INTERVIEW: Houndmouth

By Emma Kopelowicz

Houndmouth is nearing the halfway point in their tour and will be playing at the Paradise Rock Club on February 20th. WTBU DJ Emma Kopelowicz chatted over the phone with the band’s drummer, Shane Cody, about their latest album Golden Age, experimenting with new sounds, and the magic of Linn Drum Machines.

Emma Kopelowicz: How and why was Houndmouth started?

Shane Cody: I think out of boredom maybe … no [laughter]. I was living in New York. I had taken an internship at a sound design recording studio, and I was there for like a year. Then they downsized, so basically I didn’t get a job. I moved back home and there was nothing really going on (other than sadness), but Matt [Myers] Facebook messaged me and said … “I like the music that you’re making by yourself.” I was doing this little bluegrass thing called Riff Raff Revival. I didn’t really know him though, but we went to high school together [Editor’s note: They were in high school at the same time but did not go to the same high school]. We just started playing together. We were both playing guitar. I played drums basically since I was 12, so I was kinda tired of playing drums in bands, but I was like well we can’t find another drummer so I guess I’ll go back to playing drums. And then we got Zach to come in. He and Matt were like best friends and they had played in cover bands and stuff before together… And then we got Katie to come in. It kinda just happened like that.

EK: The past couple of albums have had a distinct folk-rock sound, and listening to Golden Age is not quite the same. What inspired the shift in direction to more of an ‘80s-synth kind of beat?

SC: We had always recorded everything live when we would do an album. And then we would just go back and overdub vocals or a guitar solo or something. We would make an album in a week. This one Katie left, so we didn’t want to do it live as just a three-piece because it’s not the most fun thing to do. We also signed with Warner Brothers, which was like a crazy experience, so we kind of had resources to do what we wanted. We never really had that before. We wanted to just kinda see what kinda sounds we could make and push ourselves and not do the same kinda routine. We got to work with Shawn Everett, who’s insanely awesome and insane as a person. He was just kinda like, “We can do anything we want,” so we kinda did. But the songs are the same at their core. They just sound different.

EK: Were there any particular influences or were you listening to certain things at the time that were kind of inspiring? Or did you just let the studio inspire you?

SC: Yeah we kinda just let it take us. We found an old Linn Drum Machine, which was a like super popular drum machine in the ‘80s and that was the first thing we found. The studio we were at was basically like a museum of old instruments and so it just was kinda just like a playground. We latched onto the Linn Drum Machine… We just played a lot like children. There was no like, “We’re gonna make this weird album,” going into it. We just had fun and experimented. Not everyone gets the chance to make an album for like almost a year. We’re three dudes from Southern Indiana and we get to go out to Los Angeles? To me at least, it was a dream.

EK: As I was scrolling through some reviews, I’ve noticed that Golden Age has been receiving a lot of backlash from fans who miss the band’s old sound, but from the band’s Instagram it kind of seems like you’re all taking this criticism pretty well and making light of the situation. Was that how it originally started?

SC: We always knew everyone was gonna be like, “What the hell?” But like I said, the songs are the same. The structure, the songwriting, the stories are the same, they just sound different. That’s kinda the point of putting stuff out there. Then it’s not really yours anymore to talk about. It’s up to everyone else to perceive. I actually just saw one on Twitter the other day like “At first I hated this album, but now it’s become one of my favorite albums.” I responded back with the Jack Nicholson gif where he’s nodding really creepily.

EK: The Shining one right?

SC: Yeah, yeah that’s it. But yeah it was definitely kind of rough at first. I just eventually stopped looking at Twitter but was so cool to hear it grow on people. We were spoiled, we know every intricate thing in the songs, because you know, we made it. Every little sound was thought of so it was really special to us. When people were like, “Oh, this is a laptop,” we were like, “Oh my God, no, it’s all real instruments.” But, you know, it’s not up to us anymore and I got over it. I kinda stopped caring because when we play them live it’s so different. When we play it live we play it in the style of our older stuff. I think they translate well live. It’s fun, but it’s kind of a pain in the ass for me at least. After we finished it we were like, “Oh s**t, how are we gonna play this live now?” We had to really practice these songs a lot, but it was fun and challenging. And that keeps you going.

EK: I know that you were crediting a lot of this new sound on your access to more resources in the studio and just having fun playing around with the instruments at your disposal, but do you believe that the reinvention of Houndmouth’s sound was more something that was inevitable or was it more an organic change of pace that you didn’t really think about?

SC: I think it was definitely just kinda, “Let’s try this.” The way we’re playing now is definitely more the way we used to. It all starts just three of us sitting around: guitar, bass, and drums. I think it was more of like an experiment to try. It’s not like we’re stuck in that way now.

EK: Does the band have a particular approach to writing music?

SC: It’s nice because we all write, so basically when we meet to go to meet to practice someone will just like bring a song or an idea they have to the table, which is great. A lot of times it’s just like I have a verse and a chorus but I don’t really have a bridge and so we can combine a lot of them, which is super helpful. Matt definitely writes the most, but then we all kind of produce it together and tweak it. It’s like homework, but fun homework I want to do.

EK: If there is anything you could tell your listeners about this album what would it be?

SC: Don’t freak out. It’s an experiment and it’s fun. We got to have a ball making it and hopefully it grows on you.

EK: Do you predict Houndmouth going into a more experimental direction in the future or do you think you guys are going to find your way back to your roots?

SC: I think it would probably be a combo of both. I don’t know. But who knows? If I were to guess, I would probably say a combination.