Emerging from Minnesota, The Tender Years are one of those bands that always feel very underrated. Part of a rich underground scene of talented rockers, the group champions a peculiar rock’n’roll style, featuring distortion and punchiness but also melodious elements and mellow vocals.
Originally debuting in 2018 with the album ‘Like an Enemy’, The Tender Years made their post-pandemic comeback a few months ago, following up with another long-length record, ‘After the Batteries Die’. In it, the band provides a compelling glimpse into their sonic universe, navigating rock tones with pop prowess, at times borrowing from the sleaziness of ‘60s surf tones.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the American talents to find out more about their artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey guys how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
“Ramshackle Stumble-Pop” is how we advertise ourselves. At our core, we’re friends first, die-hard music fans second, and musicians third.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; How did you get together?
Our paths began to cross when we were about 11 years old. Mike (guitar/vox) and Corey (bass/vox) went to school together and Scott (drums/percussion) and Kris (guitar/vox) knew each other then, as well. Scott met Mike in middle school and Corey after high school. Corey met Kris at about the same time. Since the early to mid 90’s we’ve either played in bands together or watched each other’s bands play. As we’ve gotten older, starting a new band was the best excuse to hang out and have a creative outlet.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
Corey: “Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. I love how he writes lyrically and explores sonically.” Kris: “King Khan. I love the mix of modern with 50’s / 60’s sounds”
Scott: “I would love to tour the world with Wussy, a great band from Cincinnati, Ohio.”
Mike: “Billie Eilish.”
You recently released a mellow rock album, ‘After the Batteries Die’. What can listeners expect from it?
Well, we wouldn’t call it mellow (when we play live, it’s loud and sweaty!) but now that you mention it, there is a mellowness to it. There is a lot of energy, but we try to control it in a way. Like a pet ferret. The songs dart between driving, jagged post-punk, (Emerald Lloyd) head-bobbing jangle, (Nightmare Afternoon) and soaring, anthemic pop (The Witch Boy). In short, there is something for everyone.
The album comes after 4 years of recording hiatus. what took you so long? 🙂
We were all set to head into the studio in April of 2020. COVID brought the band (and life as we knew it) to a halt. While we waited for vaccines to become available, Mike wrote some more songs and we slowly got our chops back.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or all together?
Mike typically brings in the songs fairly well-constructed. It’s fun to hammer out arrangements and play with different ideas together as a band. The best songs take several practices to polish into something we really like.
Are there any cool bands or solo artists from your local area we should check out?
Newer stuff: Uranium Club, The Market Flies, Constant Insult
Older stuff: The Replacements, Husker Du
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
We released a new single this past summer called “Without The Wolf” which can be downloaded on our Bandcamp site. We’re donating all the proceeds to a local organization called Voices For Racial Justice. We’re trying to step up our self-promo game to get our music out there to find its audience. We plan to keep creating, recording, and having fun!
RECOMMENDED!
