FEATURE: Spotlight: As December Falls

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Sanderson for Kerrang!

As December Falls

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LED by the brilliant Bethany Curtis…

As December Falls are a remarkable trio who have been on the scene a while. That said, there are many who might not know about their incredible music. The trio released the album, Join the Club, in July. Formed in 2014 by Bethany Curtis (Vocals), Ande Hunter (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Timmy Francis (Bass Guitar) and Lukas James (Drums), the band have amassed a loving and loyal fanbase. The trio have just been named by Kerrang! as one of their acts who will redefine Alternative music this year. I shall come to that. First, I want to start with an interview from Bring the Noise from last year. We get some insight into this wonderful and must-hear band:

“For people who don’t know the band, can you sum yourself up in five words? I love the panic which goes across people’s faces whenever I say that.

A: You have to count the words too! That’s the problem.

B: Energetic.

A: Energetic alt-rock with bangers. I’m going with that.

B: No, you can’t do that. Energetic alt-rock with bangers doesn’t count!

A: Is alt-rock one or two words? It’s two words. Alternative rock.

We’ll accept that as your five word answer. This is already a really exciting year for you, you’ve got your new album Join The Club coming out in July. Can you tell us a little bit more about it the recording process and why should we look forward to it?

B: I will take this one. To be honest, this is the album that I feel the most proud of and I’m so excited to get it out because I do love our first two albums but this one feels like we’ve sort of consolidated our sound. It feels more us, it feels kind of like we finally sort of know what we’re doing. But yeah, I am so stoked. It’s got a bit of everything on there. We’ve got our serious tracks a little bit slower mellower, but we’ve also got our pop punk anthems and we’ve also got slightly heavier tracks like Mayday and Carousel which is to be honest, probably the route we’re going to continue down because everyone seems to be absolutely loving those two tracks. But yeah, so I’m super excited to get Join The Club out there for the world to finally hear it.

You’ve kind of mentioned some of the tracks already but do you have a favourite track or one which sums up the release?

A: I feel like this album we’ve really tried a lot of different genres and a lot of different styles. I don’t think there’s one song.

Timmy: I think if you go into it thinking it’s going to be one sound, I don’t want to use the word disappointed but it’s not going to be that. It’s kind of a bit all over the place. We’ve kind of got some modernization of our older stuff and then we’ve got stuff where we’re experimenting a lot more like Carousel and Mayday and all different bits and bobs.

A: I think Carousel is my favourite song though personally.

B: I think Mayday is my favourite.

A: Interesting.

B: I think the reason Mayday is my favourite is because we’ve had a chance to play Mayday live and I love seeing everyone’s reaction. As soon as you play that first riff. You see everyone like YES! and that’s what I want every day of my life.

T: Yeah, I think my Mayday is my favourite.

A: Really? Over Carousel?

T: But the intro to Carousel is my favourite.

B: We’re going to have a full band domestic here.

A: We can’t break up right now.

So essentially, we’re stepping further away from the Home and ballad side of things, into more of the here’s a mosh pit?

B: Yes, absolutely 100%.

A: More riffs, more pits. New band slogan!

Perfect! How have you found it since the release of your album Happier? The fanbase changing? The experience? Obviously, we had that big massive event, which everyone knows about and we don’t talk about too much. But how has that been for you?

B: I’ve found that without that awful event, I don’t think we could have made our second album any better because we got to spend so much extra time on it which we wouldn’t have had if not for it, because we are all-in full-time jobs. We all have to make it work around holiday time and all of that lovely jazz which comes with working in the corporate world. So, I think it actually kind of helped in regards to being able to write the album that we wanted to create at that time. In regards to how I think it’s affected the fanbase. Well, I’ve always been one for believing we’ve grown up with our fans. So, our target audience is basically us and we know that we write songs that we enjoy and it translates hopefully most of the time. I think it’s nice that we’ve had that growth with them. They’ve seen us from when we were drunk teenagers with no money in bars, all the way up to

A: being drunk adults with no money.

B: Yeah, but we had, you know, we’ve matured with them. It’s nice. I like that.

A: And also, like we came out of COVID and we had the brand new album ready. We did a sixteen date tour, and it sold out pretty quickly and I feel a lot of that growth was because we were coming out of that COVID period. No one had been to a show for eighteen months, everyone was absolutely ready to get back to a show and I think that was actually quite good for us really.

T: Yeah, people kind of felt ready to embrace the album then just run with all the shows and music videos and the support was just there out of the gate for it. That was awesome.

A: When did lockdown hit? Was it like March April, time? I can’t even remember! We were on tour the October, like the year after”.

DORK spoke with As December Falls in August about their success. Feeling like now is a moment that they have finally arrived, 2024 is a year where they can look ahead and take that next step. It is only a matter of time before world domination. A band that needs to be on your radar. They are going to be a fixture at many festivals in the summer:

“As December Falls first started making music together in 2014 and have released two sugary pop-punk albums alongside a handful of EPs and singles in the years since. They’ve remained definitely independent throughout. New album ‘Join The Club’ sees them, if not out to take on the world, then at the very least ready to crash the Official Album Chart. “It feels like we’ve finally arrived,” says vocalist Bethany Curtis.

“We’ve been laying the foundations, we’ve got the bricks and mortar down, and we’re ready to build it up another level now,” she continues, still recovering from a hectic weekend at Download Festival that saw As December Falls make their Donington debut. The band only live twenty minutes away from the heavy metal festival and grew up watching the likes of Slipknot, Biffy Clyro and Deftones. “It was our first time actually performing at Download, but it felt like a welcome home,” grins Bethany. “As soon as we got out onstage and saw people trying to cram themselves into that 10,000-capacity tent, we realised just how insane things have got.”

After slowly building the world of As December Falls, the past 18 months have seen things rapidly accelerate as the band head towards third album, ‘Join The Club’. “We want everyone to be part of this band,” explains Bethany, with the band setting up a Patreon for fans to have their say on every aspect of ADF’s new album, from videos and merch to what songs should be finished first. “It’s been really collaborative; it feels like they’ve been on the journey with us,” she continues, with long-term fans and newcomers given the same power. “Calling the album ‘Join The Club’ just felt right. We wanted to remind people that all of us have made this record together.”

Allowing so many voices to be involved in the creation process is a recipe for middle of the road, but As December Falls are now so confident in their vision of their band, nothing could derail them. “This album has really finalised our sound. It feels a lot more complete, and we’ve finally nailed everything we’ve been trying to do since this band started,” says Bethany. “In a way, it feels like our debut album. It’s definitely a new energy for the band.”

During the recording of the album, there were a couple of times the band worried they had gone “too My Chemical Romance” but as soon as Bethany’s poppy vocals were added, everything shifted, and the band could plough on. Heavy tracks like ‘Mayday’ and ‘Carousel’ sit next to pop-punk ragers like the title track, while ‘Little By Little’ and ‘Home’ are designed to kick listeners in the feels.

Having the fans essentially be As December Falls’ record label did add to the pressure when it came to creating ‘Join The Club’, though. “We wanted them to be as proud of the record as we are,” says Bethany. “Every time we’d show a demo to fans, we were expecting them to say they hated it. We’re still waiting for the day where they say, ‘this one isn’t good’.”

The community spills out into the physical world as well, with As December Falls gigs “a party that everyone is invited to. It’s a very welcoming environment,” adds Bethany, who knows a lot of people have had rubbish experiences in the alternative music scene. “It’s outrageous that kids are made to feel like outsiders in a genre like rock, which is meant to champion outsiders,” starts Bethany. “But whatever, they can come be whoever they want to be with us.” That camaraderie and freedom is why people first connect to As December Falls. “It’s also why they stick around,” Bethany explains. “It’s this massive community; why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?”.

I want to come now to an interview from Official Charts from the summer, as Join the Club gave the band their biggest chart entry to date. As they explain in the interview, there are no labels bank-rolling the band: it is all the fans ensuring they can continue and thrive. The loyalty and dedication from their fans is simply amazing. I think that As December Falls will have their busiest year this one:

“As December Falls' story is one of drive, determination and perseverance.

The Nottingham-formed alt-rock trio, comprising Bethany Hunter, Ande Hunter and Timmy Francis, are currently heading for their first-ever Top 10 album with Join The Club; their third studio record across a career spanning almost a decade.

Proud of the collection, which the group are confident contains their 'best songs,' it looks set to see the group reach news highs as an independent act truly breaking into mainstream consciousness. Today, we catch up with As December Falls to talk turning down labels, their fans' unwavering support and how their 'tough' journey has always been worth it

Your new album is heading for the Top 10 alongside the likes of Blur, Taylor Swift and Elton John. How does it feel to be in the company of such icons?

Bethany: It's absolutely wild. We're a completely independent band with no label and no management, and the fact that we're battling it out with some of the biggest artists on the biggest labels is just nuts.

A Top 10 album would be an undeniable sign your music's connected with the masses, transcending your close fanbase. How does it feel to know your vulnerabilities are relatable on such a scale?

Bethany: Honestly, as a songwriter the most rewarding feeling is when you pour your darkest secrets and insecurities onto a page to then have the lyrics sung back to you by a sold-out crowd. We always made music to connect with people, everything else on top is just a bonus at this point. The past 12 months have been an incredible experience as a band.

This album feels a little heavier, sonically and thematically, than your past work. Was that a conscious progression?

Timmy: We didn't really go into this record with a set plan. We very intentionally just tried to write the best songs we could without worrying if they all fit into a certain 'genre' or 'box' sonically, and I feel that the result was something completely raw and honest. At no point did we think 'oh, we shouldn't use that riff as it's far too heavy for our normal sound.' We just went with the flow and we've written some of the best songs of our careers.

Which tracks on this record were you most excited for fans to hear - and do you get nervous as to the reaction?

Timmy: We really broadened out our song writing on this album. We have some of the heaviest tracks we've ever written, like Carousel and Mayday, alongside some of the softest songs like Home; so it's a real mixed-bag of a record. We honestly didn't know how our fans would react to the new style but they've really embraced it with open arms!

Your journey as a band hasn't necessarily been by the book. What would your advice be to any musicians wanting to make a name for themselves in a world so occupied with overnight success and near-instant gratification?

Ande: We've always been fiercely-independent, having turned down a number of label and management offers. I think our biggest advice to any artist would be to try your absolute hardest to build your artistry on your own for as long as possible before signing over all your music to someone else. It's a tough journey, but it's definitely worth it”.

Kerrang! have predicted big things for As December Falls this year. If you need some insight into Join the Club, then Bethany Curtis certainly provides some in this interview. I will end with Kerrang! and their review of Join the Club. This is an album that I have fallen in love with. I know so many other people have done too:

“Their band name might be lifted from the heart of winter, but As December Falls make music for when the sun is high in the sky. Plumbing into the same kind of springily indomitable pop-punk as early Paramore and We Are In The In Crowd, with a little more modernity, a pinch of extra alt.rock grit, the Nottingham collective intoxicate with simplicity – as this genre’s finest acts tend to do.

Where 2019’s self-titled debut was a DIY stroke of defiance in the face of an apparently disinterested industry, and 2021’s Happier bore the hallmarks of a band still building confidence, third album Join The Club feels like the crest of a wave: attitude, aptitude and belief that their songs will see thousands of fans rocking along coming together in a perfect storm.

The gouging guitars and Bethany Hunter’s joyously angsty vocals on the opening title-track feel like a literal invitation to those legions of fans-to-be. Honey wraps its-sugar-loaded tendrils around your heart and squeezes. Carousel feels like the first showcase for this record’s heavier side, but the crunchy guitars and thumping drums are most effective for throwing the central, surging energy into relief: more evocative of the thrill of amping-up on the edge of the pit than the violence of diving in.

Brilliantly, the juggernaut momentum, breathless emotion and urgent desire to find new ways to express themselves continues for a further eight tracks. It’s there in the jaunty swagger and claustrophobic panic of Mayday, in the aching melodrama of I Can’t Sleep, in the tingling acoustic of Home and in the percussive heartbeat of Alive.

Three albums in, some may think they’ve already seen what these guys have to offer, but by the time the beauty and dynamism of whirlwind closer Tear It Out drops curtain, it’s clear that this is As December Falls’ arrival. And they could be huge.

Verdict: 4/5”

Do not miss out on this band. Despite being together for a decade now, 2024 is a year when they are going to truly break through. They should be among your names to watch. Such an amazing trio that have this incredible sound in their locker. Amazing live, together with that growing fanbase, and one would not bet against them achieving incredible things this year. There is no doubt that As December Falls are a band that…