Lyrically and thematically speaking, how is Negative Spaces reflective of the time you were living through when you were making it?
“As with all of my records, there’s a lot of self-development, there’s a lot of reflection, and I think there’s a lot of messages that I have held close to me that have rung true. When I sing them, I’m singing them as a reminder to myself sometimes, and I like that. There’s a lot of broader reaching issues that I have with the state of the world. There’s confessionals, there’s optimism, there’s pessimism, there’s nihilism, there’s frustration…”
The next single from that album, the center’s falling out, sounds a touch like your much-hyped single with Knocked Loose. Was that collaboration a direct inspiration for what you ended up doing on that song?
“I’m sure it had some influence, certainly, but I remember when we were working on that one in the studio, Steve had a riff, and I had this concept, and I knew I wanted to scream that day. It was purely based on the emotion I was going into the studio with – that’s how that song came to be. I like to imagine myself singing it live, and it’s definitely freeing for me, I think because there’s the unknown with heavy music, and that song’s a bit more raw on the record. I can hear myself smiling and frowning and gritting my teeth in that performance that we ended up using for the eventual take. It makes me chuckle a little bit, because I feel like I’m hitting all of my internal markers.”
You previously said that pop still remains an important part of your essence. Why is that important for you to retain?
“I love pop music, but I like doing it on my own terms. I like catchy songs that are saccharine, and I think, to counter the intensity, I have to play with the light as well. It feels more balanced that way.”