Heart & Lung
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2020? (In order 1-5)
- Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
- The Lawrence Arms - Skeleton Coast
- Haim - Women in Music III Pt. 3
- Sam Russo - Back to the Party
- Strike Anywhere - Nightmares of the West
2. What band did you discover in 2020 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
Lizzie No is an absolute angel. Her two records -- Hard Won and Vanity -- are the kind of ethereal folk that can get you through a global pandemic. Having one too many whiskies and watching her play harp should be the new national pastime.
3. How will you remember 2020? (In terms of music)
2020 took everything it could from us as a band. It was the IRS, and we were living unaudited like Wesley Snipes. We were joining The Lawrence Arms on the East Coast for some amazing shows, we were recording a new full-length, writing a ton of material, and John and Miles’ softball team actually won a couple games. Then the audit hit. We were truly lucky that none of us lost our jobs during quarantine, but we couldn’t be in the same room with each other. Or play softball. It was torture. 2020 stripped everything back down to our Hobbit-like friendship. The first time we got together to write and rehearse, we barely played; we just talked and drank and joked. 2020 was all about taking care of your loved ones. Luckily for us, that included our bandmates.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2021?
We got a new full-length coming out on Red Scare! We spent a couple weekends in Chicago eating tofu wings and recording with a beautiful genius named Ben Ryan. We got the stamp of approval from Toby and BK, and we’re gonna delicately drop it next year, because it is a precious piece of sea glass. If our human sacrifices were performed right, we’ll be able to safely play a show in 2021.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2021?
We just have our fingers crossed for a John Philip Sousa revival.
6. Trying to put a positive spin on things, what is your favorite development from the global pandemic this year? (Is there a new medium you enjoy, a specific song or collaboration, personal news, etc. that was a bright spot?)
We’re just fabulously relieved that Trump lost. We cannot overstate the depths of our hostility toward that fuckface.
