Four guys with a collective goal of making the highest quality indie/alternative rock they possibly can.
That being said, there is a twist…
These young men all come from a past playing heavier music, which tends to bleed into the compositions of this new endeavour. This cross over effect results in a sound reminiscent of bands like Brand New, Death Cab For Cutie and Bloc Party.
In this interview I chat with Roy from New Rationals about the band, their heavier music connection, and the rest of 2023!
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How long have the four of you known each other and how long after did you start the band ?
I’ve (Roy) known Trav (singer) the longest, I’d say around 15 years now? We jammed some Jim Jones Review type stuff in my late teens, lol.
To be honest, I met Levi (guitar) at our first rehearsal, haha, and Jose was actually our 3rd bass player, who I met through Levi. We’ve now been a band for about 2 years.
You mentioned you all made heavier music before, what was the inspiration behind the transition?
(Roy) We all still play heavier music in other bands, actually. Some of us more than others, so that connection for us runs deep. The reason though, I would say is because we all love indie rock and have for many years. We love to take what we’ve learned in heavier music and put it into our unique indie music that (we hope) is accessible to larger audiences, which in turn will result in bigger shows and nicer venues.
Being in the studio or performing live, which is your favourite ?
(Roy) This is a tough one, lol. The rush of performing live is hands down the best feeling, and we all love that feeling of being locked in and knowing it just by the eye contact on stage. The vibe in a studio though, brings the best versions of our song writing out and allows us to really push the envelope of our talent. Both things bring us so much joy so it’s hard to choose.
How has the recording process been creating this EP?
(Roy) The process was challenging at times, for sure. I think that’s all to do with us being a new group with us all used to doing things a certain way, learning to work together and understand each others specific tastes with what sounds good and doesn’t. The high note for me was recording the drums and bass at OCL Studio in Calgary (if you haven’t recorded there, you really should). OCL also did the mix/mastering, and the rest we did ourselves. A lot of extra time was spent fine tuning the guitar tones, because that decided our “sound” and we wanted it to be perfect. So judge for yourself!
What’s the rest of 2023 look like for the New Rationals?
(Roy) We are still in the process of figuring everything out. We’ve been writing a bunch and have gotten back into full album mode, but have also submitted to festivals and are working on booking some support/headlining shows.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, anything else you want to tell the readers as we sign off ?
(Roy) You can expect the final song of our, “I’ll Jump if You Jump” EP to come out in the spring, and another single in the summer and a bunch of shows to announce too!
