If you are in your middle years, between let’s say 28 and 38, you’ll find The Disarmed’s new album incredibly nostalgic.
Championing a poignant alt-rock sound that heavily borrows from early ‘2000 genre outfits, the American group manages to carry those retro feels in a contemporary setting, giving birth to musical material that’s timeless, yet very actual.
A 9-track journey into the project’s multi-sided artistry, ‘What We Leave’ is a very convincing effort, both in terms of musicianship and lyricism.
Emerging from Sioux Falls, US, The Disarmed are showcasing themselves as a band on the rise, steadily refining their sound and aesthetic in favour of a strong identity. Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the talented Americans to find out more about their artistry and future goals… Read the interview below with band members Bobby Kooiman, Morgan Harris and Doug Hair!
MESMERIZED: 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?
BK: We are a hard rock band that has many different influences such as grunge, pop punk, metal, and alternative rock.
MESMERIZED: Your sound is pretty full-on, do you find it difficult to recreate that sort of energy in a live setting? (instrumentally speaking)?
DH: In my opinion, live shows should be the best way to experience a band. Barring shitty sound, it’s the closest way you’ll get to hear exactly how the artist wants it to be. Any recording is just hoping to capture it faithfully. I love when people come out and see us live, I put a ton of effort into performance, stage presence, and gear–it all comes together.
MH: It’s not easy but also not impossible. When we’re all on point it’s hard to not notice.
BK: We’ve heard that our live shows are even better than our recordings. The way the songs are written – with the drops and instrumental breaks – really lends itself to feeling the energy shifts in the crowd!
MESMERIZED: 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?)
BK: I’d love to collaborate with Alice In Chains, Iron Maiden, or HIM/Ville Valo.
MH: If I could pick Vincent Accardi to collaborate with that’d be the bomb! We probably wouldn’t get anything done though with me bothering him about all his work and his gear. I’d be fangirling too hard.
MESMERIZED: Your latest release takes the shape of a long album, ‘What We Leave’. We had a small ‘Hoobastank’ flashback while listening to it; are we correct in thinking early 2000’s alt-rock plays a big part in it?
BK: 2000s alt rock is definitely a big influence in our music! We spice it up with elements of our other influences but it’s definitely present!
MH: Yeah we’re really big fans of 90’s and 00’s music. We kind of consider ourselves the Sons of Dad Rock.
MESMERIZED: Focusing on ‘What We Leave’, how do lyrical themes inform your music-making?
BK: The lyrical themes include growth, resilience, and self-awareness of the impact we leave on the world and on each other.
DH: Also, the album packaging reflects this really well. Jim Hughes of Northary Studio did a great job with it. The cover is a triptych with each panel showing a city skyline in various stages. On the left, you have a sort of modern skyline where everything is intact. Not utopian by any means, but functioning. In the middle, everything is in ruins. Then on the right life has overtaken the skeleton of a past civilization. Life adapted, persevered, and took everything back. I’ll spare you the tired Jurassic Park quote.
MESMERIZED: Have you started gigging again this summer?
MH: Yes we have! We just played probably one of our biggest shows to date at the Four Winds Festival in our home town: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We played the perfect time with the sun going down, played the whole album through, and the crowd was so full of energy. We were the only band that day to get the call for an encore. It’s only made us more eager to get our butts out there and play this new album.
DH: Getting out of town and playing the surrounding states is really important to us at this point. We’re really looking forward to meeting new people and hopefully gaining new fans!
MESMERIZED: Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
BK: Between COVID, lineup changes, finding a new studio to record in, and several new practice spaces this has been the most challenging period for the band. We persevered through all of that ad now we have come out at the other end with an album that we are truly proud of.
MESMERIZED: What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
MH: Right now it’s just gigging left and right and breaking into new places and making new friends out on the road. Hopefully we’ll be seeing y’all there!
DH: We’re all really excited about the upcoming shows. I’m also incredibly excited about any future music we might make. We have one song ready, and a few other ideas that a couple of us have been working on.
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