PREMIERE: The Clydes – “Holly Speaks”

Not unlike many bands comprised of direct family members, The Clydes were formed with a lifelong reverence for the classic rock stylings played during amber-hued days gone by. That sense of warmth in sound established by brothers Brent (lead vox, rhythm guitars, keys) and Brian Johnson (lead guitars, keyboards, effects) serves as the aural base for them to explore everything from complex personal relationships to narrative fantasy in equal measure. Joined by Andrew Lord Chandler (bass, keys, backing vox) and MadMardigan (drums, backing vox), The Clydes are now gearing up to release their most complete vision to date.

So The Story Goes, a ten track full-length from The Clydes, is due out October 20th via Mint 400 Records.

As always, Brent and Brian wrote the songs including ones that focus on emotional and personal conundrums (like “Holly Speaks,” about feeling motionless but wanting more) and songs about non-traditional topics (like “The Vampire Of Hanover,” about a German serial killer from the early 20th century).

Today, GroundSounds is happy to host the premiere of “Holly Speaks,” along with an interview with the band. Check it all out below and be sure to follow them here for more.

Hi, The Clydes! Congrats on your new album. Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got into making music?

Thanks. It’s Brent (lead vocals) and Brian (lead guitar) here. We’re brothers and one-half of the group. The other half is our friends Andrew Lord Chandler (bass) and MadMardigan (drums). We’re an alt-pop-rock band from New Brunswick, N.J., on Mint 400 Records.

We (Brent and Brian) have played together since we were kids pouring over our family’s record collection and taking guitar and piano lessons. We met Andrew in college at Rutgers University, bonding over random bands no one has heard of and our love of Rutgers basketball (no matter how awful they are year and year out). Soon, we formed The Clydes, taking our name from the New York Knicks great Walt “Clyde” Frazier — who happened to be on television wearing a cow-print suit the night we were trying to think of what to call ourselves. True story.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

We (Brent and Brian) spent years living in the same house, with bedrooms next to each other. Usually, one of us would come up with a riff or an idea and walk over to the next room to show the other. Then, we’d finish it together. Sometimes, we’d sit down and have hours-long writing sessions, treating it like a job. We still write in a similar way . And we still have arguments of epic proportions. But we’re very productive. Then, when we like what we have, we bring it to Andrew and Mad, and we work out the final arrangements together.

Our musical influences overlap a lot — The Smiths, Roxy Music, The Beatles, Prince, Elvis Costello, Radiohead, David Bowie, Oasis.

What is “Holly Speaks” about? How did it come to be?

That started as a song Brian had. He was very influenced by the ’90s Britpop scene when he wrote it. Brent took it from there, fleshing out the melody and lyrics. He kept seeing the image of someone spending their time watching reality TV instead reading or writing a book. So it ended up becoming about trying to not let that be all you do.

What are some of the larger themes at play on So The Story Goes?

A lot of the record is about trying to better yourself, to stand up for yourself, to embrace who you are. And a lot of the music has hopeful moments, which keeps the songs moving. Then again, there’s also a song about an early 20th century serial killer. So there’s that.

How do you feel this record differs from some of your previous releases?

More than anything, it’s just flat-out better. This is our fifth release, but it’s the one where the songs came together stylistically the most in an unforced way. There are times when the band can sound laid-back but excited, darker but optimistic, and the album lends itself to natural feelings. It’s hard to capture a natural moment of time. But we feel this does.

This is also our first full-length record on Mint 400 Records. We made an EP with them last year, called Comeback Charlie, which was great. But we really feel this was a big step forward. Like the EP, it was produced by Neil Sabatino, the label’s founder and the leader of indie-rock veterans Fairmont.

Any new New Jersey-based artists/venues/purveyors of the arts you could turn our readers onto?

We’re lucky to live in New Jersey. There are great bands (Dinosaur Eyelids, Alpha Rabbit), promoters (Brittney On Fire), and venues (The Saint, Wonder Bar, The Stone Pony, The Court Tavern) all over the state that embrace original music. Plus, our label, Mint 400 — which is based in Jersey — is wonderful because it caters to artists making interesting music and not just fostering an image. Acts like Underlined Passages, The Skullers, The Bitter Chills, A Bird, The Maravines, and many more.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

We’re all over the web:

http://theclydesmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheClydesMusic/
https://twitter.com/theclydesmusic
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-clydes/id786518336
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Q7ucKdNXvu6qVZu8xJH6v

We celebrate the release of ‘Holly Speaks’ with a show at The Saint in Asbury Park, N.J., on Oct. 3. Then, we’ll hold a release show for the album at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park on Oct. 30.

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

We draw inspiration wherever we go — even if we’re not wanted in these areas. A few years ago, we went to Liverpool and wrote a bunch of songs inspired by it on our last full-length album. Then, last month, we went to Nashville, which was amazing. Brian fed his dangerous addiction of vintage guitar shops. We got caught up in Jack White’s sweet but creepy record shop. And we’re pretty certain our next record may be an experimental country record with synthesizers.