Words: Miljan Milekić
Spanish Love Songs are one of a kind band, and we love them for that. Smart, emotional, and well-thought lyrics already earned them a cult following, and it’s easy to understand why. After the significant hype they generated in the underground with their previous album ‘Schmaltz,’ they raised the bar even further, releasing a new masterpiece ‘Brave Faces Everyone.’ We teamed up with the band’s singer and guitarist Dylan Slocum for a quick interview about it.
First of all, congrats on your new album! How happy are you to finally unleash it out on the world?
Dylan: We’re incredibly happy, and honestly we feel a bit lucky that we were able to get it out for everyone before this current crisis.
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical after the first announcements. I wasn’t really sure of how do you guys top a record like ‘Schmaltz,’ in such a short time, and it only took me a few songs to get my mind blown. Did you feel any kind of pressure before the release because of the hype around ‘Schmaltz’?
Dylan: We didn’t feel any pressure from the hype necessarily. We felt more pressure from the fact that the team of people who helps our band run has grown beyond the five of us in the past few years, and we didn’t want to let them down, especially on our first big release together.
So far, you had the chance to play new songs to the crowds in Europe and the US. Do you feel like the crowd is already accepting new songs?
Dylan: Absolutely! We didn’t get to play as many as we would’ve liked, but people were definitely excited about the songs. I just hope we can play live music again soon but safely.
I really like your approach to lyrics. Can you tell me about the writing process, and what happens in your head when you’re writing them?
Dylan: I wish it was some crazy process, but I usually sit down with a line or a title and then think about the story around it, and sort of fumble my way from there.
I know you’re doing this for yourselves, but how does it feel to know there are people around the world who relate to your words?
Dylan: It’s an incredible feeling. Our whole goal as a band is to let people know they’re not alone.
I feel like we’re living in a world where we are force-fed with the idea of positivity and happiness, which often seem so fake and so forced. Do you feel that it’s important to have another voice, the one that says that it’s OK to feel bad, that it’s OK to be sad, and insecure?
Dylan: I don’t even think that “OK” has to be a part of it – our goal is to simply point out that people are struggling constantly. I don’t want to be the one to make the judgment call about whether it’s okay or not. I just want to communicate honestly.
‘Brave Faces Everyone’ is your first record on Pure Noise. How does it work for you so far, and what’s the reason you went with them on the new record?
Dylan: They’ve been an incredible label to work with. We went with them because they were passionate about working with us.
One for the end – you played like a million shows so far, but there is one I’m really curious about, as it’s one of the events I always wanted to go to – MusInk. How was it, and how different is it from regular music festivals?
Dylan: It was a great time. It’s pretty much like any festival – it has its “thing” that it’s about, and if you like that, then it’s a blast. We had fun and got to meet a ton of people that we grew up listening to, so all-in-all it was a great day.
Follow Spanish Love Songs:
Website: spanishlovesongs.com
Facebook: facebook.com/SpanishLoveSongs
Instagram: instagram.com/spanishlovesongs
Twitter: twitter.com/SpanishLuvSongs