Interview: Honeymoon Talk Their Epic New Space-rock Album, ‘From The Future’
Posted: by The Editor
Photo by Andrew Wells
Honeymoon’s debut From the Future feels appropriately apocalyptic. Straddling the line between the space rock of bands like Failure and Shiner and crunchy post-hardcore, the band sounds like they’re ready to disintegrate at any minute. From the Future is an exhilarating debut, surely the work of a band destined for a bright future. We spoke with vocalist/guitarist Zac Breitbach about the band’s start and the writing of the LP.
How did Honeymoon start?
Honeymoon started in summer 2017 when our former band dissolved. We continued as a trio and recorded the 14:43 EP in Pittsburgh with Matt Very in July ’17. It was a very goal-oriented decision when we decided to continue the band. We knew what sound we were trying to achieve from the get-go. We’re extremely ambitious. We wanted to take this band as far as we possibly could ,and where we’re at now is really only the beginning.
How’d you decide to sign with Head2Wall?
It was really a pretty easy process. They offered us what we wanted in terms of help with physical copies of our record and promotion while allowing us to retain the freedom we want. Josh and the label have been nothing but supportive and helpful throughout the release process and thereafter.
The art fits the sound of the record perfectly. How did you find and choose the cover for From the Future?
Funny you ask. One day I was digging through my parents’ old photos, they must have hundreds of little folders stored in plastic bins in their basement. I came across these photos that my dad took in the Middle East while he was deployed there in the 90s. The eventual cover art was in there. It looked like this weird, post-apocalyptic, otherworldly scene with the destroyed satellites and buildings. I sent it to Austyn, the other member in Honeymoon, who does all of our design work as well. We both felt like it fit the sound and feeling of the album. He did some coloration and other edits to it, but that image is what’s on the cover.
Why’d you decide to redo “Green Heat” for the LP, and what was behind the decision to change it up so much?
It was mostly a natural progression. We just started playing it slower and slower at rehearsals, and it stuck. We came up with the intro and it gives a nice little bridge between the frantic ending of “From the Future” to the slow melodic nature of “Green Heat.” I think it gives the song a lot more breathing room, if that makes sense. It also makes it a lot heavier. The dynamics of the song stand out a lot more with the slower tempo. It was so different from the EP version and is one of our first and favorite songs we’ve written, so we thought it deserved a place on the record.
Do you have a song you’re proudest of on the record?
Tough question. I think we’re proud of all the songs for different reasons – we put a lot of work into all of them. But, I think the one we’re most proud of at the moment is the last song on the record, “Experiment for the Betterment of Humankind.” It showcases our range of quiet, melodic moments to explosive and distorted counterpoints. It’s more or less the thesis statement of the record, both musically and thematically. It’s also super fun to play live. We change up the song a little bit for our live show. Don’t want to spoil it for those who have yet to see us live, but its pretty exciting—at least for me.
What was your inspiration in writing From the Future?
I think musically, all four of us had our own inspirations and that’s what makes it so interesting. Obviously, we all love our 90s alternative rock bands, and I think the range of songwriting on records like Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is something that inspired us and continues to. We watched the Oasis Supersonic documentary in the very first days of recording and I think it made an impact on all of us, too. A lot of the acoustic guitar parts stemmed from Neil Young and other country artists. We also listened to a lot of contemporary punk and hardcore bands and you can definitely hear that in the heavier parts of the record.
Lyrically and thematically, I was reading and watching a lot sci-fi and dystopian type stuff. I wanted to make it a bit political, but not overly so. So, there’s a lot of anger and confusion that stems from our current administration. It kind of follows a story arc of these horrible changes happening somewhere, wanting to leave or get away and ultimately doing so, then realizing removing yourself from the equation is usually never a viable option, and ultimately coming back and working to change things for the future.
What do you want listeners to take away from the album?
That there is hope. That even though no matter how bad things get, there is good in the world. The situation can always change for the better, and sometimes that takes time and real, sustained effort, but it can and will happen. Less pretentiously, I’d like listeners to take away that we as a band are here to stay, we’re just starting our ultimate goal of becoming the biggest rock band in the world.
Seems like there won’t be tours for a little while. So. If you could tour with any artist ever, who would it be?
Another hard question. Alice in Chains? Smashing Pumpkins? Oasis? Lana Del Rey? Blink-182? We’d tour with anyone who wanted us to tour with them honestly. We love playing and we miss it dearly. I’m sure many are in the same boat as us, but our first tours to support From the Future were canceled. It stinks. It’s okay though if that means keeping more folks safe. We’ll get our there eventually. There are bigger fish to fry in today’s world.
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Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
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