Dearly Departed Release “Heartless”
Your latest album, “Heartless,” just dropped on October 14th. Congrats! How’s it feel to have new music out?
So great! We had originally had most of the EP finished mid 2020, but the pandemic made it impossible to play shows; which in turn made it impossible to afford finishing the record. Morale was definitely at an all time low during the pandemic so it’s been wonderful to be able to pick up where we left off — with our original lineup in tact!
Can you walk us a little bit through the writing process? How was it different from past releases or other projects you may have worked on?
This time around was much much easier than writing our first record just due to experience and learning to record ourselves well. You only get so much time in the studio so being able to look at these songs under a microscope before going to track them “for real” is a huge plus. It allows you to make sure every single part happens for a reason; to make sure the song is as tight as possible. “Extinction” was written at rehearsals and then taken into the studio. So if anything was off we couldn’t really tell as easily cause it’s a rush to get everything tracked in the minimal time you have.
Were there any speed bumps or mishaps during the recording process?
OH YEAH. We were half way through recording when Covid-19 did away with the entire music industry. We essentially ran out of money to even get merch let alone record. We just had to put the band on hold until we could play live again.
Was there a favorite song to record? Why?
The title track “Heartless” 1000%. This one actually took a long time to put together, as we all wrote our parts independently; but hearing the pieces fit together was awesome because it’s been a song I’ve wanted to write for a long time. Something that’s emotional enough to have clean/pretty guitars AND a crushing drop G breakdown. It’s got piano, strings, everything; and it all just works! Tons of fun.
Who are some of the influences you drew from while putting the album together? Are there any specific songs you can talk about specifically where these influences came into play?
I had to listen to a few tracks here and there to come up with some inspiration (Polaris, Architects, Beartooth, Breaking Benjamin, etc.) when I got stuck but it was mostly feel and emotion. I know our vocalist Jesse gets a lot of inspiration from Coheed and Cambria which I feel can definitely be heard at times. It was an emotional few years so there was plenty to draw from in our lives. Big sad brings out some good music that’s for sure. Songs are fun because it feels like putting a puzzle together. Trying to figure out what makes parts more fluid instead of just cramming riffs together is the best part.
How was working with Jeremy Schaffer and Joshua Barber?
I could talk for hours on this topic! I’ll start with Josh. After wrapping up Extinction, we were still unsure of our identity and how we wanted to move forward, so we decided to work with a producer, (someone who can act as a coach throughout the songwriting process to help us discover what we’re good at and get rid of what we’re not). This was one of the best decisions we could have made because the entire experience was purely educational. After two weeks of writing, we left the studio as much better songwriters and musicians. Of course, Covid happened so we couldn’t afford to go back and finish the album until spring of 2022. In hopes of learning more, we decided to work with Jeremy on the remainder of the songs. We were much more prepared and had written these remaining songs almost entirely on our own prior to going in, so it was really satisfying getting little to no songwriting pointers this time around; it really felt like we found our identity. A formula in which might not be reinventing the wheel, but it’s us and it’s so fast easy and fun to write songs now. After the knowledge and experience learned from HEARTLESS, we can write and record it all ourselves no problem, and then zip down to Jeremy’s and get it tracked in the studio professionally. We’ve got a pretty good rhythm now!
How has their input helped shape the album into what it has become?
Thanks to the two of them, we know exactly how a professionally written song should be pieced together; making the process easy, fast, and fun. It feels like we really know what we’re doing now! Hopefully it sounds that way! Hahaha
Any live shows the readers and fans can catch you at?
We just wrapped up our run for Fall 2022 so make sure you’ve got us followed cause we’re about to start announcing dates for spring!
What’s your favorite local venue to play?
Our favorite venue to play locally would have to be TAK MUSIC VENUE and AMSTERDAM HALL. They’ve both been incredibly supportive at helping us put together shows that would do exceptionally well and it’s always a pleasant experience. Plus we can put together events that are all ages at both venues. Whereas anywhere else in Fargo makes it very difficult to do so.
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