Waxflower are back with their second EP The Sound of What Went Wrong, and they couldn’t have gotten it more right. The five-track EP takes us on a journey of nostalgia and frustration, and reminds us of how stuck in our heads we can all be. Here at THP, we were so lucky to get the chance to chat to Waxflower about the new EP in this exclusive interview!
Waxflower were super great to talk to and gave us some great insight into the process of making The Sound of What Went Wrong, as well as some epic pop-punk playlist inspo. But most importantly, they gave us some hints about what could be in store for Waxflower and their fans for the rest of 2022. We’re manifesting that the “plans” they have come true ASAP.
We’re loving your new EP The Sound Of What Went Wrong. For anyone who hasn’t pressed play on it yet, what is something they should look out for or bear in mind when listening to it for the first time?
The Sound of What Went Wrong is 5 songs for the over-thinker. We’re all guilty of taking small moments & wrong turns, exacerbating them into larger wrong-doings or playing them over in our mind for too long. Inspired by honesty and vulnerability, with a sprinkling of Myspace & nostalgia, we’re really proud of this release.
The Sound Of What Went Wrong is a seriously incredible name for a record. What inspired the title?
I think we’re all huge fans of dramatic sounding titles, and this just felt right for the release. The past couple of years have been challenging for everyone & in our own little world, these songs were the soundtrack that we channeled our frustration and disappointment into. It’s the songs we needed at the time, to help us keep pushing forward with music.
How did you decide that ‘Ring,’ ‘Soak,’ and ‘The Drama Scene’ would be the singles from the EP?
It’s always a big debate in the band; which songs are going to be singles. I feel that it matters more than ever which songs you select, people will almost always judge a whole release off of the singles. We wanted to choose 3 songs that each brought something different to the table and highlighted a part of our band that we were really proud of. After that, we just looked at which songs were the catchiest!
We expect you’ll gain a lot of new fans thanks to The Sound Of What Went Wrong! Once they’ve listened to the new EP, which of your older songs should fans listen to first and why?
If you’re coming onboard, firstly, welcome! Secondly, I think spinning; ‘Cut Your Teeth,’ ‘Back To Back,’ ‘Food For Your Garden,’ ‘Not Alone’ & ‘We Might Be Alright’ will give you a good idea of what else we’ve got. It will also prepare you well for some singalongs at our upcoming shows.
You’re on the road at the moment with Trophy Eyes! How’s it going? Have you learned anything on this tour so far?
So good! We needed it more than ever. To finally shake off 2 years of rust, sitting at home and not being able to tour – to now being on the road for weeks at a time & getting to reach new audiences across Australia. It’s been an absolute pleasure and an opportunity that we’re so grateful for. I think we haven’t learned anything specifically, but we’ve been able to sharpen our live show and performance across these shows. We’ve had a running joke that we’ve played more shows in the past month than we have in the past 3 years, but it’s really true. You can’t replicate the sharpness & energy you pull from playing night after night.
How does touring with another act differ from headline shows? Do you have to prepare differently?
Really different! You need to work much harder to entertain & win over an audience. As a supporting act, most of the audience doesn’t know you & are just holding out to watch the headliner. Which is fair enough! But we enjoy the challenge of getting on stage, performing as hard as we can & hopefully winning over a bunch of new fans in the process. It’s always so much fun.
We love how upfront and no-nonsense ‘The Drama Scene’ is! What inspired you to write the song?
Thank you! ‘The Drama Scene’ is a super honest & real reflection of where Tristan was at the time; with regards to his social life. There was a lot of negativity swirling around & it’s a recognition of his own contribution to that. It’s a visceral airing out of the agitation he had with where his actions had placed him. Sonically, it’s inspired by Myspace era bands, pop-rock, v-necks and a time when long fringes ruled the scene.
As a group, you have an incredible ability to mix nostalgia with modernity and current music trends. How have you all honed that skill?
We’ve all grown up loving “alternative” music from such a young age. I think the songs we’re playing now are really a concoction of the bands & artists that have influenced us for the past 10-15 years. Whilst being so heavily inspired by bands from the mid-2000’s era, we’re also huge fans of current acts like Nothing Nowhere, Lil Lotus, Smrtdeath & more, so we like to blend the old with the new too.
Speaking of nostalgia, can you each give us a song that would have to be on your ultimate old-school Pop-Punk playlist?
Nick – ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’ by Good Charlotte
Daniel – ‘Ocean Avenue’ by Yellowcard
Tristan – ‘Everything is Alright’ by Motion City Soundtrack
Jordan – ‘Alive With The Glory of Love’ by Say Anything
We love the “If [ARTIST] Was Pop-Punk” videos you’ve done on TikTok! On behalf of everyone at THP HQ who loved them, we have to ask if you’d make any more? Which artists do you think would be the hardest to switch to Pop-Punk/Emo?
Thank you, they’re a lot of work to make, but always nice when people connect with them! We’ve gotten so busy with touring, releasing & writing now, that it’s been hard to find time to make them. Hopefully towards the end of the year we’ve got some time to make them work. In terms of hardest to switch; surely something super heavy would be tough – especially if there’s no vocal melody. Maybe a challenge for this year!
Finally, what can we expect from Waxflower in 2022?
We’re back on the road this June, touring Australia to celebrate The Sound of What Went Wrong. We’ve got another couple of tours in the works over here, as well as some tentative plans to get overseas (hello, UK?). Hopefully they all come to fruition! We’re writing more & looking to go away for a couple of weeks together to start writing our next release. LP 1?
Well, now we’re excited! Waxflower clearly have a lot in the works for the rest of 2022, so we’re even more grateful they took the time out to chat to us for this exclusive interview!
Want more interviews like this Waxflower one? Here you go!
What did you think of our interview with Waxflower? Do you have a favorite song from The Sound of What Went Wrong? Let us know by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP. And if that’s not your style, you check us out on Instagram and Facebook!
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