Backseat Vinyl is a 3 piece Punk Rock group based out of Denver. The group despite being central draws influence from groups from the west coast that include Fidlar, Wavves, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and The Frights. Backseat vinyl recently released their high energy driving single "Heads" and it will knock your socks off.
"Heads" features driving punchy drums, edgy guitar riffs, clean mood-setting guitars, a deep rumbling bassline, and a moody melancholic but exciting vocal. The record opens up with a clean, energy-driven guitar riff and slowly introduces the drums before it all stops and the song hits you like a truck when the vocals come in. The instruments all play together in a way that feels like a solid group and they provide a lovely backbone that supports the main vocal and lets it breathe. The vocals have a smooth edginess to them that drives the song forward, the sound is reminiscent of Green Day but with a little modern flair to them. A highlight of this song is when the guitars and voice seem to start singing together when this happens the song transforms into an ethereal like a choir. This is a fantastic record that packs that classic Punk Punch.
Listen to "Heads" here.
Hey there Backseat Vinyl! Welcome to BuzzMusic! We can't stop jamming to your single "Heads". What was the songwriting and production process like for this?
1)Nate already had a few demos made shortly after we released our first album. Once we finished our tour runs for the year, (2019) we gradually started bringing them into rehearsal and booking studio time again. We steered into a more authentic form of Punk Rock with “Heads”. Using a faster tempo, and a grimier production heavy in distortion, and reverb.
We love the tones of this record, it's got the perfect amount of edge to them! What was the recording process like for it? How many of the ideas were part of songwriting versus during recording?
Since we’re working with the same engineers who produced our last album, (Glenn Sawyer and Rich Veltrop at The Spot Studios) it was almost like we never finished, just picked up where we left off. It’s been fun. We’ve known them a few years now so it’s always a good time working with them. Returning to the same people has also made the recording process very smooth. Since we already have a relationship built with them, we work/communicate well together, and they have prior experience in producing the sound we’re looking for. They also moved, so that’ll add a nice contrast in production.
We spend a lot of individual/rehearsal time working our parts out before recording so not much usually changes, but we’re always up for suggestions and always asking for second opinions from each other and the engineers.
Backseat Vinyl has quite a cool set of musical influences, what makes them influence you? How have their musical styles fused their way into the music you create?
We always had an appreciation for the “lo-fi” production; where the poor production/musicianship is intentional, but still sounds great. For me, I think it’s because the emotion is there. It sounds like a human before a musician.
We used to be really big on writing, making as many ideas as possible for a song because we were excited to try them. Over the years, the style of our influences have taught us that “less is more”, and we should let our music breathe. We hold back on our playing a lot more now, and focus more on complimenting the song.
We heard that the band is halfway done a new album! That's quite exciting! Have there been any challenges faced so far during the creation? What was the process been like so far?
We like to be prepared, we usually plan the recording process together as a band months in advance so everything goes as smoothly as possible. Most of the challenges normally come from our writing. Sometimes what we write can be difficult to execute, and some tempos are just easier to play than others. “Heads” is a much faster tune, and it took time to build the endurance to not only keep up with the tempo but hit my drums as hard as needed to project the sound I wanted out of them.
The writing process can always be challenging but it’s rewarding. When you spend so much time working your part out, it makes tracking go much more quickly/smoothly for you. Your engineers and bandmates appreciate it too. It’s a good feeling.
What can we expect to see from the band throughout 2020?
Backseat Vinyl plans to release more singles throughout 2020 leading up to the Summer; when we plan to release our entire sophomore album. Our second single “Bad Trip” will be available on April 17th on all streaming platforms. We’re hoping to eventually book shows again once life is back to normal, and tour again once our album is released. In the meantime, we’re finishing up our album and spitballing ideas on a possible live stream, or video of us performing, since we can’t play shows right now. It’s just talking at the moment, but we’d like to make it happen.