Ahead of their Warped Tour shows next month, and as a massive storm ravaged Europe, the AU review caught up with Iain Mahanty, guitarist for Kids in Glass Houses to see what the band has been up to since their last trip to our shores a year ago.
Hi Iain, how are you? How are you guys holding up with the storm?
Hi!, Yeah, we’re alright actually. We’re in Wales at the moment and it’s not that bad yet. It’s really bad in the south of Wales but we’re alright at the moment.
Well that’s good, have you managed to catch up on some rest whilst you have been at home?
Well not so much on rest but at least I have caught up on my washing! We are actually leaving for a tour in Europe tomorrow, well tonight really. So we’ve been home for a bit to catch up on things.
Are you looking forward to heading around Europe again? Does it ever hit you when you have people singing your songs back perfectly when English isn’t their first language?
Yeah, it is a bit strange. Its even stranger when we go to places like Japan, which are a lot further away from home and they sing your songs back to you. I mean it’s really flattering. You can’t really knock the fact that you are that far away from home and so many people are into it you know? It’s cool.
Your fourth studio album, Peace came out late September and has received positive reviews so far – are you enjoying being able to play the new material on tour?
It’s been really good so far, the response has been amazing and people seem to be really into it.
We’ve been playing about four or five songs off the album, so pretty much half it throughout the headline run we just played in the UK. The tour started just before the album came out so we were a bit worried about whether people would know the songs or even like them but thankfully they have.
For anyone who hasn’t had a chance to listen to the new album yet, what tracks would you recommend they start off with?
Well, we’ve release two singles so far, ‘Drive’ and ‘Peace’ and they would be a pretty good starting point as they really sum up the album quite well.
Drive was the first song we finished properly for the record and it sets the tone for where we wanted the record to go. With this album we started writing pop songs again and had a bit more fun making it, but you know, still keeping the new wave vibe we picked up on In Gold Blood.
Front man Aled Phillips has also been quoted as saying ’we didn’t just want to do it [the new album, Peace] as a bland pop-punk band, we wanted to push ourselves and do something musically new’, what do you think Kids in Glass Houses bring to the pop rock scene that is fresh and new?
I think Aled sense of melody is a lot more unique than many writers, and lyrically he’s a lot stronger than most of people out there at the minute.
We have always been a band that’s based our songs around Aled’s hooks. The hooks are the key to our songs first. Pop music has always had a very big influence on us as a band and song writing, and with pop the hook always come first.
His ability to sing more than two notes and make it catchy, where as many bands stick to somewhat monotonous vocals is something else that I think sets us apart.
Your acoustic versions of your songs are frequently a big hit with your fans, does this album sample more acoustic covers?
We’ve got some acoustic versions of our songs knocking about and people seem to be enjoying those. We did a downbeat version of the album that has the whole album either acoustic and vocal, or piano and vocal, or a couple have a sort of electronic feel to them. We thought we’d have a bit of fun with this one – I mean we always do acoustic versions of songs – it was fun to put a little twist on them this time.
You were last here touring in early 2012, and by the sounds of it you enjoyed yourself, are you looking forward to coming back? Do you have any particular highlights?
We’re really looking forward to coming back. Last time we came over was for the Soundwave tour and that was a ridiculous amount of fun, I mean we are still talking about it now. We’re looking forward to playing and enjoying the sun and the beaches. Everything really!
The return of Warped Tour to Australia brings bands like Reel Big Fish, Millencolin and pop/rock/punk heavy weights New Found Glory back to Australia, are there any acts in particular you are looking forward to checking out?
Well we’ve actually toured with New Found Glory a couple of times around the UK so it’ll be good to hang out with those guys and play shows with them again. It’s always nice to hang out with your friends in another country!
Personally, I’m a massive Hatebread fan so I am looking forward to watching them every day.
When we did Soundwave we were fortunate enough to go and see Steel Panther and Lost Prophets so hopefully we will be get a good set time to go around and check out all the other bands again this time.
Who in the band has the worst habits on tour?
Ah I can’t really say because it’s probably me! I mean we all have our little flaws but because we have been touring together for so long [Aled and Iain themselves have known each other since school with the rest of the band either living nearby or also meeting through teenage bands] we recognise when we’re doing it so we can reign it in or give each other some space or what not.
We’re quite well adjusted to being in a constrained place together – although we do always ask to sit apart from each other on the plane on long flight! But then again we are really lucky to be able to do what we love so even that isn’t really too hard to deal with!
Finally Iain, do you have any advice for young bands starting out?
Definitely practice heaps and have fun. And make sure you’re good but make sure you don’t take yourself too seriously! Have fun and play shows with your mates because it really is the best thing in the world.
Well thank you for taking the time to talk to us today Iain. Make sure you remember to bring your sunscreen with you!
Ha ha thank you, yeah we all got really burnt last time so we have already bought buckets of sunscreen to bring with us!.
Kids In Glass Houses are playing across the country with the Vans Warped Tour from November to December this year. For more information and tickets head to www.vanswarpedtour australia.com.
