The A.V. Club are prepping lots of exciting and fun things to come in 2021. You’ll want to be along for the ride.

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH THE A.V. CLUB

Hey there, how are you?

We’re very good thank you! We’re currently on a bit of a high after releasing our latest single ‘Better Days’, which came out on 4th June. We then took a little trip away as a band for the weekend to celebrate the release, so we’ve had quite the week!

How are things feeling now that we’re here in June?

In one word, ‘optimistic’.

It’s been such a rough road for everyone involved in the music and creative industries over the last 18 months and, now things are starting to look up, we’re feeling good about what’s around the corner. We feel as though we’re also in a new stage of the band, so we’re really excited for what lies ahead in the near future.

Absolutely, that’s great to hear! Let’s take it right back to the beginning — how did you all meet and form the band?

The band formed back in 2019. Our lead singer, Joe, linked up with our drummer, Oli [me], through mutual friends and then our bassist, Dan, joined. I knew him from high school, college and being in another band together in the past. More recently, Freya has come in as our keys player and vocalist. 

Which artists have inspired you the most?

As a band, we share a lot of interest in the same music. I think I’m speaking for the majority when I say these are our main inspirations, although the others may have a few specific ones of their own, too:

Valley
Wallows
Twenty One Pilots
M83
Clairo
Sea Girls

If you could play any three venues, what would they be?

For me, it’d certainly be the O2 Ritz, Manchester. I’ve always wanted to play a big gig somewhere abroad, too. The venue itself wouldn’t matter too much, but it would just be great to be able to combine travelling and playing music (sorry if that slightly dodges the question haha).

No, no, that makes sense.

And then maybe something crazy like Wembley or just some form of arena like the MEN!

Tell us all about your latest single, ‘Better Days’.

The song actually started as a demo written by me. It was based around the 8-bit style synth intro and the lead bass riff. This was then taken to the rest of the band to be worked on in the studio, with the lyrics written by Joe.

We wanted something hard-hitting and upbeat all at once and, from that demo, we took the song into the studio as a full band and went from there. The main inspiration instrumentally came from some of our influences, such as Wallows, with strong guitar parts and catchy bass riffs. The vocal inspiration came from us wanting to write something positive and uplifting with that perfect blend of nostalgia. We’ve leaned towards the coming-of-age, things-will-get-better vibe.

The key theme is the main lyric of the song really: ‘better days are coming’. This really was the main message that we wanted to get across. We feel as though it’s something that everyone can relate to in their own way, plus also speaks volumes for the last year onwards. We can now look forward to the better days that are ahead.

Can you hint at any other upcoming releases or even gigs and/or festivals?

We’re lucky enough to have our own studio, so releases now will be a lot more regular. We have a couple of singles after ‘Better Days’ that are almost ready, too, even though I can’t share anymore information than that yet. It’s just the start of this new era for The A.V. Club and we’re really, really excited to be able to share it with everybody very soon!

We have quite a few gigs planned from July and we’re buzzing to get playing live again as this new line-up. The first gig will be in Manchester, supporting our good friends MCRAE at their show at The Castle Hotel.

You can keep up with all the band’s latest music and general shenanigans via Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.