shows, surprising the fans who have already purchased tickets to these grand events without even knowing MCR would be there
or be back together. With the news of MCR coming back and finally playing shows again after so long, we can hope it’s only a matter of time before the band announces a full tour or two, and hopefully some new music to go along with that! To keep up to date with MCR and their reunion, sign up to their mailing list at https://www.mychemicalromance. com/ and make sure to follow the band on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. After such a sudden reunion, you never know when your phone might light up with another shocking notification of an announcement from the band. Killjoys, make some noise! Written by Cris Rulli
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2019
favorite music memory of
While reminiscing on a wonderful year for music, we wanted to hear from our readers about their favorite music memories of 2019! We reached out via social media and encouraged anyone to send us an email describing experiences relative to music that made their year. Everyone has a very specific artist, release, tour, etc. that immediately comes to mind when prompted to talk about the way that music impacted their year, which is why we wanted to share stories from a few of our readers as the year comes to a close. “My absolute favourite music memory of 2019 was getting to go to a VIP acoustic session before the Cavetown concert this October in Toronto! Robbie was so sweet and he played some of his older songs on his guitar while we all sat on the floor and sang along. The concert itself was amazing, and he premiered some newer songs that have since become my new favourites, but the acoustic set was so personal and wonderful; it was really something special!” - Julia; Niagara, ON
“My absolute favorite music memory of this year has to be seeing iDKHOW and Twin XL in Grand Rapids on the Night Heat tour. I run a fan project for iDKHOW (@theidkhowroses), and seeing my hard work and planning pay off as well as being able to make my favorite bands happy was the most rewarding thing of this year.” - Angeline; Detroit, MI
“My favourite band, Marianas Trench, released their album Phantoms this year. Therefore, I got to see them live and meet them three times in 2019, two of which were my first two VIP experiences ever!” - Elizabeth; Windsor, ON
“My favorite concert memory of 2019 happened while I was en-route to the Sleep On It/ Like Pacific gig in Asbury Park, NJ. I was bringing my friend to her first show ever, and it was really exciting. The drive was going to be about 3 hours long because of Jersey shore traffic on a Friday. (Yikes, I know.) We queued up a few albums: The Black Parade and Three Cheers by MCR, and A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out by P!ATD, to start. As we were going down the highway, we ran into some traffic. I slowed down, as one does. Just as “I Don’t Love You” starts to play, the car jolts forward. We got rear-ended. Luckily, there was no damage and we kept driving like nothing even happened. It was a fun experience though, and now “I Don’t Love You” is another stupid inside joke between my friends.” - Lia; Washington, DC
“In June, I flew to Italy from Atlanta to see my favorite band: Imagine Dragons. This was my college graduation present to myself, because I wouldn’t have graduated 1.5 years early without their music. So I get to Florence, and like the concert junkie I am, I decided to walk all the way to the venue to scope it out the day before. Live Nation workers were stationed all around the venue and I passed each one. I took my time getting back to my hostel, and when my wifi kicks in, I found out there’s a queue at the venue and I somehow missed it. I hauled myself back to the venue and tried to ask the Live Nation workers about getting a number, who all spoke little to no English, and each one sends me on to the next as they have no clue what I’m talking about. In retrospect, me explaining to these men that I planned on sleeping in a park to queue is quite hilarious, but in the moment, I was full-on panicking. I finally found the people in charge of giving out numbers, who turn out to be people I knew from Twitter. That night, I ended up sleeping in a trash bag because I had not been prepared to sleep on the ground in chilly 50 degree weather. The next day, I got front row next to people who love this band just as much as I do, and it was one of the best nights of my life.” - Luisa; Atlanta, GA
24 • kinda cool.
“I never thought I’d be able to have floor tickets at a large venue, let alone for my favorite band, but I got that chance this year! One of my best friends and I went to see Twenty One Pilots, who brought us together as friends, and we went through the whole experience of arriving early in the scorching sun, making spontaneous friends in line and waiting for hours amid a huge mosh pit. When “Jumpsuit” hit its peak and Tyler started screaming, the pyrotechnics blasted and the entire pit jumped simultaneously. We held hands, just going with the flow of the crowd, locked eyes and laughed. It was so surreal and incredible to be part of a mass of bodies like that.” - Annah; Lansing, MI
“2019 has by far been the biggest year for me with memorable concert moments. In August, I met this group of cool people while waiting in line at Grayscale’s pop-up for their album in Chicago, and we all became really close friends. In February, the majority of us are planning on following the Grayscale tour to Iowa City, Milwaukee, and Palatine! Shoutout to the Pop-up pals! Love you guys and I’m so glad to have met y’all!” - Astrid; Chicago, IL
“There are quite a few exciting tours in 2020, but the one I’m most excited for is the Super Whatevr headliner. I saw them once when they opened for Set It Off, but I know this tour they’ve been teasing is going to be even “better.” (Get it? It’s a pun.) I can’t wait to see what 2020 will bring for the (now) duo!” - Kaylee; Suffolk, VA
“I’m looking forward to Kesha’s new album! With her 2017 album Rainbow, there was no roadmap. It was an amalgamation of genres, instruments, sounds, and production techniques, from soaring ballads to collaborations with Eagles of Death Metal. The great thing about Kesha’s next release is that there is more of that to come, with the exception of maybe some of the sadder songs. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said that on this album, she got to reclaim her love of life and will be a return to her pop roots. High Road is expected to be released in January of 2020, and the first single “Raising Hell” solidified the one expectation I think you can have for a Kesha album: that you truly can’t know what to expect. An unanticipated mix of sounds, beats, and religious imagery made for a fun and confident lead. The remaining 14 songs are sure to deliver as well, most notably “Kinky,” which features her past self, “Ke$ha.” It’s impossible to know what this album will contain, but it’s sure to be done well and make us dance like there’s no tomorrow.” - Adelaide; Washington, DC
“When I saw your tweet about our most anticipated tours of 2020, I knew I had to shoot you an email about The Amazons. They’re opening for Dirty Honey (also an incredible band) on their Rolling 7’s tour, which runs from early February into March of next year. I saw The Amazons play Reading Fest in August, and they put on the most spectacular show — the only issue is that they don’t play shows in the US very often. They’ll be playing mid-size rooms (most are around 1000 capacity) and it’s sure to get very sweaty, no matter how full it is. I’ve taken it upon myself to get any and everyone I can to listen to The Amazons, so take it from me — listen to The Amazons (and Dirty Honey!) and get your $17 tickets to see one of the most heartfelt rock and roll acts of our generation.” - Emily; New York City, NY
“I’m looking forward to anything that First in Flight is releasing! I’m not sure if they’re just releasing singles or an EP, but either way, I’m excited! They’re a discorock band based in Milpitas, CA. I heard they’re also planning a tour, which is just as exciting, because that will hopefully expand the fan base!” - Madison; San Francisco, CA
“I’m looking forward to Dreamland by COIN, coming out February 21st! COIN is a really special band to me and I’m happy I got to see them on the first leg of the album tour this past fall.” - Lydia; Knoxville, TN
2020
most anticipated release/tour of
We also wanted to spend some time looking forward with our readers. We’re about to enter both a new year and a new decade, and there is already an incredible lineup of releases and tours to anticipate in 2020. After asking our followers to tell us their favorite memory of 2019, we asked them to think about all the music memories they’ll make in 2020. This provoked quite a few excited responses regarding highly-anticipated moments in music that we’re all on the edge of our seats waiting for. Though another year is coming to a close, check out what our readers are looking forward to next! kindacoolmagazine.com • 25
patrolling life and music with
Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol
A few weeks ago, I got an opportunity that I never thought I would have: the chance to speak to Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody. Known for his collection of sleeper hits and brooding tunes popularized by certain American medical dramas, Gary Lightbody has been in the game for a long time now - and he’s still just as surprised as one can imagine.
Who are you and where are you from? Gary from Bangor, Northern Ireland. How would you describe your music in three words? Honest, melodic, um... unfiltered. That’s a really good one. With your new reworked album released, what made you pick these 13 particular songs to re-record? Well, there was some sort of master plan behind the whole thing. We were recording as we went on the road. You know, we recorded in just about a hundred different cities around the world and hotel rooms and dressing rooms, things like that. We pick a song that day and we’d start on it, and then, you know, after a few cities, we might finish it and then we’d take another song. We recorded more than just the 16, so it’s just that these are the ones that worked out the best. Maybe there’s more to do in the future, but probably not. This seems like a good way to celebrate the 25th anniversary and we’ll just leave it there. I don’t think we need to drag this up again unless we get to 30 or 40 or 50; we’ll have to celebrate those somehow. Wow, 25 years. How does it feel to still be going strong after so long? 26 • kinda cool.
It’s wonderful. That’s what I always wanted to do when I was a kid. I didn’t imagine I would get a whole life in music, especially the first ten years of being in the band that we didn’t get any success. You don’t think, after six or seven or eight or nine years of not having any sort of success or people coming to your shows, that you’re gonna end up with a 25 year career [or] sell millions of albums. You know, it doesn’t really add up. Our career is very unusual, because we got dropped from an independent label after selling hardly any records. We got signed by a major label. It doesn’t normally work that way. It’s something I’m very amazed by every day. You know, I think those first ten years getting your ass kicked every day really emotionally stood us in good stead. We have a lot of humility and a lot of gratitude. Realize that a lot of it is luck, and a lot of it is hard work. We did a lot of hard work, but there’s a lot of luck involved as well. We don’t take it for granted. What was it like to just suddenly blow up out of nowhere? “Chasing Cars” is such a staple in music — it’s such a big part of my childhood. Were you guys approached about having it on Grey’s Anatomy? You know, any TV use of a song, you have to sign off on. But I didn’t know the show; I’d heard of it, [but] I wasn’t watching it. We’ve been in a lot of TV shows before, and it’s been on a lot of
TV shows since, some movies too. You know, it’s just one of those things, one of those rare occasions where the planets kind of align and that kind of blew up after being on the show in America. Did you expect that to happen? What was it like to realize that your song was becoming a hit? “Run” was our first hit. And that was kind of amazing to have that first feel [of our] songs on the radio and songs in the top five of the UK. I felt like something very special. We’ve had ten years before that where we didn’t have any help, so we didn’t really think we’d have another one. “Chasing Cars” came along and kind of blew everything we’ve done out of the water. You know, we’d already toured the world, the final straw. The rest of the world didn’t pick up. I mean, we’ve always been an album band, and we always will be an album band. We’re lucky to have a lot of songs that people sing along with when we play live. It is kind of amazing to have “Run” and “Chasing Cars” that have sort of got out to so many people. We’re always going to be making albums out of the songs. Songwriting tells part of the story.
That’s valid. I see where you’re coming from. Do you guys have a favorite place where you really love performing? Well, gigs at home are always amazing, you know, in Northern Island, in the Republic of Ireland. Japan, playing in Australia. South America, crowds are always amazing. Brazil and Chile and Paraguay look pretty bonkers. So, yes, there’s a lot of great places to play around the world. Had some great gigs in Canada as well, you know. We’ve had the privilege of playing in pretty much every place that there’s a venue to play in the world. It’s been a hell of a 25 years. Do you see yourself doing this another 25 years? Probably not. I mean, I would be nearly 70. You know, the Rolling Stones are still doing it, but they’re the Rolling Stones, for crying out loud. You know the name; they’ve written some of the most defining songs of many generations. It’s a different kettle of fish. I’ll be hopefully sitting on a little balcony with a rocking chair by that time, listening to other people’s music on my stereo, or whatever the hell people are listening to music on by those times.
Absolutely. Are you guys fans of Grey’s Anatomy?
Wow. Do you see yourself doing it in another 13 years?
I don’t watch it. It’s not that I’m not a fan; it’s just that I don’t watch hospital drama shows [because] I get squeamish.
Yeah, I can see five, I can maybe see ten. But I don’t want to put any time limit on it. You know, I just would just do it for as long as we want. Well,
there’s two things. There are two time limits. One is how long do we want to do it? We don’t know. As long as we can. The other time limit is how long people want to listen to you play. Whether we get road weary or the crowds get weary of us, those will be the two things that determine it. But at the moment, we’re still going around the world selling out shows. It’s a lot of fun. We want to make more and more albums. I don’t see us stopping anytime soon. But, you know, I can’t make any sure predictions at the moment. I’d say we’ll be going a while. Speaking of 13, what was it like to collab with Taylor Swift for “The Last Time?” It was great. I mean, I met her through Ed Sheeran. He and I have been friends for a long time, and she was brilliant to work with. She’s extraordinarily talented, really fun to be around, and working with her was great. That song came together in a day. We wrote it and recorded it in a day. I’ve done a lot of co-writes with of a lot of different people. That doesn’t always work out that way, so it was very special. That was a very special writing session. It really was. What are your favorite songs to play live? Are they fan favorites, or are they personal favorites? I think one of them is a song called “Dark Roman
28 • kinda cool.
Wine,” [which] is a fan favorite, and it’s one of my favorites. It’s not a big crowd pleaser, a singalong moment. It’s just the organ and me singing over the top of it. So it’s very kind of spaceyspace that’s just a nice moment in the set. Yeah, I like it. So it’s a moment of togetherness and just having that moment to connect with fans, right? Yeah, I’m singing that song with my eyes closed, so I’m not sure that’s the right terminology, but I think it’s probably more of a moment of introspection in the middle of a gig that can sometimes be frenetic and boisterous. We want to put as much joy and fun into gigs as we possibly can. So it’s kind of a moment of reflection and all about us. Snow Patrol’s eighth album, Reworked, is available to buy and stream now. Celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary and take a trip through their full career with some of your favorite hits, reimagined. Hosted by Lexie Dopwell Photos courtesy of Universal Music Canada
Water Your Dreams reminds us to take stock of the good times in life and to live in the moment. Good times: like the nights your friends gathered around a bonfire to make s’mores or that time you braved the elements to see your favorite band play (in the rain) at that notorious three-day music festival. The Water Your Dreams collection is a visual reminder to root your dreams and water them daily by taking steps to fulfill your goals. Take stock of the good times and live in the moment with your Water Your Dreams merch! wateryourdreamstoday.com
@wateryourdreams
kindacool. by Emily Richardson
5 Seconds of Summer
kindacool.
by Emily Richardson
The Chainsmokers
kindacool.
Machine Gun Kelly
by Sophie Harris
Clairo:
a community within
Immunity
This year, singer-songwriter Claire Cottrill, known by the stage name Clairo, released her debut album, Immunity, which has been a huge hit among young adult music lovers since its release — especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Clairo took the opportunity to share this music during the fall on her Immunity tour. Two months after opening for Khalid on his Free Spirit summer tour, Clairo returned to her hometown of Atlanta on Halloween night and encouraged all attendees to show up in a costume. She brightened Atlanta’s historic Variety Playhouse dressed as a Crayola crayon. Just like the studio album, Clairo opened her live show with “Alewife” and “Impossible.” “Alewife” is a slow piano ballad, while “Impossible” is more upbeat and percussive — but they flow together despite the contrast. “Alewife” took courage to open up the show with, since Clairo wrote it for her friend who prevented her from committing suicide several years ago. “They showed up at the door, my parents didn’t know what for / Swear I could have done it if you weren’t there when I hit the floor,” she sang. After those two, she continued with “Softly,” which was the first song in her set to specifically use female pronouns. Clairo came out as bisexual in 2018, before she released Immunity but after her breakout viral hit “Pretty Girl.” Bisexuality is frequently forgotten, even within the LGBTQ+ community, so Clairo puts
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her platform to good use by advocating for bisexual people like herself. She’s transparent about her identity, both through her lyrics and through conversations. She knows better than anyone that bisexual people often feel excluded, so she makes a point to help everyone feel included. It’s difficult to make a sold-out, 1000+ cap venue in the middle of one of America’s biggest cities feel calm and soothing — but Clairo and her production team pulled it off. Pastel colored lighting accompanied each song. There was nothing too vibrant or flashy, which is uncommon for concerts of this size. Each song had distinct projections on the screen in the back, mostly of nature scenes. This helped promote the atmosphere that Clairo wants to achieve with her music, making each audience member feel safe and calm. Through her fun-filled Halloween bonanza, Clairo made her triumphant return to her hometown, greeted by a jam-packed crowd of adoring fans. She produced a welcoming environment and poured her heart out onstage, all while performing in a green Crayola crayon costume. The 21-year old will continue making waves in the alternative music scene for a long time to come after the debut era of Immunity, and her live show proves that there’s no doubt as to why. Written and photographed by Sophie Harris
The Bandito Tour: a celebration of life Over the course of the past year, I had the amazing opportunity to witness Twenty One Pilots on their Bandito Tour a total of five times. I live in Louisville, KY, and Louisville was not a stop on the tour, so I travelled to St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Atlanta, and Cincinnati to see them. Many people judge me for this and question, “Why do you want to see the same show over and over again?” But they don’t understand. Every show is different. It’s more than just a show. It’s the experience, the memories, the overwhelming feeling of happiness I receive. It’s like in those few hours, everything is okay. I feel happy and safe and just truly okay. Within those few hours, you are able to push aside all the bad things in your life and celebrate being alive. Almost every person that you come across at these shows is super friendly and accepting and nice. With openers from AWOLNATION to Bear Hands to Misterwives, they knew how to get the crowd pumped up. But truly, no one knew what they were getting into.
St. Louis was the second stop on the tour and I went in knowing nothing except the fact that there was a skybridge… and boy, was I in for a lot of surprises. My best friend and I drove 4 and a half hours to St. Louis the night before the show, and once we got to our hotel, we slept for about 3 hours and then woke up at 7am to begin camping out at the venue. We made many friends in line and ended up being about second or third row on lead singer Tyler Joseph’s side of the pit. It’s crazy how easy it is to make friends at Twenty One Pilots shows. Almost every single person you talk to is extremely friendly and accepting. We were numbers 168 and 169 in line. After the opener, we saw that there was an “x” on the barricade in front of us, representing where Joseph would stand in the crowd for “Holding On To You,” and we began losing our minds. As the skybridge lowered during “Nico And The Niners,” my best friend started screaming my name, realizing how close Joseph was about to be to us. Once the lights went out indicating the start of the show and the room was filled with screams, Josh Dun entered the stage holding a lit torch with a bandana covering his face. He walked to each side of the stage, welcoming the crowd to the world of Trench. Once Tyler Joseph rose up to the stage on a car that was on fire, the bass of “Jumpsuit” kicked in, and everyone in the pit began jumping. I could feel the bass pounding in my chest and all throughout my body. “Jumpsuit” was one of my overall favorite performances of the tour. Every single time I saw it, it was just so incredibly powerful. It was the perfect opening song because it got 34 • kinda cool.
everyone hyped up and excited. Once the bridge began, yellow flower petals in the form of confetti fell from the ceiling, as the crowd echoed “If you need anyone” back to Joseph. The stage lights went dim and the only thing illuminating the stage was the fire that was lit on the car, as the crowd chanted the final chorus of “Jumpsuit” in perfect harmony, leading into everyone in the arena screaming “Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me” at the top of their lungs. Next, the perfect transition was made into “Levitate,” where you could hear everyone in the pit echoing the rap right back to Tyler Joseph wordfor-word. On the Fall 2019 leg of the tour, a new theatrical element was added to this performance where a bishop was shown on the screen when Joseph says “Now here comes the eight, wait.” A drastic pause occurs and then a skeleton in a bishop’s outfit appears on the screen behind him, as he kneels down and shows how he is stronger than his fears and the voices in his head (DEMA), so he will be able to destroy them. On the first few legs of the Bandito Tour, “Fairly Local” was up next, where the use of the massive risers on the stage were introduced, raising Josh and Tyler up super high in the air while blue and purple lights illuminated them. “Fairly Local” is obviously a crowd favorite from Blurryface, as seen by the excessive screaming of the lyric “It’s the few, the proud, and the emotional.” Once the bridge kicks in, Joseph falls backwards doing his famous “death drop” and the stage goes black right before he appears at a random spot in the venue to continue singing the song. The spot in the venue changed
every night. Fan-favorite “Heavydirtysoul” was finally added to the setlist on the Fall 2019 leg of the tour, removing “Fairly Local.” The transition that was made from “Levitate” to “Heavydirtysoul” was absolutely perfect. As “Levitate” ended, Tyler Joseph took off his camouflage jacket representing Trench to reveal a tambourine that he began playing the opening notes of “Heavydirtysoul” with. For the first legs of the tour (Fall 2018 and Summer 2019), “Stressed Out” was next, which consisted of an opening video playing “Today’s Your Day/Wachagonedu” by Fatlip, as Joseph’s famous red beanie taunts him on a dangling string for him to grab as soon as the song begins. The opening video song changed throughout the different legs of the tour, ending with a clip consisting of “Bad Boys For Life” by P. Diddy. “Stressed Out” is the band’s most popular song, so this performance is always one where the crowd is insanely loud, because everyone in the arena knew the words. This was a performance that included a lot of crowd interaction, as Joseph never failed to make you feel like it was your show, asking “What’s your name?” before the chorus began with “My name’s Blurryface.” Joseph’s energy during this song is also insane; as the crowd is screaming “Wake up, you need to make money,” along with the rest of the bridge, he runs back and forth across the stage, even jumping over his piano. “Legend” is a song that Joseph wrote in honor of his late grandfather. He performed this song on the Summer 2019 leg of the Bandito Tour as a beautiful tribute. At both summer shows I attended,
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Joseph paused for a brief moment halfway through the song to say “I wrote this song for my late grandfather. He passed away last year, and if there was one thing that he taught me, is that it’s worth it. To keep on fighting, all the way to the bitter end.” Hearing him say this brought tears to my eyes and covered my entire body in chills. I had been holding on for this show for so many months and to hear him reassure me that it’s worth it to keep fighting and keep holding on meant the world to me. For the most recent leg of the Bandito Tour, “The Hype” was added to the setlist after months of fans begging online. A very popular thing for Twenty One Pilots shows is camping out to be close to the front, as a large portion of their show is general admission. With this being said, many die-hard fans would camp out for days, some even sleeping on concrete for over a week just to be barricade at the show. The morning of each show, Twenty One Pilots’ tour videographer would go out to the line and take a video of everyone camping and then ask them to begin singing the opening verse to “The Hype,” which is a very special song to the fandom. Each night, a different video was shown of the people who camped for that show, and it led into Joseph picking up the song where the fans left off. “The Hype” was a very special song that makes you feel like everything is okay. I felt safe while hearing it live. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. A lyric in this song is “Nice to know my kind will be on my side,” and after this song ended in Cincinnati, Joseph looked at the crowd and said “You are my kind.” In Atlanta, I got to experience “House of
Gold” live for the first time. I spent this show in the back of the pit and it was such a party! A congo line was formed at the beginning of this song and I knew that I had to join it. We held the line throughout the majority of the song, which eventually turned into a mosh pit — it was pretty iconic. Other songs were played among the Bandito Tour in this place, such as “Heathens” and “The Judge.” “Lane Boy” is among my list of favorite performances from this tour. “Lane Boy” begins with an intro where the room goes completely dark as an eerie voice echoes the room saying “Stay low, they say… stay low,” right before the opening notes of the song kick in. This song is the first time drummer Josh Dun performs shirtless throughout the show, and this causes the crowd to lose their minds even more. Tyler Joseph enters the stage, ukulele in hand and flower kimono over his head. At the bridge of this song Tyler encourages everyone in the pit to get as low to the ground as they can and jump once the beat kicks back in. While everyone crouches down, people in white hazmat suits come on stage and spray the crowd with smoke as the beat kicks in. In Atlanta, we formed a massive mosh pit in the back and went crazy during this part. Everyone crouched down in a circle and we beat our hands on the floor in anticipation for the beat to kick in. This mosh pit was one of my favorite memories from the tour. It was an ethereal feeling. I felt so alive. This leads to “Nico and the Niners,” which is the first time DEMA and Trench are noticeably referenced within the show. Many symbols representing these worlds appear on the screen
as the song is performed. Once Joseph gets to the bridge, he pauses as the city of DEMA is seen behind him. He crouches down, putting his hand over his chest while looking at the fans. After a few moments of silence from Joseph and screaming from the crowd, he begins to make his way to the b-stage. For my first three shows, he used the skybridge to get here, but for my last two shows, they no longer had the bridge and Joseph simply walked through the crowd. In Cincinnati, he thanked us for being so respectful, stating that security always warns them that it is a bad idea but they do it anyway. Once Joseph makes it to the b-stage, which represents Trench, he sits down at his piano to begin singing “Smithereens” as the room becomes illuminated with flashlights. Joseph always pauses halfway through this song to recognize his wife Jenna, stating that he wrote the song for her. In St. Louis, I got to witness a breathtaking performance of “Taxi Cab” from the b-stage, which brought chills to my body as the words echoed throughout the venue and resonated from the tips of the tongues of everyone in the pit. “Neon Gravestones” was on the setlist for my first three shows of this tour. It was a very powerful song to experience live. It was not a song that you could dance or have a good time to, and that was the point. Joseph had a message that he wanted to get across, and he did so with this performance every night. Every time I heard it live, it was another very heartfelt performance. It was obvious that this song and the message kindacoolmagazine.com • 37
of staying strong is very important to the band. The performance starts with the waterfall of lights lowering above the band, and once Joseph begins singing, his face is projected onto the screen in black and white, highlighting how much emotion he is putting into this performance. As soon as the opening notes of this song began, you heard people begin sniffling because they were already crying. This is a very important song to many people, Tyler Joseph included, so I am very proud of him for performing it for as many shows as he did. Green and purple lights illuminated the stage as Joseph began to play “Migraine.” He sat on his piano to sing the first verse, you could barely hear him over the sound of the crowd screaming the words to this fan-favorite.The transition was then made to “Tear In My Heart,” where Tyler allowed the crowd to do most of the singing. A powerful, chill38 • kinda cool.
provoking performance of “Bandito” was up next. Joseph begins playing this song on the piano, as yellow waterfall lights shift into an array of different designs above the band. On stage, yellow lights are projected upward, illuminating the smoke that is covering the stage. This performance contains so much yellow because it is the title track of the tour for the album Trench, which is a concept album that consists of a lot of yellow, and because “Bandito” is arguably one of the most important songs on the record. The crowd begins chanting “Sahlo Folina” and Joseph gets up from his piano, as the yellow waterfall of lights lower to surround him as he goes in to singing the bridge. Once the beat kicks in at the end of the bridge, the lights begin flashing between white and yellow and it turns into an ethereal dance party celebrating life. “Bandito” live is just such a powerful performance; words cannot even give it justice. From here, they began “Pet Cheetah,” which was one of the most high-energy performances of the night. The pair began the performance on the b-stage and then crossed the skybridge or walked through the crowd to finish the remainder of the song on the main stage. Once the bridge of the song hit, Joseph would always say “All my people in the pit, get your feet off the ground, let’s jump,” which led to many mosh pits across the course of the tour, and they were some of my favorite experiences ever. Joseph enters the crowd, allowing fans to hold him up to sing the first verse of their 2013 hit “Holding On To You.” For the St. Louis show, I was only a few inches away from him during this, and it was such an amazing experience. I was so close that before he started singing into his microphone, I could hear him say “Come on now, let’s go” to the fans surrounding him, prompting us to sing along with him. In Cincinnati, I got up on my friend’s shoulders as soon as Joseph entered the crowd. This was such a surreal feeling; I felt so alive and powerful. During the bridge of this song, Joseph stands on top of his piano to sing, and drummer Josh Dun joins him for a brief moment to do a backflip off the piano. This is a highly anticipated part of the show and the crowd went wild every single time. In Atlanta, a mosh pit was formed and there was a guy who got in the middle and did a backflip along with Dun and timed it perfectly. For the first leg of this tour, the band next covered classics such as “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. I remember standing in the pit in St. Louis and feeling my body become covered in chills as I sang along to “Iris.”
I had a moment during this song where I realized how happy I was and how alive I felt. The amount of happiness and comfort that live music can bring people is amazing. For the last leg of the tour, opening band Misterwives joined the band on stage to perform “Fall Away” and “Cut My Lip.” Dr. Blum from Misterwives played the trumpet throughout the entirety of “Fall Away,” and then the rest of the band came out to perform “Cut My Lip” with Twenty One Pilots. They even had coordinating dance moves! A spotlight illuminated Tyler Joseph as he sat down on the edge of the stage with nothing but a miniature keyboard to begin singing a strippeddown version of their smash hit “Ride.” This stripped down version was only performed on the most recent leg of the tour, but it was absolutely breathtaking each time I got to hear it. After Joseph sings part of the song acoustically, Josh Dun comes in on the drums and they perform the entirety of the song in its original form. In both Columbus and Cincinnati, when the bridge of this song hit, he asked the crowd to pick a partner and get on their shoulders when Dun came in. He apologized to security in advance and thanked them afterwards. These were such incredible moments to witness, and it was obvious that in this moment everyone just felt so alive and happy. Then, the band transitioned into performances of “My Blood” and “Morph.” “My Blood” was basically a full-blown dance party as Joseph encouraged everyone to dance, even the security guards. The camera man would show each security guard in the front row and then Joseph would ask them to show the crowd their best dance moves. “Morph” featured Dun venturing into the crowd on a drum island during the bridge to perform a snippet of “Seven Nation Army” as well as finishing out the performance of “Morph.” Once Dun finished his cover of “Seven Nation Army”, the bridge for “Morph” kicked in, where the crowd got to scream his name at the top of their lungs during his highlighted part. From here we transitioned into a performance of the most popular song off of their 2013 record Vessel, “Car Radio.” At the St. Louis show, I could barely even hear Joseph singing the words to this song because everyone in the pit was screaming the words right back so powerfully. Screaming the lyric “Peace will win, and fear will lose” is such a freeing and powerful feeling. It was one of my favorite parts of each show. The amount of energy from the crowd during this performance is insane. During every chorus, smoke fills the air as everyone is jumping to the beat of the song and screaming every word. Once
the bridge hits, Joseph runs to the back of the arena and climbs up a pedestal to finish the remainder of the song. After screaming “And now I just sit,” he rips off his black ski-mask, revealing his face and causing an uproar of screams from the crowd. Once “Car Radio” ended and the room went dark, the crowd continued to echo the “Woahoh-oh-oh-oh-oh” part from the chorus throughout the entire room. Eventually, the beginning notes to “Truce” filled the room as the lyrics to this song appeared on the screen for the crowd to sing. Hearing everyone in the room sing the words to the song that saved many of our lives was such a powerful experience. It brought tears to my eyes and covered my body in chills each time I got to experience it. Hearing people scream “I did” after the line “Stay alive for me” and then hearing everyone cheer for them was so heartwarming. In Cincinnati, someone screamed “We did it,” and it brought me to tears. I felt so accomplished and so alive. I realized
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that I had made it through things I never thought I would and that I had held on that long; I realized I did it. Many people in this fandom hold on and stay alive for these shows, so to feel the accomplishment of knowing you pushed through is just so powerful. The encore began with “Chlorine,” one of their biggest hits off of their most recent album, Trench. Chemical drums appeared on the screen, referencing the music video, as Joseph and Dun both rose up to begin this performance. Right before the second verse hits, Joseph asks everyone to put their hands in the air and sway. As everyone screams “Hide you in my coat pocket,” the fictional character Ned from the music video appears on the screen and dances along to the beat. The lights go down and Ned’s silhouette appears as Joseph sings a beautiful rendition of the bridge of the song acoustically. “Leave The City” was overall one of the most powerful and breathtaking performances of the entire tour. The feeling of experiencing the live performance of this song is one that I will never 40 • kinda cool.
forget. “Leave The City” is, in my opinion from observation, a song about leaving the city of DEMA, which is a conceptual city that the band has created which consists of all the negative thoughts in your brain as well as mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and OCD. In my opinion, this song is about escaping all the negativity that can go on in your brain, and basically saying that one day you will escape and conquer it all, but for now you need to stay alive and not let it defeat you. Joseph sits at his piano as Dun sits at his drum set, holding his drum sticks behind his head and closing his eyes. An array of bird cages moves through the screen behind them, which eventually changes to display symbols that represent DEMA and Trench. Joseph gets up from his piano, closes his eyes and puts his hand over his heart while extending his microphone out to the crowd with his other hand, saying “If you know this, would you sing,” prompting the crowd to sing the very meaningful line, “In time I will leave the city, for now, I will stay alive.” This is a very meaningful song to just about everyone in the Twenty One Pilots fandom. Footage was shown of the crowd during this part and many people in the front row would hold hands as they made the promise to stay alive. I will never forget the feeling of hearing this verse live for the first time and promising to stay alive alongside my best friend. Once Joseph begins singing again, Dun comes in on the drums and visuals of birds swarming begin to cover the screen as it flashes between yellow and black. The stage goes dark and a dim yellow spotlight is projected onto Joseph, only revealing his silhouette as a visual of Trench is displayed on the screen behind him. He then sits back down at his piano to finish out the remainder of the song. During the outro, the crowd screamed the words “Though I’m far from home, in Trench I’m not alone” back to Joseph, as he continued on the verse by changing “these faces facing me” to “your faces facing me,” and completes the line by singing “they know what I mean.” You could hear everyone sobbing as they echoed these words back to him. In Indianapolis, fans cut out thousands of yellow paper hearts that had the band’s logo on them to hold up during “Leave The City.” During the performance, the pit was covered in a beautiful array of yellow hearts. The band commented on the hearts, saying “We see you.” Ending the set with “Trees” is a routine for Twenty One Pilots. They have almost always finished out their set with this song, and they have recently began saying “Let’s show them why it is that we finish with this one,” prompting the crowd
to give this song everything they have. In Atlanta, I joined a group hug in the back of the pit and we sang together while crying, knowing the show was about to end. This performance begins with Joseph singing the first verse on his keyboard while standing on top of the car from the opening songs. After the first few lines, he would let the crowd finish out the verse by themselves. In Cincinnati, singing these words and hearing them echo throughout the venue brought me to chills. It was such a beautiful moment. After Joseph and the crowd finished the first verse acoustically, Josh Dun would come in on the drums to restart the song and Joseph would check in on the crowd, making sure that they had one more left in them. Once the crowd responded with screams, the band went into an energetic performance of “Trees” where they gave it nothing short of everything they had. Once they got to the bridge, the pair would enter the crowd on stands that were held up by audience members. The duo would then drum together to the beat as confetti covered the audience. The feeling of jumping and screaming under flashing lights and confetti is such an ethereal feeling of overwhelming happiness. It truly felt like a celebration of life each time I got to experience it — because that’s what it really was.
After “Trees,” Joseph and Dun return to the stage to bow and thank the fans, before ending the night with their famous line: “We are Twenty One Pilots and so are you.” This tour was one of my favorite tours that I have ever experienced, and I am so thankful that I got to experience it 5 times. I will forever miss covering myself in yellow duct tape and walking out of the pit with confetti stuck to my shoes and my entire body. I will miss asking random strangers to take photos of me throwing yellow and green confetti into the air, barely being able to walk up the stairs because my body is in so much pain, and smiling so hard that my face hurts and I can’t stop. I remember sitting outside on a bench in Atlanta after the show being so overwhelmed with happiness and wishing it never had to end. These 5 nights spent in cities that were not my own were some of the safest and happiest feelings of my entire life. The amount of happiness that this band and tour has brought me is insane and I could never thank them enough for it. If you ever get the chance to see Twenty One Pilots live, do it. I promise you will not regret it. Written by Emily Richardson Photographed by Emilia Rangel
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kindacool.
A Day To Remember by Rebekah Witt
by Jessica Matilszki
The Black Keys
kindacool.
kindacool. Waterparks
by Emily Richardson
TOP 19 RECORDS OF 2019 What’s better than listening to a brand new release for the first time? Not much, except maybe reflecting on all those amazing releases at the end of the year. For our 2019 yearbook issue, the KCM team wanted to put something forth that reflected all of our interests and tastes throughout the year. That’s how we ended up working together to create a list of our top 19 records of 2019.
Whether it’s pop, rock, indie, or even rap, the year brought us dozens and dozens of incredible new albums. After compiling a list of everything we loved this year, we cast several rounds of voting to narrow it down to only 19 records in order, with number one being our ultimate record of 2019. Then, a different KCM team member who resonated with a specific album wrote about it individually, until we had a piece that was fully reflective of the entire team. We hope you enjoy reading our top picks of 2019. Whether you agree, disagree, or find something new to check out for the first time through our list, I think we can all agree that 2019 was full of unforgettable releases, making it difficult to narrow down to only 19. What are your top records of the year? Share your list with us on social media at @kindacoolmag!
19. THANK U, NEXT - ARIANA GRANDE By Lexie Dopwell
In her follow up to Grammy award-winning Sweetener, Ariana Grande curated an album full of what she does best - learning from the pain and turning out amazing. From the oh-so catchy titular track, “thank u, next,” to the somber and haunting “ghostin,” Grande released what just might be her most personally cathartic album yet. Her first album without features from another artist, thank u, next is full of honest lyricism (such as in “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored”) and addictive hooks like the ones you probably heard all summer, thanks to smash hit “7 rings.” Though she may have been dealt many hands in life, Grande truly is growing up and learning from her experiences, all the while making art out of both the good and the bad ones. Gone is the ditzy redhead from Victorious — she’s Ariana Grande, pop star extraordinaire, and she’s ready to show the world exactly what she’s made of.
18. NEOTHEATER - AJR By Rebekah Witt
This past April, AJR released their third full length album, Neotheater, just under 2 years after the release of their successful The Click. Keeping on brand with their past themes, the songs on Neotheater all have a focus on coming-of-age and the uncertainty that it brings, while also showing how they have matured since The Click. The album opens with the nostalgic sounding “Next Up Forever,” featuring bits of older-sounding harmonies mixed with modern hip-hop beats and lyrics explaining the fear of growing older, setting the tone for the album. The first half of the album touches on ideas of being young and naive in songs like “Birthday Party” and “Don’t Throw Out My Legos.” As it progresses, songs like “Turning Out Pt. ii,” “The Entertainment’s Here,” and “Karma” tell stories of struggles with growing up and change. A fun easter egg throughout Neotheater, revealed by the band on social media, is that in each song, they sampled a piece of another song on the album. For example, the lyric “Everything is going great” from “Birthday Party” can be heard kindacoolmagazine.com • 45
near the end of “Break My Face.” Neotheater closes with the masterpiece that is “Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next),” tying back heavily to “Next Up Forever” by using some of the same lyrics and sound. Neotheater perfectly blends new, fresh sounds with the familiar samplings handmade by the trio. AJR easily relate to the young adults that make up their fan base, because any twenty-something can agree that getting older is scary, and this album shows them they aren’t alone.
17. IGOR - TYLER, THE CREATOR By Chelsea Tiso
The enigma that is Tyler, the Creator is not unknown to those who are aware of his musical genius. As he continues to make provocative and socially challenging music, surprisingly, his success seems to increase. Reaching number 13 on Billboard 100, IGOR is a self-written, produced, and arranged album that features a narrative of Tyler admitting his feelings for a guy who is ultimately, still in love with his ex-girlfriend, and the character “IGOR” dealing with those emotions. Unrequited love is one that many of us relate to, and Tyler’s ability to channel those feelings into tangibility through is instrumentals is truly breathtaking. His previous work, Flower Boy, showed his loyal fans another layer of his musical genius. When I first heard “Boredom,” a track that came up on my Spotify shuffle after listening to Rex Orange County, I was hooked. Thus, beginning the slow but gradual process to recognising Tyler’s voice anywhere. Flower Boy was the soundtrack for my summer of 2017. IGOR represents elements of that too. Yet, with the pastel pink contrasting the grainy black and white image on the front cover, it appears solemn yet peaceful. Listening to an album like IGOR reminds me of the new year that we’re about to be in and all that we have accomplished over this past decade.
16: HOLLYWOOD’S BLEEDING - POST MALONE By Mickayla Whitt
This year, Post Malone released his third studio album Hollywood’s Bleeding with seventeen tracks and multiple featured artists such as Halsey, Ozzy Osbourne, SZA, and more. While the album is full of unique songs that are beautiful lyrically and musically, there are some standout tracks that make the album one of the best albums of the year. From the melodic sounds and meaningful lyrics of “Allergic” and “Myself” to the catchy lines and the hype beats in “Wow.” and “Goodbyes,” Post Malone used Hollywood’s Bleeding to showcase the extent of his musical talents by not limiting himself to one genre.
15. NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL! - LANA DEL REY By Sophie Harris
Lana Del Rey is known for her embodiment of Hollywood — the glitz, the glamour, and all the sadness and suffering that comes with it. In her August release, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, she tackles the idealistic way that famous painter Norman Rockwell depicted American life. This is her first full album since her statement in 2017 regarding her nostalgic American flag visuals, which she discontinued because of President Trump. Norman Fucking Rockwell! dives even deeper into the darkness of American façades than her previous work. For instance, “Happiness is a butterfly” slowly and hauntingly paints a picture of a toxic relationship while describing different locations around Hollywood. “Mariners Apartment Complex” contains one of the album’s many references to famous musicians — this one being Elton John, with the line “I ain’t no candle in the wind.” Closing out the album with “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it,” Lana Del Rey discusses specific things that haunt her past, such as her late father, all while comparing herself to Sylvia Plath. 46 • kinda cool.
14. FATHER OF THE BRIDE - VAMPIRE WEEKEND By Emilia Rangel
Back again with their fourth album this past May, Vampire Weekend has returned with another flawless record. Father of the Bride has yet again succeeded as another polished, yet complex album from the band. Their album also features skilled writers and performers such as Steve Lacey and Danielle Haim. Off the bat, “My Mistake” is the single everyone attached too. Vampire Weekend show a very vulnerable, yet comforting side of themselves on Father of the Bride. This album definitely shows a different musical style than past albums they have composed. Father of the Bride has also been nominated for two Grammy awards — album of the year and best alternative album. All the hype created by this album definitely deserves all the recognition and success it has received!
13. THE BALANCE - CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN By Leeann Spangler
Ending a three year wait, indie favorites Catfish and the Bottlemen released their third studio album, The Balance. Their signature made-for-live-shows sound carried into the latest addition to their discography, with songs like “Fluctuate” and “Encore” giving them even bigger outstanding performance opportunities. All eleven songs, carried out in thirty-five minutes total, are an immersive experience that only the larger-than-life sounds of Catfish and the Bottlemen could deliver. The Balance is well worth your listen as one of the best albums of the year.
12. HEARD IT IN A PAST LIFE - MAGGIE ROGERS By Devyn Vaughan
This January, Maggie Rogers released her debut studio album, Heard It In A Past Life. The twelve-track album includes hits that made us fall in love with Rogers — “On + Off” and “Alaska,” as well as new favorites “Light On,” “Fallingwater,” and “Give A Little.” Heard It In A Past Life reached no. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums and no. 2 on the Billboard 200. Rogers brings rawness and vulnerability in tracks such as “Light On,” “Back In My Body,” and more. Not only does she expose herself fully on the album, she also brought the album to another level on her world tour. I had the opportunity to attend the Heard It In A Past Life tour, and the life and energy that Rogers brings on stage is truly mesmerizing — these songs are an extension of her. Both on the album and on tour, Maggie Rogers brings hypnotic beats and melodies that live up to the title of witchy feminist rockstar.
11. NELLA VITA - GRAYSCALE By JenaRose Dahlstrom
This September, Grayscale released their highly-anticipated album, Nella Vita. It was their sophomore release from Fearless Records, following Adornment in 2017. While Nella Vita was quite different from their debut, using a little more pop than punk and a lot of experimentation that DEFINITELY worked for them, most fans loved it and found it to be a step in the right direction for the young band. Tracks such as “Asbury” and “Tommy’s Song” are sure to pull on your heartstrings, going as far as choking up lead singer Collin Walsh when performing them live in Philadelphia. On the other side, the album also features the high-energy, easy to dance and sing along to type of songs that we’ve always loved from them, such as “Baby Blue” and “Twilight (My Heaven).” From start to finish, this album made old and new fans want to show up to a concert and leave this album on repeat to blare songs from one of their favorite up-and-coming bands. kindacoolmagazine.com • 47
10. NOW, NOT YET - HALF•ALIVE By Sarah Evangelista
The indie trio from Long Beach, California has had quite the year. First off, their hit single “still feel.,” which quickly went viral in 2018 and landed them a featured performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was still catching the attention of many people. Following “still feel.,” they released two more singles, “arrow” and “RUNAWAY,” before announcing their debut album. Needless to say, they went on a successful tour across continents like North America and Europe, to celebrate the release of the album, Now, Not Yet, which was released on August 9th of this year. Made up of Josh Taylor (lead singer), Brett Kramer (drums), and J. Tyler Johnson (bass guitar), they have a different way of making music — they’re not like the same old pop songs you hear on the radio. Every song off of the project has unique and catchy beats that you would’ve probably never thought could be pulled off by a band, but half•alive proved everyone wrong by their mixed-genre sound. The trio’s sound could be described as a mixture of pop, funk, rock, and disco, but personally, I’d say half•alive deserves their own genre of music named after them. Every song off of the album involves a creative beat and melody, covered with important topics, whether it’s covering the state of being okay, running away from your troubles, or modern day culture. In the end, it’s pretty clear to see that half•alive is one of the best genres-merged and experimental trios out there today.
9. WASTELAND, BABY! - HOZIER By Natalie Melendez
After the success of his 2014 self-titled debut album, featuring the 2013 sensation “Take Me to Church,” Hozier is back in full force with a second full-length masterpiece, Wasteland, Baby!. The album comes complete with choir-backed vocals and folk/soulinspired beats, all classic Hozier moves. Though criticized for not straying too far from the soulful melodies found in his previous album, Hozier demonstrates lyrical maturity through songs such as “Nina Cries Power,” in which he pays tribute to artists who advanced the battle for social equality, and “Be,” a song about championing love in a modern world full of turmoil. These powerful messages, along with its coffee-shop-on-a-rainy-day tunes, make Wasteland, Baby! an album you won’t want to miss.
8. BERKELEY’S ON FIRE - SWMRS By Polina Bakgof
The second studio album by SWMRS, Berkeley’s On Fire, was a game changer for the quartet. It became clear that what appears to be another punk band is in reality so much more than that — it is the raging emotions and the uncensored riot that fuels their artwork. In a way, they’re revaluing what it means to be a musician in today’s world. The album was well-received by the public and the critics — the title track peaked at #10 on Billboard prior to the album release. The thought-out fusion of rock, hip-hop and even some elements of grime almost reinvents the definition punk music — along with the classic punk messages concerning bureaucracy and politics, there is this music choice, an unexpected blend of different genres, which is brave and a bit rebellious of itself. “Modern action makes me sick and leaves me hungry for some action” — this lyric pretty much sums up the band’s attitude towards music. Driven by love, resentment and fear, the lyrical content of the album is exceptionally skillful and playful. Tracks like “Lose Lose Lose” and “Hellboy” narrate the politics with unconcealed irony and travesty, criticizing hypocrisy, fascism and victim-blaming. SWMRS also discover daily
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obstacles the youth faces with tracks like “Lonely Ghosts” and “Steve Got Robbed.” Besides the lyrical content, the melodies are a total standout — they’re extremely catchy despite an experimental approach, thanks to Rich Costey’s brilliant production. I’ve had Berkeley’s On Fire on repeat since February, and it will take me a very long time, if ever, to take it off my playlists and everyday listening routine. This album comes with stylish music and carries important messages. It is hands down one of the best releases of this year, so make sure to give it a well-deserved listen (or even a couple of listens)!
7. FANDOM - WATERPARKS By Piper Rosas
Waterparks’ recently released third studio album, FANDOM, has been quick to top the charts, and has even been featured on billboards in Los Angeles and Times Square. The band’s new-found sound with this album is something unheard of within the pop punk realm of music, and it is something that is quickly drawing in more listeners. The band has now reached almost a million monthly listeners on Spotify. While some are upset about this change of pace for the group, I welcome it because it shows how their music style has progressed since their past two albums, Entertainment and Double Dare, now touching on several topics such as toxic past relationships, fan expectations, etc. The starry noises, fading vocals, and transitions almost give off the impression that this album belongs in a movie soundtrack. Starting out with “Cherry Red” and ending with “I Felt Younger When We Met,” the album loops back and starts all over again, which I found to be very refreshing as you don’t hear that from a lot of today’s recently released albums, which are much more radio single-oriented. Some of my favorite tracks are “Easy To Hate” and “I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore.” FANDOM was well-received and loved by fans after being a replacement of the originally intended third studio album, Friendly Reminder. After experiencing a messy breakup and other hardships, this album was scrapped by lead singer, Awsten Knight, and quickly after, the first single of FANDOM, “Turbulent,” was released. Be sure to go see them on any of their 39 dates across the United States and the UK/EU on their FANDOM Tour, with some dates already being sold out.
6. SOCIAL CUES - CAGE THE ELEPHANT By Gianna Cicchetti
Cage the Elephant’s fifth album, Social Cues, was a record that stayed on my mind and within my playlists since its release in April of this year. Though the lyrics are introspective and deeply personal to vocalist Matt Shultz, the album is extremely enjoyable and a lot of the tracks are so much fun to listen to. The sounds on the record are hypnotizing and refuse to be listened to only once. Louder, more fast-paced tracks like “Broken Boy” and “House of Glass” pack a big punch, while the soft but heavyhitting final track “Goodbye” pulls at the heartstrings with the same amount of force. The entire record is a change of style from past releases; though Social Cues is much more experimental and danceable than its precursor, 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty, the entire band’s punk energy and intensity remain on every track. My favorite thing about Social Cues is how unique of a record it is. I cannot think of any specific artist that could have influenced the record; everything seems completely new to me and that’s what has gravitated me towards this record all year long. A standout track for me is “Black Madonna,” a song early on into the record that describes the emptiness of a relationship while being backed by a memorable, funky beat. From Shultz’ dynamic vocal performances to the exciting sounds found all over the record, Social Cues is a collection of songs that showcases some of Cage the Elephant’s best and most vulnerable work.
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5. HAPPINESS BEGINS - JONAS BROTHERS By Emily Lantzy
After a 6-year hiatus, the Jonas Brothers made a massive comeback in 2019 with their new album Happiness Begins. Released in June of this year, Jonas strayed from their pop-rock sound from the past and moved fully into their new pop sound. Happiness Begins debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, making this their third US number 1 album. Jonas Brothers surprised fans with the first single from Happiness Begins, “Sucker,” on February 28th, which was followed by the album & tour announcement. Since their last studio album, Lines, Vines, & Trying Times, the brothers have entered a new chapter in their lives and this is evident on the new album. The maturity level was upped on this album, featuring songs about each of their wives and songs that talk about more serious topics such as “Happy When I’m Sad.” Happiness Begins is a step towards the future for the Jonas Brothers, who have announced that they are still working on new music and have hinted at a 2020 album release as well. As a long-time Jonas Brothers fan, I was admittedly nervous for their new music. I connected so deeply with their first 4 albums and I didn’t want to lose that connection. Still, I bought tickets to the Pittsburgh show — nosebleeds because I “just wanted to be there” and “didn’t care where I sat” (boy was I wrong) — and waited for release day. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by the album and proceeded to buy floor tickets to their Stage College show because the nosebleeds I had the night before just didn’t suffice. Standout tracks for me include “Used To Be,” “Rollercoaster,” and “Comeback.” “Rollercoaster” & “Comeback” are songs that fans have claimed as a dedication to the fans that were there in the beginning and have stayed with them throughout all of the hard times. As much as this album was for Jonas themselves, it is for the fans (both old and new) as well.
4. NOTHING HAPPENS - WALLOWS By Ashley Gallegos
If you want to feel like you are in the perfect coming-of-age A24 film, this album is for you. Wallows’ first LP, Nothing Happens, was widely anticipated and accepted by their fans upon its release in March – as it should have been. Members Dylan Minette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston are no strangers to creating a personal, fun, reminiscent, and intriguing world within their music, and Nothing Happens is no exception. Its first track, “Only Friend,” holds all the right ingredients that make for a smooth transition from their previously released EP, Spring, both figuratively and literally. It introduces the album to listeners in the ways one would hope. Minette’s vocals pierce through yearning to be heard and understood much like they tend to do. After “Only Friend,” “Treacherous Doctor” follows, providing a quick transition into what almost feels like a journal entry. Lemasters’ vocals carry the song into the second verse, where it serves as the little voice in the back of our heads as we navigate certain situations in our lives. “Sidelines” has a strong emergence of self-reflection that was slightly peeking through the previous tracks. Lemasters’ vocals once again provide the correct delicacy that is needed for lyrics like “We’re living in denial, but we can change this,” and “You’ve turned into someone that I never knew.” “Are You Bored Yet? (feat. Clairo)” gives me the feeling of the final song of the first act before a musical goes to intermission. Although very soft-spoken, Clairo sings her verse in a way that not only counters Minette’s in the perfect way, but also demands for you to properly listen to the lyrics as the keys and slow-building drums back her up. “Scrawny” follows with punches, much like the music video for the song. This is one of the most fun songs on the album as far as production and sound goes. It has the exact energy that live shows exude and audiences feed off of. While mostly upbeat and a bit different than the other songs, the bridge creates for that snap back to the introspective moments that the rest of the album creates. It hits listeners with full force as 50 • kinda cool.
it progresses, just before handing the moment to “Ice Cold Pool,” which is an instrument-driven pause in the album that allows listeners to relish in the lyrics that pour through. It’s definitely one of the more interesting tracks of the album, as it simultaneously sounds like the earlier-released music from the band while also hinting at diving into different sounds. While “Worlds Apart” has many of the typical bedroom-pop sounds to it, it’s nothing short of delivering soothing vocals. The drums at the end provide an environment within listeners’ headphones for a moment of reflection before the drums from “What You Like” kick in. “What You Like” is an interesting track on the record as it can sometimes sound a bit repetitive while also showcasing the band’s choices of switching up registers vocally and sprinkling in different techniques from instruments. “Remember When” is the shortest on the album but holds a strong sense of self-reflection and on a relationship. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but gives the perfect amount of relatability that listeners crave. “I’m Full” and “Do Not Wait” end the album with a strong, powerful feeling. “I’m Full” has one of the best bridges on the album that demands the attention of every listener as Minette’s vocals sound like they are echoing through the minds of listeners. It ends in a way that almost feels like it could be the final track, but that’s when “Do Not Wait” slowly creeps in to make you think twice about that. It starts with ease, but gives that feeling of a final scene in that perfect coming-of-age A24 film. The entire album ends on a note that provides calming and understanding for listeners, and the finale is honestly my favorite off the album — production, lyrics, everything. It is these kinds of moments within their music that I believe is why they have so easily been met with success. Nothing Happens serves as a send-off into whatever it may be that both the band and listeners will find themselves experiencing.
3. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? BILLIE EILISH By Hannah Wayland
Following the ever-growing success of her first EP dont smile at me and her numerous singles, Billie Eilish once again came bursting onto the music scene this year with her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. The album was received extremely well by critics, earning an average of 4/5 to 5/5 stars across the board. Soon after its release, 12 out of the 13 songs on the album were charting on the Billboard Hot 100, the most ever for a female musician, and she had the second-highest first-week album sales of 2019, only being beat by Ariana Grande. Written by her and her brother Finneas O’Connell, the album tackles the ideas of youth and heartbreak, as well as drug addiction, her own mental health, and suicide. The dark lyrics of this album are accompanied by a variety of styles, including EDM, trap, pop, industrial, and Eilish’s very own unique soft and almost whispered vocals. Before its release, the album had 3 singles out (“you should see me in a crown,” “when the party’s over,” “bury a friend”), the last of which came out after the album’s official announcement. With very different feels to each single, it was clear this album would be unlike anything else released this year. “you should see me in a crown” was a very beat and trap-heavy track contrasting some of her earlier music, such as “idontwannabeyouanymore,” which involved a lot of self-doubt. This newer song serves as an ego boost and a declaration of confidence for the young singer. “when the party’s over” and “bury a friend” are very different from each other both in genre and in tone, showcasing Eilish’s range in her musical ability. Other notable tracks include “my strange addiction” (which samples audio from the singer’s favourite show The Office), “bad guy,” and “ilomilo.” WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? strayed far from Billie Eilish’s original formula, ditching her signature soft, ukulele accompanied sound for the most part and running with a newer, darker style. Its massive worldwide success, as well as its compelling lyricism and infectious rhythms, landed it a spot as one of the best albums of 2019.
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2. LOVER - TAYLOR SWIFT By Emily Richardson
Following reputation, Taylor Swift’s vibe and aesthetics took a sharp turn. She went from snakes and dark-color schemes in the reputation era to butterflies and pastel colors within the Lover era. With this album, anyone can tell that Swift has truly accepted who she is and will just to be herself, no matter what. It is also very easy to see that she has found the true love she has always been searching for. “I Forgot That You Existed” is the perfect opening track to the album. This is Swift’s way of beginning her new era by saying that she doesn’t care about what people think about her anymore. Swift has said numerous times that this album is a love letter to love itself, and the title track, “Lover,” wraps that whole idea up and puts a bow on it. It is such a magical and pure song that makes you want to fall in love instantly. In “The Man,” Swift theorizes how she would be treated differently in the music industry if she were not female. She references the current political climate in multiple other songs on the album, such as “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince and “You Need To Calm Down.” Swift tackles hate, homophobia, and sexism all in one song with the latter track. She addresses her love and support for the LGBTQ+ community, as well as takes a stance on how women need to stop being pitted against each other. Some of Swift’s most vulnerable writing comes out in this album, as seen in tracks such as “The Archer,” “Cornelia Street,” “Afterglow,” and “Soon You’ll Get Better.” “Cornelia Street” is a heartbreaking song that foreshadows a breakup that Swift is terrified could occur. She reminisces upon many memories that were made on this street and goes through the thought of how if this relationship were to end, she would never be able to walk along that street again. This song even contains, in my opinion, one of the strongest lyrics on the album — “I get mystified by how this city screams your name.” “Soon You’ll Get Better” is the most heart-wrenching song on the album. It is a collaboration with country band Dixie Chicks in honor of Swift’s mother, Andrea, who is currently battling cancer. Taking on the task of explaining the pain of a breakup, “Death By A Thousand Cuts” hides heartbreaking lyrics behind dance-worthy melodies. Polar to her vulnerable songs, many upbeat and happy love songs are also featured on the album, such as “Paper Rings,” “I Think He Knows,” and “London Boy.” As the original title to this album, I feel as though “Daylight” is the perfect ending to the album and overall, a perfect recap of Lover in general. This song is all about moving on and letting things go that you don’t need to hold onto. “I only see daylight” is implying how she is now only focusing on the good in her life and not letting anything else bother her. This song perfectly reflects the album Lover as a whole, as well as Swift’s current point in her life of realizing who and what is important for her own happiness.
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1. YOU ARE OK - THE MAINE By Mia Andrea
On March 29, I sat on a bus in Bangkok, Thailand eagerly waiting for my first full listen of You Are OK. It took no more than 30 seconds of the opening track, “Slip the Noose,” for the tears to start falling down my face and for me to think “how did The Maine know that I needed this album?” The record felt personal and came into my life at just the right time. Needless to say, I don’t doubt that other listeners felt the same. You Are OK, The Maine’s seventh record, was announced in January three days prior to the band’s second annual 8123 Fest, which was held in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. As dedicated fans from all over the world celebrated 12 years of The Maine’s beginning, they were also welcoming the start of these Arizona-based rockers’ most ambitious and most creative album cycles yet. The first powerhouse single, “Numb Without You,” was a perfect introduction to the band’s new era of music. A demanding yet fitting chorus of strings was only the first of many unique and successful experiments within the album. The band’s “don’t-be-subtle” mentality is brought to life in You Are OK with a combination of new, alternative sounds and familiar messages. Songs on this record tackle ideas about finding purpose, savoring the experiences of being young, and growing from the past. Each track individually differs from the rest, but together, they all make a cohesive and relatable work of art. You Are OK’s opening track, the aforementioned “Slip the Noose,” immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album with layers of harmonious vocals and pounding drums, letting listeners know that each song’s story is urgent and worthy of being heard. I saw this song performed live for the first time in July when the band hosted a special hometown show to kick off the first Sad Summer Fest, a new take on the traditional cross-country music festival. “Slip the Noose” was already one of my personal favorites from the album, but my love and understanding of the song was enhanced when I noticed how everyone in the 300-person capacity room felt connected and fully immersed in the song. To summarize my abundance of positive thoughts about this meaningful track, in the very true words of drummer Pat Kirch, “Slip the Noose” live feels like a religious experience. Other standout tracks that I enjoyed from the album include “I Feel It All Over” and “Tears Won’t Cry (Shinjū).” Both of these songs vary in tempo and overall sound, but they also capture the essence of high energy in different ways; the dominant, catchy guitar riffs in “Tears Won’t Cry (Shinjū)” contrast the reserved and steady bass lines found in “I Feel It All Over.” These tracks don’t sound like anything else that The Maine has released in the past, but songs like these provide a unique transition from 2017’s Lovely Little Lonely and represent the musical variety of You Are OK. Simplicity and comfort also make “Forevermore” stand out in comparison to other tracks on You Are OK. This track is placed perfectly in the middle of the album and gives the audience another opportunity to reflect on the past in comparison to the present. The song only consists of an acoustic guitar and frontman John O’Callaghan’s vocals. However, these sounds accompany the emotional lyrics as O’Callaghan sings about vulnerability and finding somewhere, and someone, that feels like a permanent home. Of course, a real record from The Maine wouldn’t be complete without a closing track that makes the album feel whole, and “Flowers on the Grave” accomplishes this task perfectly. This song is the epitome of a musical, full circle ending. Listeners take a journey through this nine-and-a-halfminute-long track compiled of movements and pieces of other songs that were previously scrapped, but eventually found a home in You Are OK. The last couple minutes of the song repeat the lyrics “I was on the verge of breaking down, then you came around,” as a reference to the chorus of “Slip the Noose.” This raw and emotional ending makes the album and its listeners feel complete and, ultimately, serves as a long lasting reminder of the album’s overall message: you are here and you are okay. kindacoolmagazine.com • 53
caring less, creating more:
a conversation with
YUNGBLUD If you follow any alternative or mainstream media, chances are you’ve heard of YUNGBLUD. That’s the thing about Dominic Richard Harrison - nothing about him is binary, and his voice demands to be heard by anyone and everyone who will listen. The political rocker began to gain traction after securing a spot on the 2018 Warped Tour lineup. Music fans began to see that he was doing something different, something memorable. Something that can be difficult to find in the media age. Before long, statements made under the name YUNGBLUD could be found in major Spotify playlists, social platforms, and mass media of all kinds. But what makes this artist so special? It all comes down to his “don’t-give-a-fuck” attitude and ability to openly discuss modernity with the world, no matter how sensitive the topic may become.
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W
hile stopped in Toronto on the entirely sold-out Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club Tour, Harrison (personified as YUNGBLUD) spoke to us about this ethereal world he’s created not just for himself, but for his fans and followers. “The main objective to describe YUNGBLUD is not me anymore, it’s us,” Harrison explains while discussing his recent success. “The whole reason I did this was to meet people and have this thing between us — which we have now in my fanbase — where we look after each other and have this mutual power between us.” You see, YUNGBLUD started out as something small and grew into what it is today with an unimaginable marketing technique — showing the world that holding back is the enemy rather than trying to conform to society’s standards for artists. Though such a sudden skyrocket into the spotlight would be shocking for anyone, Harrison seems to love the ability to use his platform to spread his message to the world. We dove into a meaningful conversation about his career thus far, starting with his latest EP, the underrated youth. While a couple of weeks still remained until the rest of the world heard the underrated youth, I was lucky enough to listen early, and Harrison was thrilled to share his intentions for the EP. “My first project was about my head. It’s about what I thought about the world and the experience that I had growing up,” he says, reminiscing on his 2018 record entitled 21st Century Liability. “This EP is about my heart. This EP is a lot more emotional. It’s about the stories I’ve heard, the people I’ve met, and the journeys they’ve sent me down in my head.” Throughout the 6-track project, Harrison is often seen taking the perspective of today’s youth fighting for recognition and a voice. Something he feels incredibly passionate about is removing unjustified hate from the world and allowing people to be who they are instead of being placed into a box determined by society, going on to exclaim that “Boxes are for fucking cereal, not people.” Some of the tracks on this new EP are the most important songs he’s ever released, such as “parents” and “original me.” Harrison’s goal is to help his fans who might be struggling to be themselves learn that they’re going to turn out okay and that their voices are important.
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“parents” was the lead single from the underrated youth, and it discusses the ways that the world’s figures of authority sometimes have a tendency to silence or invalidate voices of this generation. “The common denominator of the people I’ve met globally is the constant optimism, the drive, the strife for equality, the intelligence, and the unity that’s just embedded inside our heads,” he tells me. Basically, the entire concept of “underrated youth” is designed as a callout to today’s generation to get involved in politics and the fight for change and equality. Though bearing a similar message to 21st Century Liability, the underrated youth simply sees Harrison in a bit of a different mental state than in 2018, looking towards the future of the whole universe rather than the present as it exists in his mind. “Look at what Greta [Thunberg] is doing right now. She’s just a fucking symbol of a young person.” Along the topic of politics and incorporating it into a musical message, Harrison shares with me a bit of his motivation and anger about the world. “Now we have to be [aware of the state of the world]. Look at the world leaders. It’s cool to be informed, and it’s cool to give a fuck.” Harrison is just one of many modern artists who have been inspired by global movements for change. Using a platform to discuss issues in the world is less of an option and more of a necessity in 2019. This is something that Harrison accepts and embraces, and it’s what inspired him to put out the underrated youth. When I asked him how fans and observers can use their own platforms to make a difference, no matter how big or small those platforms may be, Harrison says that the best thing to do is simply to speak out. “I don’t have all the answers, I ain’t Mother Teresa. I’m just a kid who’s completely full of contradictions, but I’m just trying to portray that it’s okay to be full of contradictions,” he explains. Harrison’s desperation for change doesn’t stop with his new EP. As a matter of fact, the name YUNGBLUD itself is simply a front for his political character. Creating such a name for himself to exist under was detrimental to his own personal success and growth. It also allows him to create a new environment for his fans to exist under. “YUNGBLUD is a place for someone who feels like they don’t belong
"This EP is about my heart. This EP is a lot more emotional."
"It's about the stories I've heard, the people I've met, and the journeys they've sent me down in my head."
somewhere. YUNGBLUD is a place where you can feel equal no matter what you look like, no matter how you identify, no matter what age you are, no matter what color your skin is, no matter what sexual orientation you are. You are welcome here because it’s a place for you to be a part of something,” he says. “When I was younger, I felt so misunderstood; I grew up in a place where people could not accept and understand me because they couldn’t put their finger on it. This is just a safe space for people to not need to conform.” After creating this name for himself, it took 21st Century Liability for Harrison to get where he is today. This debut record tackles topics such as sexual assault and gun violence in a way where Harrison put himself in the place of a different character experiencing these events during each track. In his own words, this album was “everything [he] thought about the world in 35 minutes.” When he released this record to the world, he had no idea if it would make any waves in the alternative scene whatsoever. It came out
at the exact same time as he was rocking the stage on the 2018 Vans Warped Tour, so he was able to visually see the audience growing and reacting to his music. Then the reviews came in, reaching as high as 4/5 stars from reputable publications. The 12-track album begins with a haunting “Eulogy,” a short track staging a funeral for YUNGBLUD, of course due to murder by politicians because he was too outspoken. The series of punchy and melodic songs comes to a close with the title track, “21st Century Liability.” So what made this album so incredibly important to his career that it launched him into stardom? It was released with just the right amount of love and care and personality that it needed to land its place in the hearts of so many like-minded people. Harrison says about the 2018 record release: “It was a callout to try and find people who thought in a similar way to me. And fuck me, man, did I find a lot of people.” The album began to make waves, of course, after Harrison played on Warped Tour
"This is just a safe space for people to not need to conform."
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and moved to America to begin marketing himself to the same society he sang about in all his songs. “Warped Tour was fucking revolutionary to the way I thought because it made me see how many young people were in each state and were a part of this scene that was coming to an end,” he explains. “It was the final Warped Tour, and all these kids have Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, The Used t-shirts on. I’m a part of this scene and I’m obsessed with this scene, and this scene cannot die. So I want to try to carry on the banner and fly the flag.” Being a part of the final lineup of a festival that brought the punk scene together for nearly 25 years shaped Harrison into the artist he is today, not only in the sense that it introduced him to new fans. It showed him a new side of the scene that he’d never experienced before. It gave him something to strive for in his live shows and his persona. It gave him something to sing about. His career may have only just begun a short while ago, but he makes it abundantly clear that his political voice has not silenced itself since 21st Century Liability, and it doesn’t plan to be silenced anytime soon. “The reason I do music isn’t just [to] make millions and to fly on jets and do all that shit,” Harrison states. “If that comes, then that’s fucking amazing and that’s great, but that’s an afterthought for me. People say to me, ‘You saved my life. You make me feel like it’s alright to be on this planet.’ That’s what it is between us.” The reality is that Harrison’s music isn’t just considered ‘normal’
by those who don’t understand the importance of politics in media. A few years ago, and even still now, an artist like YUNGBLUD not conforming to the marketing path laid out by the music industry to lead to sure success would be seen as taboo. But the scene has changed quite a bit in 2019, and some are seeing that Harrison’s behaviours are actually proving to be more successful than the usual standards. “Music industry partners [come up to me] like ‘What’s the secret,’ and I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ They’re looking at me like there’s some kind of formula, but I just fucking love my fans and they love me back. And I can’t wait to meet more of them.” Harrison continues to elaborate on the fact that numbers such as follow counts and streams on a song are so insignificant in the modernized version of the music industry, even though some artists still focus on them nonstop. “It’s not about how many numbers and names [there are], it’s about how many people come out when I play a show. I wanna do stadiums in Canada; I wanna do stadiums everywhere! Because that’s a movement.” While being so intimate with fans before, during, and after each show, Harrison gets the opportunity to meet countless people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. He tries to interact with as many people as possible at every show he plays, making it feel more like a community gathering than portraying himself as a godly figure on a stage in front
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of loyal followers. They aren’t just followers to him, and he proves this to be true by hearing everyone out individually and getting to know the people who support him. One of the things he’s told the most often while on tour is that he saved fans’ lives and got them out of a dark place. With that, he responds, “I never saved your life. You saved your life, I was just maybe the soundtrack to it.” Despite hearing the same thing often, it’s always an incredibly heartwarming experience for any artist to know they helped someone by creating. There are also always going to be standout stories from when fans choose to get extremely personal with an artist and let them know exactly what their music did for them. “I had this incredible dude come up to me the other day. He was 35 years old and he lost his wife and kids in a car accident, and his wife looked a lot like me. I thought it was so funny because he was a dude, but he said he saw her in me and in the fanbase. He said he saw grace, solidarity, and kindness in this community and he was hooked. That’s what’s powerful for me. That’s what’s real,” Harrison reminisces on a recent experience with a fan’s story. “I was in Maryland last year and I met this amazing girl who came up to me and said that she was just transitioning. She transitioned to be a girl because she believed that’s the body she belonged in. My music and community helped her parents understand that she was born in a male body and that wasn’t right for her. [I] ultimately gave her the support to transition, and that’s fucking crazy. That’s what it’s about for me: providing a home for people who don’t belong anywhere.” Getting album number one out of his head and being introduced to a wide audience of fans who connected with his thoughts definitely altered his process for writing his next body of work. While the first record was created in Harrison’s basement almost entirely by himself, the underrated youth gave him the opportunity to travel around the world and connect with new creatives. One of these artists he collaborated with was Dan Reynolds, lead singer of Imagine Dragons. The duo penned and recorded the EP’s third single, “original me.” Harrison received a call from the singer while he was in New Orleans on tour. “He said ‘It’s Dan Reynolds from
Imagine Dragons,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever, fuck off.’ And he’s like, ‘No, it’s actually Dan Reynolds,’ and I’m like, ‘Holy fuck!’” Harrison says. The pair went into the studio together and wrote and produced the track in a matter of hours. The raw energy that comes through in the track is exactly what Harrison felt while creating “original me.” Passion and power are only a couple words he used to describe the feeling of working with Reynolds on this track. “He’s everything I want to be when I grow up,” Harrison says regarding the experience and his admiration for the artist. Only a short year ago, Harrison simply never could’ve imagined working with artists like this who he’s looked up to for half his life. “I’m just from a small town in the UK,” he exclaims. I switched gears for a little bit to talk to him about how that felt to have such a sudden skyrocket into fame. There’s the good side where collaborations and connections such as the one with Dan Reynolds come about, but there’s also the downside where privacy and boundaries can become difficult to obtain. Harrison doesn’t seem to know exactly how he ended up in this position, only that it all started for him last summer and that it truly all comes down to writing something that people feel strongly towards. “It’s not about having a hit and having a radio record that makes people turn up to shows. It’s genuine fans, and we genuinely give a fuck about each other. That’s why they’re outside the venues at five in the morning,” he tells me. “I’m not doing it for any other reason except that I love them. I genuinely fucking love them so much. I just want to give every single bit of love in my heart to my fanbase.” After reminiscing on his climb to the top, we finally settled and began to talk about present day. While our conversation took place during his early fall tour, Harrison was still in awe over the fact that every show sold out. “The weirdest thing for me is the kids in the street when we’re walking out,” Harrison says. “I’m literally looking outside the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto right now and there’s literally about 300 kids in line who’ve been out in the freezing cold apparently since about 5:00 a.m. this morning!” Rather than putting on a show for the sake of performing to fans, Harrison assures me that each of his concerts show the creation kindacoolmagazine.com • 61
of a safe, inclusive environment where all are welcome and loved. Where some artists simply play some songs, get drunk, and fly to the next stop, Harrison experiences something cathartic every time he steps foot onstage. “I can’t wait to pour my heart out onstage because the amount of love and the amount of energy and the amount of passion in this room - people keep saying I’m going to get exhausted, but I’m not going to get exhausted until I’m 70 if this keeps up,” he explains. The general goal is that everyone who enters a YUNGBLUD show leaves feeling as if they’ve been a part of something valuable. And anyone who attended a show on the Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club Tour can confirm this. Speaking of the tour title, this quite wordy phrase is actually something very important to Harrison as a creator. Alongside the underrated youth EP, he created and released a comic book entitled The Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club. The extensive graphic novel paints a visual journey for the listener to follow in order to understand Harrison’s thought patterns and creation process a little more clearly. It is only available for purchase on his web store with a physical copy of the EP, pushing listeners to consume both pieces of media at once. “I wrote this so my fans have a world to fall into,” he explains. “When you’ve listened to the songs 15 times and you’ve watched the videos, I want them to be able to fall into a place where they can see and visualize and read five times to find things.” The story takes place in Black Hearts High School (YUNGBLUD fans are called the Black Hearts Club) and it’s meant to resemble society and the meaning of the name YUNGBLUD to Harrison himself. The students in the fictional high school are forced to wear masks and take pills in order to keep them in check with the adults’ beliefs. They aren’t allowed to show any individuality or behave differently than what is expected of them by society. This echoes Harrison’s constant message that everyone is welcome and everyone should embrace their differences, but sometimes society will try to place you in a box where you don’t belong. He explains that the whole concept of the “Ritalin
Club” is mostly just that it was a cool name, but also a reference to one of his older tracks “Anarchist” and a nod towards the fanbase. An artist’s process is never easy, and it’s never truly over. Oftentimes, a creator may hold a project that is believed to be finished, but another glance will likely show mistakes in the artist’s eye. We’re our own worst critics, and our perspectives are constantly changing, so our art, naturally, will do the same. Harrison portrays all these traits once again when it comes to his new EP. At the time we spoke, he was gearing up for the big release, but at the last-minute, he decided to push back the release date to make a change to one of the songs. I asked him what the change was that he wanted to make, simply out of curiosity. The alteration that was so important for Harrison to make came in a song called “casual sabotage.” “I wrote that song about a year ago, and I played it for the first time in Amsterdam. Someone recorded it and put it online, and [a lyric from] that song is the biggest tattoo in my fanbase. The lyric says ‘I’m just a messed up kid with sewn-up lips, I can’t take this shit, I need to exist,’ and circumstances have changed and that song reflected the emotion I was feeling [when I wrote it]. So I needed to change it in order to fit, and I asked my fans for another week and they were completely fine about it because it’s part of our history. I just want it to be perfect,” he explains. From one artist to another, I can wholeheartedly understand some of the struggles that Harrison encounters while writing. I’m also terribly good at over-analyzing every piece of art put in front of me rather than blindly consuming, which is why one of Harrison’s artistic choices for the EP tracklist jumped out at me immediately. While the piece begins with a track entitled “braindead!” that includes an immense amount of heavy, modern rock influences, it all comes to a close with the soft and acoustic “waiting on the weekend.” I asked him about this choice — was it even intentional? Harrison confirms that yes, this was a fully conscious decision. “I actually wrote that
"It's not about having a hit and having a radio record that makes people turn up to shows. It's genuine fans, and we genuinely give a fuck about each other.
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song with my guitar teacher,” he mentions, in regards to “waiting on the weekend.” “I used to work at a guitar shop, and the guy taught me so much about life and music and the way I should think and to express myself in the way that I see fit. We wrote that song together, and I thought that now was the time to put it out into the world and record it completely live in one take with no effects. I wanted it to be this feeling that kind of sends people to sleep after this bonkers, fucking jump-around EP.” Harrison’s placement for this track was absolutely successful in creating the feeling he had
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in mind, and it also displays his strengths as a songwriter. As he’s most commonly known for his ‘bonkers’ album tracks, an acoustic track like “waiting on the weekend” is a rarity for his style. He appears to tackle the mellow sound with ease, especially with all circumstances considered that it was recorded live in a studio. Sandwiching the most single-worthy tracks with two highly contrasting bookend tracks might be one of my favorite artistic approaches I’ve seen from Harrison yet. Finally, I spoke to Harrison about where he gets his inspiration to truly put his full personality out into the world while choosing not to confine to any labels, but instead just living his truth for the universe to see. It’s something myself and many others admire about the artist, as much of the world still doesn’t understand the concept of being so bold and undefined. No two YUNGBLUD tracks sound the same, and nothing he’s ever put out doesn’t include some sort of unexpected lyric or beat. It’s just a fact that he’s doing something completely different than any other artist in the world right now. “Because I write [my music], I’m in charge of everything,” he explains. Being a writer allows him the chance
to introduce the world to who he is as a person rather than some sort of front he’s forced to take on for a public image. “I will never put anything out that is not original. I always ask myself two questions ‘Could anyone else sing this?’ and ‘Is it 100% true?’ If no one else could sing it and it’s 100% true to me, no matter what it sounds like or what it looks like, I’ll put it out. It’s just me. If I want to put out a song with bloody Britney Spears but I wrote it and it’s original to me, then that’s just the way it is.” The modern rock scene truly needs more figures such as YUNGBLUD. There is no secret as to why such a strongly outspoken artist is making such large waves in popular culture today, and it’s because the message he shares with the world is something we all need to hear and get involved in. As the world constantly changes around us, as do the needs of consumers within each individual music genre category. Dominic Harrison is someone who shares the beliefs of the majority of his target audience, and they are able to see him as a voice speaking up on their behalf. The multi-talented creator uses his strengths to his advantage, showing the world his abilities as a writer, illustrator, performer, and singer with
the underrated youth era. The EP, released on October 18, is only the beginning of YUNGBLUD. From a dream collaboration to one of the most raw tracks he’s ever produced, Harrison showcases every last side of his artistic mind with this EP and comic. His live shows feed off the same energy found in each track, and all he really knows is that he loves his fans and he loves to play music. “I feel like I finally belong somewhere. I feel like I finally matter. I feel like I finally have people who’ve got my back. And it’s so fucking powerful.” I would once again like to thank Harrison for his time in allowing me to conduct this wonderful interview. His artistry process is a very intriguing subject, making it a very humbling experience to have a pick at his brain and see exactly how he creates. the underrated youth EP is available to stream or purchase anywhere you get your music. Visit yungbludstore.com for physical copies and other merchandise. Finally, stay tuned to @YUNGBLUD on all social media for new tour dates and music in 2020. Written by Meg Clemmensen Photos courtesy of Universal Music Canada
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kindacool. Bea Miller
by Sophie Harris
kindacool. Hozier
by Emilia Rangel
catching up with Max Becker from SWMRS It’s been a big year for Oakland-based punk-rock band SWMRS. From releasing their second full-length album, Berkeley’s on Fire, to debuting a music video for “Lose, Lose, Lose,” to going on tour, 2019 has been a neverending whirlwind. Thankfully, I had the chance to catch up with singer/guitarist Max Becker during his downtime, prior to the chaos of SWMRS’ annual Halloween bash on October 26th at the UC Theater in Berkeley, CA. We chatted about Uncool Fest, their latest music, and the band’s exciting upcoming adventures.
Let’s start off with something simple: how are you? How are you doing? I’m good, I’m good. It’s a beautiful day in the Bay Area. So let’s talk about Uncool Fest, since it’s coming up in a few days. I know this is your fifth one, but for those who don’t know: how did this all start? Well, when we were recording Drive North, our first album, Cole wrote this song called “Uncool,” and it’s kind of a simple song but we just really quickly realized it’s kind of like our motto. And so in 2016,
for our record release of Drive North, we wanted to call it something special because it was two nights with like, I think it was eight or nine different bands playing. And so we wanted to call it a festival. We didn’t want to call it SWMRS Festival because we didn’t think that was very interesting. So we just decided to say “Fuck it, let’s call it Uncool Fest.” And then it kind of materialized into something cooler, and then we did Uncool Halloween that first year, and that’s the one we’ve been doing annually because that was like - the first one was at Oakland Metro and then the next year - we’ve done the UC Theater three years in a row. So yeah, now this is the fifth Uncool Fest but the fourth year of doing Uncool Halloween. But we’re just calling it
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Uncool Five. So did you guys switch [Uncool Fest] to the end of October because you wanted to have a Halloween theme, or was this just because that’s the day it landed on? Honestly, it was totally inspired by Beach Goth in Orange County. We used to play Beach Goth and it was kind of around Halloween every year. People dressed up, and we wanted to have a Beach Goth North, only because we knew that a lot of kids couldn’t go down that probably wanted to. And it ended up just becoming something, and now Beach Goth is kind of split in pieces and ours remains! (laughs) Alright, well this year’s theme is Pixar. Did this come about because you love Pixar movies or because there a certain costume you guys wanted to wear? It came about because Pixar is actually based in the Bay Area and we grew up with some families who worked there. And actually, Russell from Up is based on Cole’s childhood friend Russell, and he may or may not be joining the stage in his Boy Scout outfit. So, we’ll see. Very cool! Do you guys already know what costume you’re going to wear? 70 • kinda cool.
Yeah, I’m gonna be Carl from Up. I think Joey’s going to be Anton Ego from Ratatouille. I don’t know if Seb has ever watched a Pixar movie. (laughs) I’m really just throwing him under the bus, but I don’t know what he’s going to be. And then Cole should be Woody [from Toy Story], but we’ll see. I don’t know just yet, haven’t talked to him. So for this year, the line up. How did that come about? Do you guys get to choose the bands? Are they friends? Yeah, we always choose the bands. We kind of are of the belief that when people see friends playing together, it seems just like - people think it’s gonna be more fun because it’s like, “Oh it’s friends. They’re gonna have fun together, so we’re gonna have fun.” It’s kind of infectious that way. Do you have a specific favorite Uncool Fest memory? I think just the first time we sold out the UC Theater was pretty big for us at the time. And now, you know a couple of days ago, we sold it out further in advance than we ever have. So that feeling I think to me is great, but also my favorite memories of Uncool Fest in general are seeing all the decorations that our parents help us with. (laughs) Last year was Harry Potter themed and my mom made like these 15-foot
dementors that hung in the ceiling. Yeah, so that kind of stuff is great. And a few years before that, we hung ghosts because there was no like - it was just Halloween themed. But the show looked really creepy and I just like that, I mean it’s nice. Seeing as [Uncool Fest] sold out quicker than usual, do you guys have any plans to expand it in the future? Yeah, actually. It’s kind of on the DL, but I’ll just give you a few hints. We were trying to do one in LA this Friday, and it just didn’t materialize the way we wanted it to. And we’re kinda of the belief that if you can’t do something 100%, it’s not worth doing it, because you don’t want to water down the experience. And it really means a lot to us too, and we didn’t just want to halfass it. And also the venue was way too big for us, let’s be real. But next year, we have like a really cool idea to expand Uncool in a few key areas in the United States. That’s all I’m gonna say, but I know that it’s gonna be really, really fun and centric on just this idea that we want to hit more areas than we usually do in the United States.
I think just being from Berkeley, we tend to gear towards talking about politics rather than running away from them. I think it’s just part of the culture here and part of the musical culture here to say something. Especially with the punk scene, but I would say we’re very wary of not getting too political because, to be honest, it gets depressing. (laughs) And so yeah, people definitely want to express their frustration, but they also want to have fun with our music, and so we try to write songs like “Okay, let’s talk about this for a while, get your shit out of the way. Okay, now let’s breathe and have fun and express yourself in a positive way as well so that maybe [you] come out of the show inspired to do something positive for society rather than -” like, you can go two ways about it. You can just frustrate people and get them to go out of the show and like break shit, or you can frustrate people and then be like “Okay, but now let’s channel this into something to make positive change.” We’re the latter.
That’s really cool that you mention that, actually. Because I was planning on going to the LA show, but now I’m excited for the future because I know it’s gonna be bigger than it’s been before. Yeah, sorry about that. Don’t worry about it! I understand. It’s kind of hard to explain to people online and I feel like people are pretty confused but it’s not uh - it’s weird. But the idea is to just give them a new one that’s better. (laughs) Let’s shift gears a little bit and talk about your music. So your recent music makes a lot of political statements. Is this something you guys always wanted to touch upon, or have you felt inclined to talk politics as tensions have grown across the country?
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Yeah, absolutely. And I love that you guys do that. Is there a certain message that you want to send out through your music, or is it just like a combination of having fun and knowing what’s really out there in the world like you said? Yeah, I think the message is just - we’ve actually talked about this a lot recently. The message is if you become a fan of SWMRS or go to a SWMRS show, the idea is we care more than anything about your personal growth. So like, it’s not about us or us looking cool or any of that. It’s just we want people to feel like they can be their best selves when they leave the show or when they listen to us and that they can look in the mirror and say, “You know what, I love that person and I am gonna take care of myself.” So, that’s the message. Did this message change from writing Drive North to Berkeley’s On Fire, or has it always stayed consistent? 72 • kinda cool.
I think it’s always gonna change. Or it’s not gonna change, it’s always gonna evolve. So I think with Drive North we were trying to really set the stage with a first record, because the previous band we did was very much like a different kind of music and we were trying really hard to do something new. We didn’t have as much emphasis on the message other than just real emotions that people go through. So like, you know, Cole wrote that song “D’You Have a Car?.” And “D’You Have a Car?” to me is just very relatable. And it’s not about any big, crazy issue. It’s just about feeling left out and wanting to tag along, and I think a lot of people can relate to that. So that’s kind of more - we were touching on just regular personal things in Drive North. And then with “Too Much Coffee,” I think the scope got a little bit bigger. I mean sorry, not “Too Much Coffee,” Berkeley’s On Fire. [The scope] got a little bit bigger with songs like “Too Much Coffee” and “Berkeley’s On Fire” and stuff like that, where we’re talking about how you interact with the global - like the Twittersphere, your social sphere and all that kind of stuff. The scope just gets bigger. And then for this next type of music we’re working on, we’re just trying to find a good medium between the two. So, new music already! Do you guys ever take a break? (laughs) Yeah, sorry I just threw that one at you! Um, no we don’t take breaks. I think you’ll slowly start to learn that the way we approach our band is as if we’re like a House member, like for the House of Representatives where we have constituents and we answer to the constituents, and the constituents are our fan base. So, we feel like we work for them. And we also work for ourselves, you know, we gotta live by what we say. We feel like in order to represent our fanbase positively, we have to constantly stay working. I think we spent too much time between the last two records to be honest, to do anything. And I’m not saying we’re going to come out with an album in January. (laughs) I’m just saying we’re definitely working on music to continue the momentum that we have right now.
Do you guys plan to expand on Berkeley’s On Fire anytime soon, like new videos? We have a really cool live recording of a song that we’re gonna release at some point. We are going to do a cover, so it’s not part of Berkeley, but it’s kind of like a part of the same cycle that’s gonna make people really stoked. And we can’t tell you when that’s coming out, but then - pretty much Berkeley, I would say, you know, if we were to come out with a new music video or anything like that, it should have come out around the spring when it was released, you know. I think our hardcore fanbase would always like a new thing, but I’d say general listeners after about six months when the record comes out, they’re kind of already looking forward to the next thing. So, yeah. I don’t know, I would have loved to have done a “Too Much Coffee” video, or “IKEA Date” video; I think there was a lot of potential, but I think there was just a lot of touring and other things we were focusing on when we probably could have been doing that - to where by the time we finished touring like in August we were like “Oh, why didn’t we do a music video for this?” Yeah I think maybe, but we’re all kind of gearing towards this new decade coming up. Speaking of new things, starting next year you’re going on tour with Cage the Elephant.
Are you excited? I’m super excited. I think it’s gotten an even better reaction than I thought it was gonna get. I’ve been listening to them since I was in high school, so. Besides those shows, do you have any more tours in the future? Oh yeah. Well we’re going to be touring, can’t really announce it, but we’re going to be touring like most of next year. Yeah, I mean, we’re just working on scheduling and all of that right now, but just be ready for a lot of work really on our end. (laughs) But it’s going to be fun. Yeah, that exciting! So considering you’re gonna be going on all of these tours, will you be updating your blog anytime soon? (laughs) Yeah, I hope so. So as a band we’re like trying to reorchestrate how our whole system works on our end right now, so it’s kind of put a lot of my other things that I love to the side. But the whole plan is to get SWMRS to the point where it’s really high-functioning so that I can bring the blog back out. I do love doing it; also my girlfriend helps me write it and she’s literally like in a full-time job and in grad
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school right now, so she doesn’t really have time either. But it’s something we both love to do together. Most of [your blog] is heavily based around food. Do you have a favorite place to go eat or what type of food do you like best? I mean, I love Japanese. When we played in Japan, that just kind of just blew my mind. Especially when we were in Kyoto, that was like one of the most special culinary moments of my life up to this point. But I am really excited - I have a reservation for Pujol in Mexico City, which is like the Chef’s Table restaurant from Netflix. (laughs) And I have a reservation for two days after we play the fest there. So I’m always definitely doing the food thing, it’s just I’m not documenting it as much as I used to, and I hope to document it more in
the coming months and years. That’s really cool! I’ve never really seen an artist do that on the side because like you mentioned, they’re usually busy. But I just think that’s really cool. Yeah, it’s a nice release. I think oftentimes musicians, because it’s such an intense lifestyle and job, no one - you should really only be occupying like 70-80% of your time with it just to stay healthy. Like work on balance, especially when you’re on the road. And so it actually really is nice for me to focus on something else during the day when we’re on tour, because shit’s exhausting and I love it, you know, it’s my life. I’ve been doing it since I was ten, but you need like a balance so [the blog] is my balance. Those are actually all the questions I have for you today! Is there anything else you’d like to add? Just stay tuned for 2020! To stay up to date with SWMRS’s latest projects, be sure to follow them on all social media platforms. You won’t want to miss what’s in store! Note: Not too long after this interview was held, Max unfortunately found himself the victim of a car accident on route to a show in Denver. Updates from the band account have reassured us of his safety and wellbeing, but the remaining SWMRS shows this year have been cancelled to allow for a full recovery. The team at Kinda Cool Magazine sends our love and support to Max and the entire Becker family. We hope to see him back and better than ever in the near future. Hosted by Natalie Melendez Photographed by Tanya Wright
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