We’re a bit obsessed with dreamcore—and no, we don’t mean whatever your subconscious is pinning to Pinterest while you doze off. We’re talking clashing drums meets electric guitar meets cinematic grandeur, courtesy of Austin-based quartet Colorblind. Vocalist Travis Moseley, drummer Tyler Moseley, bassist Nicholas Asper, and guitarist Justin Page have been busy—30 demos’ worth of busy, in fact—before finally putting down the drumsticks long enough to finish their debut album, Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold, landing August 28. We caught up with Travis about the art of knowing when to stop tinkering, what happens when the pressure kicks in, and a tour that’s closing out the year with a bang.
Forming in 2017 and jumping forward nearly a decade later, about to put out your debut album, Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold, what does this record mean to you?
It means a whole lot; it was the first time really getting to find ourselves and put everything aside to focus on making a full body of work. This record will always hold a special place for me.
A debut album is a huge deal! Can you recall the moment when you knew the album was done and was the final product we would be able to hear in a little under two months?
I actually can’t haha. It never feels done. Finishing the songs is only the beginning of all the work that goes into the record, but it’s such an honor. I genuinely can’t even remember finishing all the songs. We had made about 30 demos, and there wasn’t a final decision to stop, so it literally feels like the songs just appeared.
How do you recommend listening to Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold? Is the order of tracks intentional? For example, ‘Pressure’ was one of the first songs written for the album—was it important for it to be first on the list?
We did order the album in a certain way to take you on a journey sonically. We wanted a really interesting dynamic and relationship between the faster/heavier songs and the soft/slow songs as you listen to the album from top to bottom.
In what ways are you bending the genre of heavy music in your new album? How do you hope fans will see your growth in the new project?
We just tried to be as creative and authentic as we could with the heavy stuff! We didn’t start songs with the intention of making them heavy in places, some songs just ended up there, and we thought that was a cool way for it to happen instead of forcing it.
What feelings, thoughts, and emotions are you hoping fans will have after listening to the album?
This album is a journey through belief, identity, and inherited ideas. It questions the truths we were given, the lies we protect, and the weight of what we carry. Some truths shape us. Some imprison us. Some were never ours to begin with.
It exists to remind people that questioning what you were taught is the first step towards owning who you are.
When does pressure hit hardest for Colorblind—and what’s your release valve?
I feel the most pressure around song/album releases, honestly. After all the work we’ve done, I just want to see the songs do well. As weird as it sounds, the biggest release of pressure for me is playing shows. It’s my favorite thing to do, and I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude at every show, and it calms a lot of the noise in my head.
You recently came off The Hounds of the Underground tour, where VIP fans got an acoustic side of you that most audiences don’t see. How much does that kind of up-close access matter to you in those sorts of ticketing packages?
We absolutely loved doing VIP. It was our first time getting to do it, and for us to get to know our listeners better. Also, for them to get to know us better, it made this feel more like a family than anything else. We hope to get to do more in the future!
Speaking of tours, the Not Broken Enough Tour is on the horizon. What did the last run teach you that you’re carrying into this one—and is there anything you’re deliberately leaving behind?
Every tour, we learn so much about what the band is capable of and what we can do better. All we have our minds set on right now is how we can level up the live experience more on all future tours, which we’ve been working really hard at. You’ll have to come out to the Not Broken Enough Tour to see!
If you don’t already have tickets to the Not Broken Enough Tour— kicking off October 16 and winding its way across the States through December 5—well, we hate to say it, but you might actually be broken enough to need one. Already snagged yours? No remedy required—just smug satisfaction. Either way, drop into our socials (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) and let us know: are you riding high with tickets in hand, or still picking up the pieces?
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