If you’ve been in the Aussie pop punk scene for a while, there’s no doubt you’re familiar with the Sydney-based powerhouse Yours Truly. They’re no stranger to some of Australia’s most iconic venues and festivals, and have had a massive year touring with huge international acts. In early 2023, it was announced that two out of the four members had decided to part ways with the group, leaving front woman Mikaila Delgado and guitarist Teddie Winder-Haron to move forward as a duo. Although it was no doubt a challenging time, the two have proven that they’ve still got what it takes, releasing their first track since 2022, “Call My Name”. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Mikaila about navigating change, new music and their upcoming “Call My Name” tour.
2023 was a big year for you guys! You toured with You Me At Six, Against The Current and Neck Deep to name a few, how has the experience of touring with these bands impacted you guys?
“As someone that grew up loving going to shows and loving bands, I would find so many new bands by going to those shows. You know, I’d always get there a little bit early because I want to be super close to the front and I’d always find all these bands that way. And I think that it gives a a portrayal that your band is doing something to be on the stage supporting those bands. I think that it allows people to think, “okay, they’re doing something to be here.” …I think that that is a benefit for bands, to be supporting, because of not only just the way that it looks, but it’s also the fact that you get to open yourself up to so many new people that maybe never heard about you before.”
Now obviously you guys also went through a really big change last year, with a bit of a changeup in your lineup, which I imagine was a really tricky time for you all. How did you go finding your footing, and where do you feel like you’re at now with it?
“It definitely was super weird. It took a lot of getting used to. I still think that as Yours Truly, we’re still trying to figure things out. We’re still trying to figure out what feels right…I feel like when you spend five years with the same people, doing what you love with the people that you’re looking at every single night, and then all of a sudden you’re not looking at them. Yeah. And depending on what terms you have with them as well, it’s like, whether you’re friends or not, you know…I’m hoping that this year, now that we have new music coming out and we’re going into a proper touring cycle, that that’s something that we’re starting fresh…We’ve played shows here and there throughout the past year, but we’re starting fresh and kind of creating new, happier memories with the people that actually want to be here.”
Speaking of new music, Call My Name is your first track since 2022, what was your creative process or writing and recording this song and how did that differ for you since the band has changed?
“Yeah, so once we had that change up, we kind of were in this position where we knew that we wanted to go forward, but it was going to look different. So January of last year, I went on my first ever riding trip to the States. I was there by myself, it was really cool. I went over there by myself because it was during a time when we had come off a lot of touring, we had lost the two guys..it was kind of hard at the time. I think we all felt just kind of like, “I don’t know what the point of this is anymore, it’s going to be harder, we don’t have the support that we had.”
I remember talking to a couple of friends of mine, people in other bands, and some people on our label, and our management. I think that the big thing was finding confidence again. After a couple of conversations, I planned out this trip to LA, and the whole idea of going to LA was regaining confidence. And if I get no songs out of it, that’s absolutely fine. But if I go over there and I get one song, that’s a huge win. And I went over there, I worked with a couple of producers and writers, and my first session was actually with Dan Braunstein, which is when I walked in there and that was the beginning of Call My Name. So the first they said to me, “you’re probably going to get nothing when you go over to LA”, and the first session that I walked into was Call My Name. Um, so yeah, that’s kind the story of that.”
Is there any plans for Call My Name to be part of an album, or is it a standalone track?
“Yeah! Last week, I think we finished recording our next album, so yeah. Like I said, from last January to now, it’s been a long time coming.”
Oh, amazing. And so then that obviously brings me into the tour. You’ve got the Call My Name tour coming up in March. What can we expect from these shows?
“I think we’re gonna try to say goodbye to a lot of the old Yours Truly songs. And like I said before, we’re trying to move on to a different time now, trying to make some new memories. I think there are a lot of songs I think we need to leave behind. So we’re getting ready for the next chapter of this band. I think it’s gonna be a celebration of everything that we’ve done up until now, and Call My Name.”
That’s so great, I’m so happy to hear that you guys are in a place where you can move on in such a healthy way! So, you’ve completed your next album- what else is on the cards for 2024?
“We’ll be at Reading and Leeds in August, which is like- that’s really cool… When we got told that we had an offer for it, we were like, extremely shocked… I think that as the album starts rolling out, things will start making more sense to us. I think that we just wanted to spend some time getting it right. So that’s kind of all for now.”
You can catch Yours Truly on tour from March 1st, grab your tickets HERE.
CALL MY NAME TOUR DATES:
1st March 2024- The Landsdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSW
2nd March 2024- Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley, QLD
9th March 2024- Crown & Anchor Hotel, Adelaide, SA
10th March- Northcote social club, Northcote, VIC
