Having spent the last few years building up their reputation for bold and anthemic releases, London-based outfit The New Nostalgia have now returned with their latest belter 'Millennial Love'.
Taking their cues from the likes of Circa Waves and The Amazons, 'Millennial Love' sees the group return in stellar form. Filled with a blistering pace, euphoric production, and some stunning vocal work, this new delight showcases them as one of the most promising emerging bands we have discovered all year.
So with the new single available now, we sat down with them to find out more about their background and what has inspired them most over the years.
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What were the first instruments you fell in love with?
I was around six or seven years old when my parents bought me my first acoustic guitar and a Pogues sheet music book and I’ve never looked back. There’s something about the warmth and depth to an acoustic guitar that I’ve not been able to replicate with other instruments, it’s the perfect accompaniment for good storytelling. Our guitarist James would tell you that electric blues guitar is the way forward but he’s a liar and a fraud and shouldn’t be trusted.
What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?
I started writing music for The New Nostalgia at the start of 2019 and I was trying to tap into a collective feeling of dread that we were feeling at the time. We are all in our mid-twenties, a few years removed from university and at times it can feel a bit like you’re stalling, lacking in direction and purpose. I was listening to a lot of Death Cab For Cutie, Phoebe Bridgers, Frightened Rabbit and Manchester Orchestra at the time and I think that comes across in our lyrics.
What kind of music did you love as teenagers?
We met at University in Liverpool as teenagers and bonded over a shared interest of rock music. Around four years before we formed the band, we went to the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium together. We were big into Muse, Nothing But Thieves, Royal Blood, Marmozets, all the usual rock suspects. I think our tastes have perhaps diverged a little over the past six or seven years but we’re still pretty unified in our rock roots.
What inspires you to make music?
For me, writing music is just a cathartic way to get my thoughts down on paper. I know people who keep journals basically for the same reason. Then you get on stage and scream those thoughts at a room full of people and it feels even more liberating.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Throughout lockdown, I’ve made a point of getting back into full albums and listening to them in their entirety. At the moment, the most recent Illuminati Hotties, Dorian Electra and Caroline Polachek albums are my go-to’s.
How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?
I’d say I have three of four songs that were written with a specific person in mind. Generally, I’m a bit self obsessed when it comes to writing music!
What has been the funniest moment in your career so far?
This is absolutely impossible to explain but when we were recording our second single “Nothing Is New” we all collectively lost our minds. We were back in the AirBnb, watching something on TV after a full day of recording and we started doing that thing where you make a popping noise by putting your finger in the top of a beer bottle. Maybe it was the sheer exhaustion, the beer, or a combination of the two, but for some reason this ended up being the funniest thing ever. I genuinely can’t tell you why but I’ve never laughed as hard in my life.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
I would love to open for the band Viagra Boys. I think our styles would gel nicely and, to be quite honest, I would just like to see their set every night for an extended period of time. The real dream is for the whole thing to go full circle and for us to play at Rock Werchter.
If you weren’t musicians, what other path do you think you might have taken?
I’d be a psychologist, Charles would be an author, James would be a palaeontologist and Sam would be selling meat out of the boot of a Fiat Punto.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as musicians?
It sounds basic but the best advice I ever received was to write the sort of music that you want to write. Don’t try and write what’s popular, or what you think will go viral or what will be played on the radio. Just write the sort of music that you want to perform day in and day out and you’ll never get bored.
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The New Nostalgia's new single 'Millennial Love' is available to stream and download now. Watch the new lyric video for it in the player below.