Creating Something Special: On UNWELLS’s New Single "Tightrope," Reviving Pop-Punk, and Their Upcoming Ep
UNWELL Photo Credit:Meininger Media
When looking into pop-punk and what makes it one of the most fruitful of genres, there is more to this genre than just attractive breakdowns, great vocals, crafty progressions, and riffs. Pop-punk is a lifestyle, diving into the duality of raw emotions and wearing those emotions openly lyrically, and instrumentally. But while there are so many bands in the genre pot right now, it's those bands that are changing and evolving the way we look at this genre every single day.
Heading a portion of that change is rising pop-punk band UNWELL and their new single, "Tightrope." With an upcoming EP being mastered and produced by Seb Barlow of well-known UK pop-punk band Neck Deep, UNWELL is stepping up their A-game to get themselves noticed rather quickly in the scene.
"Tightrope" creates a perfect balance aesthetically of heavy pop-punk with its massive guitar tones, dynamic drum presence, and spirited vocals that will leave fans of the genre hitting replay after it's finished.
While this band shows signs of staying power with their unique sound appeal, lyrically, "Tightrope" tows a line of engaging self-aware lyricism that truly embodies the pop-punk ethos it effortlessly creates and maintains throughout. While this may be the beginning of their budding success as a band, their relentless energy proves there is a lot more creative edge to give and reinvigorate the scene with. The band is here with Scene Daddy to talk about their latest single, their upcoming EP, and what inspired them to pursue their musical journey in the world of pop-punk.
How did Unwell get started? What was the scene like when you decided to make the band official?
UNWELL started amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in August 2020. We started in the studio writing and recording just a few singles shortly after a Broadway project Matt was working on. Once we were finishing up those singles, we realized that this is starting to grow into something more substantial. The scene was hurting, and we recognized we had the time and resources to create something special that could revive the pop-punk community. So with careful deliberation, we decided to take on this project head-on and haven’t stopped since.
What drew you to pop-punk? What are you guys doing to diversify or further develop that?
We’re heavily influenced in each of our personal lives by pop-punk music. We love the raw feeling of pop-punk and how everything is about “wearing your heart on your sleeve.” There’s a perfect balance of different emotions in pop-punk music. We’re unique in the sense that we have a heavier flair to all our music. Our drums, the backbone of each song, are incredibly heavy and powerful. Layered on top are heavy guitar tones and incredibly smooth vocals that make every single shine in its own, beautiful way.
What are your musical influences? How did it make its way into your new single "Tightrope?"
There are too many people & bands to name as far as influences go, but to name a few - Neck Deep, State Champs, The Story So Far, and Trash Boat have all had major impacts on our music. “Tightrope” specifically is influenced by certain aspects of Neck Deep’s new record “All Distortions Are Intentional.” We drew similar themes from a collection of songs off that record and meshed them all to form a completely new style we call our own.
Can we talk about the new single a bit? How did you approach "Tightrope" lyrically? What was the inspiration behind it?
During the time of writing this single, Matt was going through a loss of a friend. There was someone that was, simply put, fake as hell. They would be absolutely supportive of everything he’s been going through one day, and the next day they would talk s*** and make him feel bad about his decisions/life as a whole. Though it was an incredibly tough decision to let that friend go, it was ultimately the right decision. And of course, as Matt states in the lyrics, “If you think I’d never come back, well you’d be wrong.”
What was the record and writing process like for this?
The writing & recording process was incredibly fun from start to finish. It was just Matt, Drew, and Chris all in Drew’s basement recording the entire EP from start to finish. With Drew at the helm of engineering, It took from August 2020-January 2021 to finish it up completely. After we were finished with writing & recording, we sent our music to Seb Barlow of Neck Deep for mixing & mastering our EP, which he absolutely crushed.
I know you guys are very new, do you guys ever feel pressure to put things out there quickly, or have you learned to tune stuff like out?
It’s definitely a balancing act right now and trying to find that happy medium. We have a TON of content kind of stockpiled up, we’re just testing the waters right now to see what’s sticking and what’s not. So no, we don’t feel the pressure quite yet. We’ll see how that changes down the road.
What do you want people to take from this release from people that are just hearing you for the first time?
Our top priority with this music is to help people get through whatever troubles they may have. Each song on this EP deals with a different issue/problem that we’ve been experiencing in our lives. We want our fans to be able to relate to these messages and themes so that our music becomes therapy to them.
What has "Tightrope" meant to each of you personally?
“Tightrope” really is a sign of hope for us. It was the first song we wrote together, and that was a huge moment of hope and new beginnings for us. The message of “Tightrope” overall is “I’m letting you go, but I still care for you and love you.” And that’s kind of a metaphor for all of our lives pre-pandemic and pre-UNWELL. We’re all moving on to a new chapter of our lives right now. We’re letting go of anything that’s shaped us in the past.
What else can we expect from you guys this year?
Lots of cool stuff haha. We have three more singles to release, each with its own music video. Then you’ll get to hear our entire EP, hopefully later this summer. Our next single, “Friends Change" feat. Oliver Baxxter” drops May 1st!