(@ truck festival '24)
(overpass - [from left to right] Jake Bishop, Indie Armstrong, Max Newbold and Elliot Rawlings)
2024 has already shaped up to be a busy year for Birmingham quartet, overpass. Having released their debut EP, From The Night, back in February and embarked on a supporting sold-out headline tour across the UK, the band are gearing up for the release of their follow-up project. We caught up with them after their main stage debut at this year’s Truck Festival to find out more…
Hi overpass, it’s good to see you again! We’re currently at Truck Festival - how was your set and how’s festival season treating you so far?
Max: The gig went really well! It was our first time playing the main stage, we didn’t really know what that would be like. It’s like, ‘is it gonna be busy? What will it look like?’ But honestly, everything went really smoothly! It’s good to get going with the festival season again.
Jake: Yeah, we’ve got a few more to go - one next week at Y-Not!
Indie: So it should be good!
So you’ve played Truck consecutively for three years now, and as you said, you were on the main stage today having moved up the line-up. How important has this festival been to you as a band and what’s it like to have played so many times?
Indie: Yeah, really important. I think this is definitely one of our favourite festivals. We started here on the This Feeling stage, and even then we had such a great crowd and so many people supporting us. Then last year, we played on the Market Stage, and to see that tent full was mind blowing because that’s huge still. So to come back again is great! But I think everyone’s always been so buzzing, and this is such a great festival for indie bands.
Max: Truck’s been good to us.
Is there anybody that you’ve already been to see today or anyone you want to catch later on?
Max: We’ve not really had a chance yet, but I want to catch Peace in a minute.
Indie: We heard Newdad, they’re really good.
Max: We’re just settling in I think and seeing what’s going on. Me and Jake are here for the weekend, but looking forward to seeing Been Stellar.
Jake: The Streets, Katy B!
Max: Yeah! Bit of a mixed bag.
So the last time we spoke, you’d just released your debut EP, From The Night, and you were just about to go onstage at your sold-out Bristol show. How was that tour?
Elliot: That was great, yeah.
Indie: That show was so fun!
Max: The whole tour was great! The Exchange was a really cool venue and Bristol has always been a good place for us. We’ve done a few shows there supporting people and it’s nice to see how that was the first tour that really did kick off, and people would come and know the words, and it was nice stepping out every night and being like, ‘this feels real, we’re a proper band now!’
You released another EP back in May which is From The Night: Unplugged. Where did you get the idea of recording an acoustic version?
Max: I think we had the idea that it would be nice to strip the songs back because I feel like if a song sounds good in its lowest form, like just on an acoustic guitar and vocals, it brings out a different side. Like when you hear Noel Gallagher doing Oasis songs acoustically on YouTube - it’s not like the produced version and it captures a different kind of spirit of the song, and it’s just a raw, one take of you and a guitar. And it brings out the vulnerability of the actual songwriting. I think it’s nice to give those versions a chance and see what people think of them.
It does! The EP sounds completely different in such a refreshing way.
Max: On the EP, Wide Eyed, has a massive production to it, and trying to recreate it but with just a guitar really brings out a different side to it. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.
The string arrangements on the EP are so beautiful, and I don’t know if you’ve had the comparison before, but it really reminds me of Damien Rice. What were the influences behind it for you?
Max: I knew him from the Ed Sheeran song…
Max and Indie start singing Ed Sheeran, You Need Me, I Don’t Need You
Max: Honestly, it was just that sort of acoustic setting. Strings can bring out emotions in songs, I think, and we were very lucky to have Pet Snake, who plays cello for Bill Ryder-Jones. She came in on the day, and we chatted through the songs together. And she did an amazing job, and when you hear an actual string accompaniment with your song, it takes it to a whole new level. I think it was something we’ve always wanted to do, and that felt like the right moment to dip your feet in and try it.
What was the process of putting it together and reimagining the EP?
Max: It was just getting to the studio and setting up a mic and just doing those songs, so it came natural, and we didn’t want to overthink it. The good thing about those unplugged sessions and playing the songs acoustically is that it just comes and it’s not to a click track.
You’ve literally just announced your second EP, Dependent, which is set for release in November. When did you start working on the EP and find the time to do so?
Indie: It’s been a mixture - some of the songs we’ve had for a while now, and then some of them have been written more recently. But we recorded it a few months ago now.
Max: It was recorded in May, so it wasn’t too long ago.
Indie: Yeah, so we recorded it quite recently and then we’ve been working on the artwork and creative stuff for it recently. And then yeah, just really excited to get the songs out! We had our first single come out yesterday, as well.
There’s five tracks on this EP, one of them we’ve just heard, and the others you’ve been playing live. What would you say are the main themes of this EP, and is it linked to From The Night in any way?
Max: I’d say so. I think it’s kind of like a follow up, maybe touching on some of the maturer sides of coming into your own as an adult and figuring that out. I think maybe From The Night had a bit more of a youthful feel to it, because they were songs that we’ve had since we were a bit younger. But this EP I think taps into another side of being a bit more mindful about how things are going in life and it feels that bit more mature. We’re all at a point in our lives where we’re happy at where we’re at and it’s a good place holder, I think.
Take It Or Leave It is one of the new tracks, but it’s been around for a while now - I remember you playing it on tour around 2022 or something and I’ve always wondered why it hadn’t been released yet or if it ever would be. Why did you feel now was the right time to release it and what does it mean to you now?
Elliot: I think we were just waiting for the right time to do it with a producer who we knew could expand on that song, because we thought it was a good tune and wanted to make the best out of it, so we knew when we had Rich Turvey that he could really get that tune to where it deserved to be. So I think we were waiting until then. But it’s good teasing because it becomes like a fan favourite among the superfans. So I think when that comes out, it will make a lot of people very happy.
Max: It was nice to kind of sink our teeth into it and be like, ‘What can we do with this song that we love?’ Like it’s changed quite a lot, hasn’t it?
Jake: Even through us playing it live, it’s just changed over time.
Max: It’s good to have a song that’s evolved from ages ago and then you finally hit the nail on the head.
Why did you choose Dependent to be the overarching title for this EP?
Max: I just think it’s like that song to us is one that we’ve had for a while in the locker; I think I wrote that song when I was 15, and I remember sending that to Indie in that group chat, and it’s just been there.
Indie: It’s been on a journey.
Max: It’s been nice now to develop it with everyone and it was like a finisher to the whole body of work and it just felt like it summed it all up. It sums up the changes you go through and you reach a place. It’s a special song for us.
You played a special one-off hometown show in Birmingham last night which consisted of new material. How did the EP tracks go down live and do you ever use your live shows to test out new material?
Indie: Yeah, 100%. I think that’s what we do all the time. It was really nice to play some new songs that we’ve never played before live and it went down really well. It was great to see everyone’s reaction and it just makes you feel confident when you’re getting feedback afterwards. For people who already like your music, you don’t want to change things too drastically, but you still want to evolve, so it’s nice to know that people are still on board with the new stuff that we’re putting out.
Would you say that the main influences behind this project is similar to From The Night or did you draw from other influences for this one?
Max: I think the influences are different - it’s a lot more guitar based, and we’ve been thinking about arrangements a lot more. I’d say it’s quite a 90s heavy kind of guitar inspired, but it’s got bits of like Interpol, which you may or may not be able to hear, but it’s good when you’re in the studio and you listen to those kinds of songs and think about what they’re doing there. That we haven’t done before, so we’re really pushing and testing ourselves. So it’s those kinds of songs, I’d say.
We spoke quite a bit about aesthetics and visuals back in March and how that ties in with your music. I really love the cover of the EP and it really reminds me of the film, All Of Us Strangers, but was wondering where the idea for the cover came from?
Indie: Yeah! That’s kind of the same inspiration. Obviously, we wanted something that looks cool, that’s part of it, but yeah, I like that idea and definitely like that film - how you can be experiencing something and you can feel like you’re the only person experiencing it. But then like when you’re walking alone at night and you see the lights on in other windows and it makes you realise how everyone is out there living their own individual life and they are all going through the same things as you at the same time. The way the EP artwork is, it’s like the listener is situated in the darker space, but you can see those lights and that there’s other things going on. Then there’s a photo of us in one of those windows, which I think shows that we’re also in it too.
So how do you think that ties in with the sonics of the EP?
Max: The themes are quite introspective. There’s a song called Slow on this EP, which I think touches on a lot of experiences that many people go through, so I think it’s nice to tie the imagery in with the themes that are running through the EP. And also what the songs are about because it’s not just about relationships, it’s more than that. Everyone goes through those stages in life where they’re thinking about these kinds of things, which is nice when you get to a gig and you’re playing those songs and people also get what you’re on about and resonate with it.
As you mentioned, you released the single Like No Other yesterday, which you played on tour at the start of the year, and have been teasing online for a few weeks now. What was the inspiration behind that track and why did you choose to be the lead single for your project? What do you think it represents in terms of the EP as a whole?
Indie: The song’s about very overwhelming emotions, I guess, and like the powerful feeling of infatuation, even if it’s unrequited, you can’t help the way you feel about someone. And I think that idea of emotions really leading the lyrics is definitely true for the rest of the project.
I asked you this when I spoke to you about From The Night, so it only feels right to ask it again in the context of Dependent - what’s each of your favourite tracks on this EP?
Jake: I think Dependent, for me.
Indie: I’d say Dependent, as well.
Max: I’d say Slow.
Elliot: Take It Or Leave It.
So if your fans were to take something from this EP what would you want it to be and what do you hope their reaction will be when they hear it?
Max: I think if they were to take anything, it’s kind of, even though it might not be the most obvious, it’s like the way you look at things when you grow up, everyone is sort of in the same world and you are thinking about the same things. You do go through those experiences and it’s like growing up and learning to look after and fend for yourself in the world. Just knowing everyone is in the same boat is probably how I’d put it.
So what are your plans following this EP release? I know you’ve got a few festivals still to come and a support slot for The Enemy’s warm up gigs…
Elliot: Really excited for The Enemy shows because they’re a local band, so it’ll be nice doing that, as well.
Max: Yeah, it’ll be nice to do that! Then just like get this EP out and then hopefully next year we’ll tour it and, yeah, lots more gigs, lots more songs to come, as well.
Elliot: It’s just the start really!
Max: We never want to stop, so we’ll never stop! And we’ll be straight back releasing music straight away again.
overpass’ second EP, Dependent, is set for release in November. You can preorder physical formats here.
Where to find overpass:
Instagram: @overpass.band
TikTok: @overpass_band
Twitter: @overpass_band
FaceBook: Overpass.
Website: https://www.overpassband.com/
KATIE HILLIER
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