Bears Have Hearts return with their new album Heavy Lies, exploring love, loss, and resilience. We spoke with the band about their origins, songwriting, and what’s next for them.
1. Can
you tell us about the origins of Bears Have Hearts? How did the band come
together, and what inspired the name?
Sean, Alex and I worked together and we would
send phone recordings back and forth of songs we were writing. Sean had sent a
recording of a song called Mustang Roll, which was absolutely amazing, the riff
the vocals it all just blew me away. I knew I wanted to record and release that
as soon as possible. Alex came on for vocals, which added an element that we
sorely needed. I had met Ash at a restaurant and we were talking about guitars
and amps and what not, and he mentioned he also played bass, we jammed and hit
it off and he joined. Our original drummer wasn’t showing up for things, Ash
had known Matt since school and when he came in to the picture it just clicked.
But I feel like that song was really the catalyst for everything. I feel like
sonically it’s the first true representation of what we wanted to do, melodic,
explosive at times, as well as rhythmic and a little dreamy. - Andy
2. Your new album Heavy Lies explores themes of love, loss, resilience, and
expectations. What personal or collective experiences influenced the
songwriting process?
I think
this is one of the most cathartic pieces of music we’ve ever worked on to be
honest. Some of us have lost parents and people close to us, but at the same
time we’re going through the highest highs of starting our own families and
other things. At times we were also taking an honest look at our own faults and
short comings as humans and how we deal with those. But it’s not just all
seriousness and gloom, at the end of the day were five people that really enjoy
what we do and the over all theme of the album(if there is such a thing we
definitely didn’t set out to write one) is that no matter how heavy the burden
someone shoulders or how heavy the crown weighs on your head, there’s always a
path to tomorrow. - Sean
3. The lead single, “The Duel,” has been described as haunting yet
high-energy. What’s the story behind this track, and why did you choose it as
the first single?
Ash and I
were jamming the opening riff at practice one day, just riffing on this sort of
spaghetti western inspired kind of thing, and the song just took shape from
there. Lyrically it’s more of a cinematic story telling style to fit the
inspiration of that initial riff. I don’t think there was a conscious decision
to focus on promoting this first. We believe in ourselves as song writers to a
certain extent, so I think when it came to which song to promote first it just
happened organically. - Andy
4. You’ve drawn inspiration from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, The
Verve, The Strokes, and Jet. How do these influences shape your sound while
maintaining your unique identity?
Wow, that’s a tough one! Everything is fair game in Bears Have Hearts and all of us are inspired by so many things like jam bands, pop, blues, shoegazing, punk, show tunes, glam rock, metal, black metal, and just rock. We don’t always have the same love for a type of music or particular artist, but each one of us has a passion and deep love for music in general which let’s us take these elements and do something that’s unique to us with them. - Ash
5. What was the recording process like at Full Spectrum Audio with Andy
Liaskos? Any memorable moments in the studio that stand out?
It’s great
having our own home studio and a member of the band that is an engineer. We get
to spend a lot of time working on tracks and dialing in sounds, that we
wouldn’t be able to do in a commercial studio. Experimenting with different mic
configurations or multi tracking certain parts is just a lot of fun. Andy’s fun
to work with as a producer, he’s always there to make sure you’re happy with
the take. - Matt
6. How do you see Heavy Lies as an evolution of your sound compared to your
previous work?
Were there
any risks you took creatively on this record? It’s hard to say that this time
we were really focused on the song writing but, I think that’s a fair
statement. Our last album, which we still love, but there were times when it
felt like we were throwing the kitchen sink at the project. The first two
albums can feel a little disjointed at times in retrospect but, I’d assume
that’s the same for anyone. I think the risk on this was just letting the songs
stand on their own merit, and because of this we’ve created something that’s
cohesive and representative of who we are musically. -Alex
7. Alternative rock thrives on raw emotion. Were there any particular songs
on the album that were difficult to write or record due to their emotional
weight?
There’s
emotional weight with most of the songs, but I don’t think any were
exceptionally difficult to work on. This was an opportunity to say somethings
that we wanted to say. Even if conceptually it was difficult to think of those
things, it felt great to scream it off your chest, if that makes sense. - Sean
8. The album title Heavy Lies suggests carrying burdens. What message do you
hope listeners take away from the record?
I hope that people know they are never truly alone. Things will be great at times and in turn things will be less than great at other times, but no matter what someone feels like there’s always someone who can help shoulder any burden no matter the weight. - Andy
9. You’re planning shows around the tri-state area. What can fans expect from your live performances, and how do you bring the energy of your album to the stage?
We love
playing live, it’s amazing to connect with people via music. We’ve been focused
on Philly for a while but are looking forward this year to getting into places
in New Jersey, New York and beyond. From an expectation standpoint, I think we
try to bring energy to every song we play. So expect a band that is grateful to
see people at the show and working hard not disappoint you. - Ash
10. How do you approach balancing the grittiness of rock with melodic
elements in your music? Is this something that comes naturally or is it
intentional?
This is a
great question! I think it’s a combination of both honestly. When there’s some
sort of juxtaposition between elements in a song it creates something that’s
unique. And we love looking for ways to build on that, like a strong melodic
vocal line with a fuzzed out guitar underneath, or a huge drum beat over a
minimal guitar or piano part. The music is part of the story we’re telling and
finding a way to make that sonically interesting just adds to the song as a
whole. - Matt
11. The music industry is constantly evolving. What are the biggest
challenges you face as an alternative rock band today, and how do you overcome
them?
The music
industry has changed a lot over the years, in some ways those changes are
amazing and in other’s ehh not so much. We live in a world where anyone with a
computer, or hell even a cellphone can make an album. There’s something like
100,000 thousand songs being uploaded to streaming services everyday. That’s
crazy talk! It’s a system where you will absolutely get lost in the shuffle,
that’s just the fact of it. It makes the idea of pursing the stereotypical
“dream” of making it as a band nearly impossible. But, on the other hand you
can easily release your music to millions of people instantly. For us though,
if even a small amount of people listen and connect with what we’re doing
that’s awesome. If a few people hear a song that we’ve released and have it
mean something to them, that’s a dream worth pursuing. - Andy
12. With Heavy Lies dropping on January 10, 2025, what’s next for Bears Have
Hearts? Any surprises or future projects in the works?
We’re
constantly writing, and with that said we’ve already gotten most of the next
album written. We’ll be rehearsing for shows and trying to fit in working out
these new songs as well. I’d say the next album which tentatively is called The
Devil You Know will be released sometime in 2026. So stay tuned!!! -
Alex
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