Coming off of a massive 2019, which included the release of their debut full-length album, tour dates alongside The Faim overseas and Angels & Airwaves stateside, a run of headlining shows and more, alternative band, Charming Liars are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Following near non-stop tour dates, the band (comprised of vocalist Kiliyan Maguire, guitarist Karnig Manoukian and bassist Mike Kruger) have been staying busy by consistently releasing new singles this year. 2020 kicked off with the release of their first single of the new decade, “Golden State“, followed closely by “Blame“, “Favorite Show” and most recently, “Flames“.
With plans to release a new song every month, this certainly won’t be the last time you hear from Charming Liars this year. Get to know a little bit more about the band and listen to their latest single, “Flames” now below.
The Prelude Press: You guys had a huge year last year with the release of your debut full-length, Thought, Flesh and Bone, a run of headlining shows and tour dates alongside The Faim and Angels & Airwaves. What was the highlight of 2019 for you?
Charming Liars: Every show in 2019 had something special about it, however I’d have to say my most memorable was playing in Anaheim CA with Angels & Airwaves. I grew up about 30 minutes from Anaheim so that’s the closest I’ve ever come to playing a “hometown” show!
Now that it has been out for a while and you’ve had some time to reflect on it, what are some of your favorite things about Thought, Flesh and Bone?
I think my favorite part about listening back to that record is just all the little musical details. I mean Thought, Flesh and Bone was our first “full length” record so we spent a lot of time making sure we left no musical stone unturned. When I listen now It’s kind of like stepping back in time because each song holds a memory of where and who we were when we recorded it.
Did you have any goals in mind when you first started working on the album?
Honestly when we first started writing for that record cycle I don’t think we were even aware we were writing a full length record. We started with the song “Alive” and the ideas just never stopped coming. After about the 7th song we realized the momentum wasn’t stopping so around then we said “why make an E.P. lets just make a record”
How do you feel you grew as musicians with the writing and recording of the album?
I think we learned that sometimes less is more. With the first record we came up with so many ideas for each song and eventually in the end we had to scale the songs back to their core. The same can be said about lyrics. I spent so much time making them my idea of “perfect” and in the end I still hear a few lines I’d like to change. I think that’s pretty common though. Just means I’m not the same person I was a year ago.
You guys haven’t slowed down one bit and have been hard at work releasing new music this year, too. Was there anything in particular you wanted to accomplish with your music or chase with your sound, moving forward after Thought, Flesh and Bone?
There’s definitely some similarities between our new music and the stuff off Thought, Flesh and Bone however we didn’t really make a conscious decision on what those similarities would be. We kind of just started writing and let the cards fall where they may. That’s usually how we create, not too many expectations on sound or taste, the goal is to just create something that feels and sounds good to who we are that day.
You’ve released four new singles this year, most recently, “Flames” – can you tell us a little bit about the track?
“Flames” was initially written on the acoustic guitar and sounded very much like a singer-songwriter tune. From there we created about 3 different versions and finally zeroed in on what you hear today. Surprisingly the lyrics didn’t change very much from their first draft, sometimes it works out that way and headaches are avoided.
What would you like for listeners to take away from your new material?
From some of our material just an escape into a warm soundscape. For the other songs a deeper connection with who we are as a band.
Can fans expect to hear any more new music from you soon?
Absolutely! We plan on releasing a new song each month.
For obvious reasons, I know it can be a little hard to say definitively if you have any other big plans for the rest of the year, but what are you looking forward to once the music industry finally starts to return to normal?
We definitely had a lot of touring plans for 2020 and we’re very much looking forward to actualizing those plans as soon as we can. Last year we spent about 6 months on the road so this year has been quite a shift! But as soon as shows can be delivered responsibly and safely, we’re there!
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