Forgetting Yesterday Sings the Tale of the Nameless Boy In, "John Doe"

Hailing from Malmõ, Sweden, is a five-piece alternative rock group Forgetting Yesterday with their conceptual debut album, 'Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time,' alongside the record's lead single, "John Doe."

The pandemic allowed Forgetting Yesterday to continue developing their skilled songwriting and talented instrumentals since forming in 2017. Known for creating relatable alternative rock merged with modern pop-punk, Forgetting Yesterday has seen vast success through international radio airplay and performing and staple festivals like SommarRock Svedala.

Within the group's latest album, 'Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time,' we hear Forgetting Yesterday pack the scene with ten cohesive yet diverse songs that reflect those overwhelming sensations of recollecting your thoughts within this crazy and fast-paced world. The album's core single, "John Doe," takes on more of an introspective theme that dives into the turbulent story of the boy with no name.

Jumping into the single, "John Doe," we're greeted with haunting and anticipation-filled synths that slowly open the song alongside a tender acoustic guitar and the lead vocalist's pop-punk-esque vocal stylings, guiding us into the tale of John Doe. As Forgetting Yesterday enters the song with their entire and cohesive alternative-punk instrumentals, they send us into a dreamy and cathartic atmosphere that leaves us with sensations of relief and comfort.

What's just as cathartic is the lead vocalist's lyrics that sing of navigating life's peaks and valleys and feeling lost in a diversion at times when attempting to stay on his path to success. A blistering guitar solo, plucky bassline, fiery rhythm guitar, and thumping drum arrangements blaze through our speakers while the lead singer's comforting vocals close the story on a profound note of introspection that's wildly relatable.

Get your dose of relief with Forgetting Yesterday's recent hit, "John Doe," now available on their debut album, 'Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time,' available on all streaming platforms.

Welcome to BuzzMusic, Forgetting Yesterday. We admire the thoughtful and honest approach you've taken with your recent single, "John Doe." What inspired this lonely wanderer-type piece about navigating through life's journeys?

Thank you so much for wanting to feature us! “John Doe” is the second to last track and the lead single from our debut album “Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time”. When we started to write this record we wanted to evolve our earlier sound and create something that we had never done before. With “John Doe”, and the entire album, we really feel that we achieved something unique and fresh. This song is a modern take on pop-rock with an acoustic guitar, a soft drumbeat, and a John Mayer-inspired guitar solo. As for the lyrics we always write about our current state of mind at what we are going through at the time. It is very important for us that the lyrics can be relatable and an outlet for someone's emotions, just as we feel that we can relate to the lyrics that our inspirations write.

Who wrote the cathartic and conceptual lyrics for "John Doe"? Was that experience a rather challenging process considering your lyrics are very emotional and honest?

The lyrics were written by Christopher (Guitar), Anton (Bass), and Johan (Vocals). We often write the lyrics together or write different parts of the lyrics back and forth as a way of relating to each other's emotions and thoughts. Writing the lyrics is often an emotionally challenging process since we are opening up and being vulnerable in front of each other. At this point in our musical journey and our friendship, we have reached an emotional understanding and mutual respect that allows us to have great cooperation in the songwriting process.

Could you introduce us to the names within your group and what your creative process looked like for "John Doe"? Who handled which aspects of the song?

Forgetting Yesterday consists of Christopher Hjorth (Guitar), Anton Bendroth (Bass), Ludvig Hansson (Guitar), Mathias Grevin Garvö (Drums), and Johan Hansson (Vocals). What has allowed our music to evolve is our versatility as musicians. With this album, we have experimented with different roles in each song. The guitar solo on “John Doe” is actually written and recorded by Anton. Something we haven’t done before is experimenting with the vocals as much as we have on this record. Almost every song features either Christopher or Anton vocals, both as lead vocals and harmonies. As often, Christopher comes up with a musical idea that we all get involved in and start to evolve together. That was the case for “John Doe” as well. Everyone is involved in songwriting in one way or another, we all have our opinions regarding the songs and it is important that everyone is heard. The lyrics are often written by one or more members and what we usually all have a say in is the general structure and form of the song. Of course, each member has a primary opinion when it comes to their own main instrument but we are all open to suggestions that can make the song even more complete.

What do you hope to make the listener experience, think, and feel when hitting play on your debut album, 'Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time'?

With “Sometimes, I Just Need Some Time”, we hope to show the importance of speaking your emotions out loud and accepting the vulnerable parts in all of us. The lyrics function as an outlet for our emotions with an intention to welcome the listener into a community where we feel seen, heard, and included. The 10 autobiographical songs explore the themes and emotions of both love and sorrow, happiness and sadness. With a variety of both soft vocal melodies, heavier guitar riffs, and a slight touch of modern-day electronic elements, we want to create something that touches upon your emotions. The mix of sounds within this album represents the entire universe that is our emotions.

What's next for you?

Right now we are focusing on rehearsing and designing our live set. We hope to come out and play some shows now since the pandemic is decreasing and to spread our music across venues to old and new friends.

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