On their song selection approach, they said, “We wanted to continue doing something that we’ve only recently realized is a unique little trick we’ve had up our sleeves, and that’s to sing together with one sound and one voice. Through the years, from album to album, we’ve changed just about everything that has to do with creating a sound, production, recording, personnel, instrumentation, but still, we listen back and we hear something consistent throughout all the work.”
They continued, “The years we spent singing together in high school and college and then street performing for years in Boston resulted in some kind of vocal fusion that suddenly feels very important to us, more important than ever actually. While everything in the world keeps on going all haywire we’re pretty pumped to offer up some unison and some harmony. So while we were writing for Pretty Colors, we gravitated towards songs that would showcase that sound and that voice.”
For the time being, their favorite tune on the album is “Midnight Oil.” “That’s the song where the album title comes from. I think there is a certain sadness and desperation behind the lyrics and album title ‘I’ve got pretty colors for your actions.’ It gives the whole album a beating heart. We are offering people colors for their actions. It’s both a gift and a quid pro quo,” they said.
On their future plans, they said, “With any luck, we’ll never stop creating music and sharing it with fans. That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do, we treasure each part of the process for different reasons. Writing and recording are the solitary acts of creating and committing, they’re the parts that make us artists. Then touring is where we discover or rediscover our worth or our value or whatever when we hang each night with the people who’ve been moved by the music. It’s humbling and so gratifying to see.”
They listed Frank Ocean as their dream collaboration choice in music, whom they described as “brilliant.”
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, they said, “Our entire music career has been in the Internet age, so we don’t have the best perspective on shifts like that. On tour, we think about how hard it must’ve been before Google maps. Like binders and binders full of printed directions, and shit that must have sucked. On the other hand, I don’t think much has changed when it comes to making songs, and moving people with a live performance. Those things are eternal. So email, Facebook and Myspace and music streaming technology be damned, let’s not forget that’s what the music business is all about: the music.”
Regarding their use of technology in their daily routine as musicians, they said, “Digital recording replaced analog recording, some people think analog recording sounds way better. We believe the big reason why it sounds so much better is that you had to get really good at performing the music before you started tracking it, whereas the infinite editability of digital means you don’t have to really know a part before you start putting it down. That means you just don’t play it as well and you lose that soul and integrity of a person doing something wonderful.”
They continued, “In the digital age, you can totally still capture that human essence. Google maps help us get around. Now, we assume a computer will let us know when our exit is coming. Technology has changed our lives a lot, in a ton of ways.”
For their fans, they concluded, “As an album, beginning to end, Pretty Colors For Your Actions, offers up a cool journey, and when you finish, I think you’ll get to know us better than you did before.”
Their album is available for pre-order on iTunes.
