The Young Hearts release their next single ’Famous Last Words’ on the 29th September 2023
1. For someone that is yet to discover ‘The Young Hearts’, in 5 words how would you describe the band. Anthemic, Upbeat, Honest, Relatable and Nostalgic
2. How did The Young Hearts come together? The band formed after a previous band fell apart and went separate ways. Three of us were still determined to keep creating music, but we wanted to write songs that were more for ourselves rather than trying to fit into a current trend.
3. What’s the story behind your band’s name? Unfortunately, there’s no real exciting story behind the band name? We just went through a load of books and songs trying to find something that stood out. We liked the way ‘The Young Hearts’ sounded, and it kind of summed us up pretty well. We are by no means the freshest faces of the music industry, but I think we bring a lot of heart and passion to the music we write.
4. Where do you feel you fit into the music landscape? We’re definitely a nostalgia band but without sounding dated or tired. We remind people our age of the bands they used to love growing up, but without just rehashing that sound, it’s fresh and genuine. There’s a lot of heart to what we write, but I like to think we wouldn’t sound out of place among the dive bar punk bands or on the big stages with the huge stadium rock bands
5. What other artists or bands do you draw inspiration from? We draw a lot of inspiration from punk bands like The Gaslight Anthem and The Menzingers, but we’re also huge fans of the stadium bands like The Killers and Springsteen.
6. What’s currently in the pipeline for you? So we finished recording our second full length record a few weeks ago, and that will be released in the coming months. After that we just want to promote and share it as best we can. It’s something we’re all incredibly proud of, and we just want to make sure it reaches as far as possible.
7. If you had to boil down what you each bring to the band, what would your answer be? The four of us have such a great working relationship that really works for The Young Hearts. I’d say I bring a lot of creativity for the band; visually and sonically I have an idea of how I want everything to sound and look. Conor helps make the creative vision a reality, I think we’re completely on the same wavelength in that respect and he always knows what’s needed to get to where we want to be. Stew is a constant driving force behind the band, he understands the business side of things better than any of us, and keeps on top of everything we need to be doing going forward. Joe has a real enthusiasm, and a willingness to do whatever is needed. He absolutely loves the drums and being in a band, and that energy is crucial to keep us heading in the right direction.
8. How do TYH differ from most other artists/bands? It’s always been hard for people to place The Young Hearts in any specific genre, and there are aspects of our sound that suggest we’re ultimately trying to bridge a gap between a number of them. We’re also not afraid to wear our influences on our sleeve. If someone said ‘oh, they just want to sound like this band or that band’, I’d say ‘hell yeah, why wouldn’t we want to play songs that sound like our favourite bands’. We’re not trying to fool anyone, we all live and breathe music and at the end of the day we’re writing music purely for our own enjoyment.
9. What can fans expect from your new record ‘Famous Last Words’. ‘Famous Last Words’ is the fourth single from our upcoming full length. It’s a guitar heavy, hook laden anthem for all the bands that inspired us to keep chasing the dream in our mid thirties.
10. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically? We have so many influences, from artists that shaped us growing up, to the current bands that make us want to push even further artistically. There’s of course the obvious candidates like Bruce Springsteen, Brandon Flowers, Brian Fallon, all incredible songwriters, but if I could have someone step in and do guest vocals on a song I’d written, it would probably be Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Her voice is out of this world, so unique, powerful and soothing all at once. It would be a dream.
11. What was your worst performance? So, I like to think that we’ve had very few poor performances over the years, but there was a show a few years back on a tour we did. We loaded in at around 4/5pm as we normally would, only to be told that it was a late show and we probably wouldn’t be playing till nearer midnight. We killed the time by hitting the bar in the venue and waiting to play. Just before our set time, around 11pm, I realised I’d been drinking 7% beers the whole time and was pretty drunk taking the stage. I mean, I’m pretty sure I played all the right notes but I was definitely seeing double when I looked at the lights on my pedal board, forgetting words here and there and generally talking way too much between songs. I like to think we got away with it but you live and you learn.
12: What was the most difficult obstacle your band has ever faced and how did you overcome it? So Covid was a huge obstacle for the whole music industry, and for us it led to half of our band calling it a day, leaving myself and Stew (bass) asking ourselves whether we could carry on without them. I think it was sheer determination and belief in the songs that we had been writing that kept us going. We were never in this for glory, just to keep making the music that we love.
13: How does your creative process work – do all members contribute equally or is there one main songwriter? Our songwriting process is fairly standard. I’ll write a basic song structure with lyrics and vocals, record a rough demo and we’ll take it into the studio to record. We’ll go through all drum parts, guitar lead parts and bass as a band until the song is at a place we are all fully happy with. It can be a long process but we put everything into our songwriting, and won’t put anything out we’re not all 100% behind.
14: Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music? I wouldn’t exactly say there’s a hidden meaning in our songs, I try and write about my own personal experiences and how they’ve affected me, but in a way that’s relatable to the listener. Any message we try and put across is always about being positive, and making the best of whatever hand we’re dealt. It’s all about the silver linings.
15: Who would you like to see Live past or present and why? For me personally, I’ll always regret never seeing Tom Petty live. He was such a phenomenal songwriter, and was a massive part of my musical upbringing. The Clash would also be right at the top of the list of bands I wish I’d been alive to see in their prime.
