An Interview with The Timely Tragedy

A new single release from The Timely Tragedy comes through with a vibrant and almost youthfully anthemic undertone that blends pop-rock with a bit of 90s radio rock inspiration and hits with a grunge tonality when things get more intense.

"The Afterglow" is a track that feels alive and breathing in its own right. The song has layers of guitars, and the tones of those guitars actually change throughout the course of the song itself.

During the verses, things are a little more mellow, although still rocking out, but the focus is more on the lyrics and the melodies that the vocals give off, which are very addictive and are a huge part of why the song has this sort of natural and forward-moving flow.

One of the attributes that really grabs you about this track is the lyrics. This is where that youthful and almost anthemic vibe actually comes from.

There's an essence of the want for change and having the guts to make a move of sorts.

It's a song that feels like it's about being brave enough to make the change that you want, even though you may not know if it's the right thing to do at the time.

Of course, this is just one man's perspective, but I do feel like the sentiment is pretty strong here.

Whoever listens to this track may take it a little differently, of course, but that sort of youthful cry out is a huge part of the aesthetic in this track.

Throughout the song, the guitars are layered and thick. The song is rich with sonic drive and tonality, which helps the song build into its heavier sections, which turn into those grunge segments I spoke of earlier.

I love how the tones of those guitars evolve, but also balance with each other. It sounds like two different guitars are going on, and the way they bounce off of each other throughout the verses is outstanding.

The drumming on this track is pretty much everything. It brings the drive and intensity of the explosive sections and the build-ups to life.

The drumming is what gives the song that particular energy.

To an extent, it almost feels like these guys recorded the track live on the floor, and everyone involved was actually feeding off of each other's energies the entire time.

Of course, I wasn't there, so I don't know how they did it, but it feels like that. This fluctuation of energies gives the song the air of a live performance.

Even if I'm wrong about the whole, live on the floor thing, listening to this track certainly makes you want to see them perform it live in your face simply because, if they can capture this kind of aesthetic and energy on record, then seeing it live must be awesome.

It's very rare that you hear a track on record and immediately know that seeing them live would be great, but this song is one of those.

The energy is sort of infectious, and that spirited and youthful drive is as well.

The bass guitar adds a perfect thickness to the track, giving it its amazing backbone and really balances the tone with those guitars incredibly well.

The vocals are obviously the key factor as well. The vocals are laying out these super addictive melodies that come through in a texture completely different than the rest of the song.

They feel honest and authentic. Through a lot of the song, the vocals are double-tracked, which lets them come through with that thickness I mentioned earlier and drives those melodies in.

I love a track where even the verse vocal melodies stick with you after the song has ended.

There are a few surprises around the corners here as well, including a cool bridge/breakdown type section, which is where it gets kind of heavier and the progression gets slightly darker, indicating the element of struggle emotionally.

The lyrics follow suit with that, of course, and the whole thing really hits home.

This song had some depth to it, and I mean that both lyrically and musically.

This was super classic to me. I grew up in a time when progressive grunge rock was all the rage, and these guys managed to capture that aesthetic incredibly well on so many different levels that it just feels like a song I missed out on when I was growing up.

You can hear that slew of classic influences throughout this song, and I absolutely adore that.

They did an amazing job of capturing that aesthetic and just doing it right, giving a song that not only holds true to the influences the song boasts, but also has meaning behind it.

With such a well-woven single, we wanted to chat with The Timely Tragedy to find out where this actually came from and what might be coming up next for the band. 

Here's what happened.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about "The Afterglow"! This hit a classic grunge feel with some heavy hitting sonic drive and still felt totally addictive! Where did this track come from?

This is the first song we wrote collaboratively as a band. During one of our rehearsals our guitarist (Chad) started playing the intro guitar part while he was just messing around. Our drummer (Kevin) said "keep playing that!" and we basically wrote all of the instrumentals then and there. Later I (Matthew) wrote the vocals to the song and brought them to the next rehearsal. During all of this we switched bassists and our new bass player (Nat) helped us make some revisions to the song and give it some fine tuning. All of this turned into the track you hear today!

Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches to this song! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

We have a wide variety of influences ranging from 90's alternative, metal, 2000's emo and beyond. This track in particular pays homage to the DIY indie/alternative era we all love so much. Some of our biggest influences are Incubus, Smashing Pumpkins, Brand New, Porcupine Tree, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Deftones and Built To Spill.

Buzz Slayers: When did this all start for you as a band?

The band was formed off of my solo project I started at the beginning of 2022. At that time I was playing all instruments, writing and recording all of the music myself. Shortly after releasing an album worth of music, I found my band mates and we started gigging with the songs and working on new material. 

Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now? Any touring in support of this release?

We are currently in our busy season with playing shows this summer. You can find all of our show dates on www.bandsintown.com. For this track we had two single release shows. One in Seattle at a really cool new venue called Hidden Hall and the other at our local venue/bar Wally's House of Booze. Both shows were a great time and we had a ton of fun.

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?

To make this a true DIY release we recorded and engineered this track ourselves in our rehearsal space. We had our good friend Max Stratmann master the track for us and he did an amazing job!

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you as a band?

We'll be focusing on continuing to gig this summer and play some new venues in cities we haven't played before. Between shows we'll be working on writing, recording and releasing new material with the goal of releasing an EP or album in the near future.

Buzz Slayers: Who's in all your headphones right now?

Matthew (Guitar/Vox) - Panchiko, Radiohead, Tame Impala, Real Estate, Hum, Datura, Faraquet, Pinback

Kevin (Drums/Backing Vox) - Brand New, Thornhill, Sleep Token, Mastodon

Chad (Guitar/Backing Vox) - Metallica, Counting Crows, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Wallflowers, Godsmack, Sarah McLachlan

Nat (Bass) - Portrayal of Guilt, Failure, Carissa's Weird, Swampgrave, Ostraca, Pile

Buzz Slayers: This was a pretty big track! Was it a big undertaking? How long did it take to finish this?

With everyone's expertise in recording and musical backgrounds the track came together pretty seamlessly. We tracked the instruments and vocals in one weekend and spent the next couple days dialing everything in and mixing it down. After that we sent it to our friend to master and had it back in about a week.

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?

'The Afterglow' is the latest release from The Timely Tragedy--a catchy, energetic Alt/Indie rock song built on thought provoking lyrics, heavy bass hooks and layered guitar melodies. Written with a nod to the golden era of 90's DIY Alternative rock the Pacific Northwest is well known for, this track encompasses the bands raw, unfiltered energy and lays the groundwork for future releases. If you're a fan of Incubus, Foo Fighters, Brand New, Stone Temple Pilots, Dinosaur Jr. and bands alike, this is a track you'll want to add to your favorite playlist!

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music?

We would just like to thank all of our listeners, followers and supporters out there. We are grateful that you have helped such a small project turn into something so great and we will continue to put out new material for you all to listen to and enjoy. Thank you for listening to our newest release and please share it, tag us and follow us where you can so you can stay up to date on what we're working on. We hope to see you out at one of our shows and we couldn't do this without you, our fans. Thank you!

SPOTIFY

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE