Guillermo CastroThere’s darkness and death embedded into their name. Implicit in those two simple words—Dead Neighbors—are violence, mystery, and, to no small degree, pain. Depending on your outlook, there’s can be caustic humor too—not to mention some semblance of relief. After all, it isn’t you that has been whisked away from this mortal coil; it’s the deceased next door. Still, no matter which way you look at it, you have to admit there’s something grim going on with that moniker.
That darkness, though, has never truly extended itself into the band’s music. Sure, there’s been sadness, chaos, and some measure of aggression now and then. But Dead Neighbors’ songs—from the slacker rock highs of their self-titled debut, to the visceral tumult of 2018’s “Less”—have been more often characterized by elation and frenetic energy than anything resembling depression or gloom.
On the trio’s new album, however, devastation and loss become a central theme as the band has spent the past two years mired in a period of transition and turmoil. In addition to the members severing their long ties to Athens and moving to Atlanta, singer and guitarist Sebastian Marquez was faced with the trauma of losing his cousin, who was killed in a plane crash, leaving behind a wife and child in Mexico. To make matters worse, in late 2018, Marquez was hospitalized, the result of an unintended reaction to prescription medication that left him suffering from panic attacks and intense stomach pain.
There’s more, of course. There was the feeling of helplessness when a tree branch collapsed on Marquez’s car (not once, but twice). There was the anxiety of living in a new city, as well as the feelings of isolation and dread that come when you leave behind friends and family. All of that pain and raw emotion is baked into the group’s new album, and the resulting eight-song document, succinctly titled Without, is an oftentimes dark, moody, and conflicted work.
But it’s also an expansive, rhythmically potent record full of sharp angles and obtuse turns. Recorded with Graham Tavel and produced by Terence Chiyezan, aka Murk Daddy Flex, Without is the first recording to feature drummer Hale Johnson, who teams with bassist Owen Hunt to create an elastic, powerhouse rhythm section. With the duo serving as the group’s sinuous backbone, Dead Neighbors spend most of Without’s running time exploring every nook and cranny of the indie rock cosmos. From deeply textured alt-rock; to jittery garage punk; to mathy, mile-a-minute interludes, the bandleave no stone (or riff) unturned, and the end result is the trio’s most collaborative, compelling, and cohesive work to date.
Ahead of the band’s release show tomorrow at the Bakery, I reached out to see if they’d be willing to discuss their new record. Though they were in the midst of a tour, the group graciously agreed to answer some questions via email. You can read our conversation below.
Would you mind sharing the backdrop against which this record was written? I understand you’ve all faced some dark and difficult times recently.
Well, we’ve all had a doozy of a time since we started writing this album. Sebastian was confronted with the tragedy of losing a cousin in an airplane crash and had to be hospitalized due to stomach pain, too. We all moved to Atlanta over the last year, quit and got new jobs, and transitioned out of our Athens lifestyles. Hale in particular had to deal with a lot of social isolation after his move. Uprooting oneself is such an ordeal.
What prompted your move to Atlanta?
Better jobs, feeling stagnant in Athens. Owen moved first, then Sebastian a few months later. Hale got tired of the commute from Athens to Atlanta anyway, so he moved a year later after finishing school.
Culturally, what has been the biggest difference between Atlanta and Athens?
Well, Atlanta is a lot bigger. There are so many more opportunities, so many different faces, different jobs, and more to do in general. It sounds real cheesy but we also felt like we needed more room to grow.
Would you say this is the record you sought to make coming off “Less” or did those experiences push you down a different path?
From the get go we wanted to progress musically beyond what we did with “Less”. Hale really added a lot of new spice to the band and we were able to explore new directions in music that weren’t previously thought of. Because he respected Howard [Stewart] (our old drummer), a lot he really wanted to do right by him and he went HAM while we were writing these new songs. It was all much more collaborative as far as songwriting goes as well. So yes yes yes, 100 times yes, this is the album we truly wanted to make together. Even though we didn’t truly expect that it would sound like it does, we feel really damn happy.
One of the things I admire about this record is how disparate all the songs sound, and yet it’s very cohesive. It seems to have an emotional core that all the tracks draw from. How much material did you write for this record? Were all the songs written over a similar period of time?
These songs took a surprisingly long time. “Fake” was started while Howard (our old drummer) was still in the band back in 2017. The ideas for “Viewport” and “Nü Ew” first materialized in Athens. We didn’t write any more than these eight songs. If we didn’t feel good about something, we’d scrap it and move on.
In your press release, you mention Jackson Pollack and Drug Church as inspirations for this record. Can you elaborate on that?
Drug Church had more of an influence on our recording process more so than the music. The main dude talked about how they’d balance making a commercially appealing record versus that weird shit, haha. With Pollock, his painting was influenced by his body movement. He uses this phrase “automatic drawing” to explain that by eliminating the conscious aspect in manipulating your media, you can incidentally arrive at something rapturous.
The less pretentious version is that if we felt like a riff was catchy we’d stick with it. If it “quickened the heart” (to quote the film Sans Soleil), even if it was weird, we’d stick with it. Why deny yourself inspiration, right?
“Nü Ew” is the first song you made available for streaming from the record. Why did you decide to go with that one?
It’s a major departure from our older sound. It serves as an updated mission statement: we’re not the same band anymore.
What influence did producer Terence Chiyezan have on the making of this record?
We recorded the initial tracks with Graham Tavel, which was a wonderful experience, and we had Terence, our studio magician, mix, master, and produce Without. Working with Terence was more about adding in little details and having fresh ears listening in so that we could make the album sound as refined possible.
What do you want people to take away from this record—about yourselves individually and collectively as a band?
If our music elicits even the tiniest amount of emotion, then we’ve done our job. MC5 said it best: “We want to make you feel something or leave the room.”
Without is out Sept. 15 via Fall Break Records. Pre-orders are available here.
Dead Neighbors will celebrate the release of Without on Sun., Sept. 15 at the Bakery alongside Media Jeweler, Post Hunk, and USGS. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5. All ages.
More Info
Bandcamp: deadneighbors.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @DeadNeighbors
Instagram: @dead_neighbors
Twitter: @deadneighbors23