Signing to Fearless Records in 2017, Australian band Eat Your Heart Out have been working on their debut album 'Florescence' since the release of their EP 'Mind Games' that same year. Momentum has been building for the band as they've conquered their local scene and signed a record deal, making quick work of the writing and recording of their first EP. Now, the band are quickly approaching Album Release Day, and with it all of the feelings that come with sending something so dear to your hearts out for the world to judge.
“Releasing our first full length feels like a massive milestone for us that has been a long time coming, and we are very proud of the album we’ve created” states vocalist Caitlin Henry on how the band are feeling on the run up to releasing the record – and they have every reason to be proud. They’ve managed to pinpoint the line between alt-rock and hooky pop-punk, taking the best bits of each genre and making it work for them. “We like to keep it accessible but we do all enjoy the heavier moments and like to keep a bit of an edge to the music” she describes of their sound.
“I really like Closer To The Sun, which is one of the heavier moments of the album and it has a lot of energy.” It’s easy to imagine things kicking off in their live set when they play their heavier cuts from the album. Coming in at just over two and a half minutes, the track will be a few of minutes of pure mayhem and distortion live, and that’s just how the band like it. “We’ve been testing the waters and playing it live and it feels so good to play!”
Coming up against a creative barrier at the beginning of the writing process, it hasn’t always been an easy process for the band. “We got in our own heads a little bit and found ourselves in a creative block, so we had a bunch of unfinished songs which we completed in the studio as well as writing a couple of new ones. It felt like a really short process because the songs were all finished in a short amount of time” she continues.
They approached the album by composing instrumentals first, with Caitlin later writing a vocal line over the top of what guitarists Will Moore and Andrew Anderson, and drummer Jake Cronin had created. “Some songs we’ve written previously have started with a vocal idea, but this time around it just seemed a lot easier to lay out the foundation first and build from there.” This contributes to the album sounding as fresh as it does, with the lyrics on the record about things that are still front-and-centre in Caitlin’s life. “Because you’re working with a strict deadline you don’t have time to question yourself, you just have to go with your gut feeling” she continues, before adding “I think it actually made us more excited about the songs, because sometimes there’s such a long gap between the writing and recording and release of a song that it feels old and irrelevant by the time it’s finally out.”
Lead single ‘Carousel’ is an example of this, with lyrics like “full of thoughts that make me doubt myself” bringing mental health and imposter syndrome into focus. “Imposter syndrome is something I’ve always had in the back of my mind, even when I was younger and in high school. If I’d get a good grade I’d always feel like I’d fluked it and didn’t deserve it.” This mindset has carried through with Caitlin, albeit to a lesser extent, as Eat Your Heart Out reach more milestones and set bigger goals. “As the band has started to grow over the years I would always feel like any opportunity we got was just an accident and eventually people would work out that we had no idea what we were doing. What I’ve come to realise is that almost everyone feels the same to a degree, and we’re all out here just doing our best and putting on a brave face.”
Elsewhere on the album, mental health crops up on second single ‘Spinning’ which sees Caitlin lament how mental illness can affect relationships against a wall of gritty guitars. “It’s about dealing with the unpredictable ups and downs in the mood and mental health of someone really close to you. The constant changes can leave you dizzy but you know the rough times are only temporary, so you weather the storm with them because there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
There’s an almost overwhelming amount of great music coming out of the Australian alternative scene at the moment, with everyone from With Confidence and Stand Atlantic to 5 Seconds of Summer finding international success in recent years. “Australia is killing it at the moment! There’s so many bands making waves locally and internationally, especially bands with non-male members, and it’s really cool to be a part of that” enthuses Caitlin on the current scene, before acknowledging the additional barriers bands from Australia can come up against. “I think Australian bands know that opportunities are a lot more limited here so you have to work a lot harder if you want to stand out and compete with the bands coming out of the US and the UK.”
Unfortunately, some of those barriers are all too familiar for bands this side of the Pacific too. “Currently there’s a lot of pressure from our government on venues, especially all ages venues, which is scary because if young bands have nowhere to play and cut their teeth, there will be fewer bands to keep the scene going… and no one wants that!” Despite these challenges, the scene is absolutely flourishing – and Eat Your Heart Out are on course to join the list of bands selling records and selling out shows across the globe.
The band have already made moves overseas, supporting Real Friends in the US at the tail-end of 2018, to find that they already have dedicated fans so far from home. “We had such a good time, having people singing along to our songs every night was absolutely mind blowing. We really couldn’t have asked for a better first US tour,” Caitlin expresses, with the band hopeful to make it over to the UK next. “It is definitely a priority for us, because from over here it looks like the scene in the UK is incredible and we would really like to experience it. Hopefully that chance will come pretty soon after the album is released,” she muses – and if the album is anything to go by, then this is a band that will have no issues finding a worldwide audience to play to in the coming years.
‘Florescence’ is out on 17th May via Fearless Records.