ALUMNI “NOBODY’S LISTENING” (TRACK BY TRACK)

Alumni recently released their latest EP, titled “Nobody’s Listening.” In this Track By Track, the band gives an inside look on how the EP came to be.

1. Close Your Eyes
Joe (drums): Close Your Eyes is a song that the band had written before I was even a member of the group. When I started playing with Alumni, I reworked the drum parts to a lot of the songs to suit my playing style more, and it allowed me to put my personality into these songs even though I wasn’t initially involved in the writing process. Close Your Eyes is the song that I had the most fun messing around with. In fact, the bridge of this song evolved a lot during the recording process - what you hear on the record is a completely different part than what was originally written, not just on the drums, but the guitar and bass, as well. I think it's a cool little instrumental section and it's my favorite part of the EP.

2. Paint
Jake (vocals): Paint was actually kinda interesting. Zack (guitarist) originally pitched a different idea for this song about being overwhelmed by all the things happening around you. The world is just really scary, and so much is expected of you that sometimes you’re just staring at a blank wall and hoping you can find an answer within yourself. So we kinda just started to write Paint. I wanted a lot of imagery to be shown through the lyrics.

Matt (bass): Paint was actually a song that was more or less abandoned by the band before Joe and I were brought on board. I remember pestering them to bring it back because of how strongly I felt about the lyrical content. Personally I think they're Jake's strongest lyrics to date. Plus, my mom really likes the song.

3. Monster
Jake: When we wrote Monster, I kind of thought the guitar part Zack pitched to me sounded very dark and dramatic, so I wanted the melody and lyrics to reflect that. For a while we just called the song “Bayside” because we just thought it sounded like a Bayside song (but it’s funny because it really doesn’t). A lot of the lyrics are more about simple concepts of things we’re afraid of - like monsters - but also being afraid of disappointment.


4. Bronze Kneecap
Matt: Bronze Kneecap was the first song written once Joe and I entered the fold. I think it holds the distinction as the most forward thinking song on the record, a sign of what’s to come.

Joe: Bronze Kneecap is a special song to me as a new member of the band because it’s the first song that the four of us wrote together under this current lineup. This song sort of set the precedent for how we come up with ideas when writing as a group. I think you can hear a big difference in the instrumentation on this song versus the band’s old material and it’s a step in a new direction for us.

---

LISTEN TO THE EP HERE: