‘Apollo’ feels like a big evolution in your sound—what was the spark that set this song in motion, both musically and lyrically? There’s a real sense of sonic contrast in ‘Apollo’—from the folksy intro to the psych-rock jam that closes it out. Was that dynamic journey intentional from the start?

Our lead guitarist Ben (who was the bass player at the time) came up with the instrumental demo for ‘Apollo’ about 2 years ago now. He initially wrote it on an acoustic guitar which influenced the feel of the track but the first few demos we made were super heavy and pretty shoegazey. We sort of sat on it for a couple years and it’s been through many forms. It was great cause we had it in the live set for ages and just kept tweaking it until we were happy with it. I had written a bunch of different melodies for the verses before I came up with the final one but I think what really influenced the folksy sonic elements was Kit (the bass player) who joined a year ago now. His background is in folk-music and he just added a whole new sonic palette to the band which has been so great. 

You’ve spoken about the song coming from a place of romantic turmoil. How do you translate those kinds of personal experiences into something so expansive and cinematic?

I mean it’s cliche but I always write the best lyrics and have the best ideas when I’m going through a rough time, be it a break-up, massive life change, or just general stresses and hardships. I was going through a toxic break-up at the time we wrote ‘Apollo’ so that’s just what I was naturally writing about as a creative catharsis. I like that you’ve described the song as ‘expansive and cinematic’ because that’s what we aim for production wise with our songs, that’s the Memory Motel brand I think. Our drummer Tom comes from a producing background and produced a bunch of our early songs so we really take pride in a well-polished final product.

You’re working toward a debut LP inspired by Raymond Carver—how does ‘Apollo’ hint at the themes or direction of the full record?

Nothing’s 100% set in stone about the central theme of the album, but as the primary lyric writer in the band I take a lot of inspiration from the books I read and relate them to my own life/creative processes. I’ve always been an avid reader and I think it’s so important to draw inspiration from sources that aren’t just your own experiences or just other music. Raymond Carver’s short story ‘What What Talk About When We Talk About Love’ has been one I keep returning to because his style of writing is so simple yet so haunting and no-one really knows what the hell ‘love actually is’. So many of our songs are about figuring this out, whether it be self-love, platonic love, romantic love, love of life, so I just thought that was a cool idea to run with.

You’ve got a big show coming up at the Metro Social on August 20th—what can audiences expect from your live set, especially as your sound keeps evolving?

We sure do, super keen to be supporting Deep Sea Arcade alongside Scatterlight. Audiences can expect a ‘cinematic and expansive experience’! A lotta reverb, a bit of cheekiness but mainly rock and dream-pop-roll. 

Fashion and visual storytelling have become a big part of your shows—tell us about your experience with the “me and all my friends” event, and how visuals complement your music onstage.

I think it’s important to build your own little world as an artist. If you have a clear visual story or theme that accompanies your music it means the audience comes to your shows and has more of a well-rounded experience. I guess the whole idea is to get ‘lost in the music’ so why not get lost in a whole new world for an hour or so. Our very talented friend Taylor designed and made all of our outfits from scratch! I think because she knows us so well and has been to so many of our gigs she really understands who we are as a band and she perfectly created outfits to show off our little dream motel world.