Hours before their Osheaga set, we met with dark pop band The Neighbourhood’s lead singer Jesse Rutherford and drummer Bryan Sammis to discuss their rising fame, genre blending, MySpace and, well, California neighbourhoods.
Once in a while, maybe once a year, a pop song surfaces seemingly out of nowhere and you know. You know it’s going to catch eyes and raise eyebrows, you know it’s going to ignite pop fans and refresh the genre that too often plays it safe. The Weeknd’s “Wicked Games” was that song; Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” too. This year, it’s The Neighbourhood’s ‘Sweater Weather’.
With its black-and-white beaches and ’69 Mercedes convertible, sleek fonts, sunlit girls and boys dripping with Steve McQueen cool, the video was bound to make the blog rounds. But it’s when the song’s hip hop-flavoured drum beat, longing guitars and chorus that won’t let go hit the speakers that we all sat up to ask, “Wait, who is this?” The five-piece already had an EP lying around the web at the time, but that combination of song and video ignited the kind of star-making moment most bands only get to dream of. Since, the song has hit the top of Billboard’s alternative chart and the band has released a major label LP on top of playing top North American festivals from Coachella to Lollapalooza.
“Playing festivals is pretty cool,” Jesse says of their presence on this year’s circuit. “I just wish we could hang out at the festivals – usually we have to leave right away.” “You think you’re going to be able to catch all these other artists you want to see and it turns out you have no time to,” Bryan adds, fresh off the fourteen-hour drive from Chicago’s Lolla to Montreal. “Today we’re literally leaving right after we’re playing.”
“And it’s cool to get to play with a lot of people, but it’s not your show,” Jesse notes. “We’re a newer band, so most of the time we play early. At Lollapalooza, we were the first band up – the very first. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was incredible. The crowd was amazing—”
“It’s just that we consider ourselves to be more of a rainy or nighttime type of band,” Bryan continues. “So when we’re playing early in the day, certain songs don’t fit the vibe and we have to change up our set accordingly.”
It’s true – despite their California upbringing, it is difficult to imagine the sunlight inspiring their debut record I Love You. One of the most assured and textured pop albums this year, it blends genres into a set of songs both atmospheric and accessible. Jesse’s lyrics pierce through the foggy soundscapes as refreshingly vulnerable and unpretentious ruminations on the fear of not making a mark, failing relationships and the strangeness of growing up.
When I tell them I often have trouble describing their genre-bending, they recommend to settle on “dark pop”. “That’s the easy, my-grandma-asked-me-what-kind-of-music-I-play-and-I-don’t-wanna-go-into-too-much-detail answer,” Bryan says of their sound, which seems to come to them so naturally that even they aren’t too eager to put it into words.
As the “Sweater Weather” videoclip suggests, though, the band’s attention to detail extends well beyond their music and drips into its accompanying visuals. “It’s always been our intention to be the full package,” Bryan says of their slick, calculated aesthetics.
“It’s funny, though,” Jesse nuances. “When we first came out, it was really about the music and the videos, but not at all about what we looked like. That didn’t matter then. But as time went on it hit us, like ‘we’re really doin’ this’, so we went for it.”
Now, the band is notorious for its black-and-white aesthetics that extend from promotional photos to videos, wardrobe (made up of the bold designs of the likes of StampdLA, En Noir, MadeBuyUS and Rhude Designs) and even late-night TV appearances. “The whole black and white thing – people always ask us about it. We knew we wanted to do that from the first song that we wrote. We had a name, we had a whole vision, you know,” Jesse says.
Bryan adds: “It’s the coolest thing when fans will tweet, ‘the only bummer about seeing The Neighbourhood in concert is that it’s not in black and white’.”
When I ask Jesse if it is true that he does all of the band’s graphic design, he gets slightly bashful, muttering a “thank you” while Bryan champions his bandmate’s skill.
“This guy. You shoulda seen this guy’s MySpace page back in the day. It was off the chain.”
“Aw, I fuckin’ killed MySpace.”
“I had the worst. Terrible,” I told them.
“Really? Dude, you shoulda hit me up. I woulda made you a layout.”
California, home to all five band members, comes up more than a few times in their songs. “It has shaped us, but we’re definitely not the typical California posterboys – especially since we’re not beachgoers,” Bryan admits. “But obviously we’re lucky to live there.”
“Yeah, we are. California’s the best shit ever,” Jesse continues. “It’s funny ‘cause any place I go, I’m like, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind being here for two weeks’, but everybody I meet who is visiting California tells me, ‘Oh my god, I wish I could live here’. When I was a kid I always thought that was funny ‘cause when I went to, like, Las Vegas or Seattle, I didn’t feel that way. Now that I’ve traveled more, I get it.”
They toy with their love/hate relationship with Cali beaches on “West Coast”, a song released as part of The Love Collection in support of their summer tour of the same name. The track, with its straight-up hip-hop beat, playful lyrics and jokey chorus lament (“I’m so west coast / It’s a goddamned shame”) shows the boys getting more confident and precise by the day. On “No Grey”, they match the hip-hop drums with bluesy guitars as Jesse reflects upon the band’s newfound success, money and notoriety, while the collection’s final track, “$TING”, is the moodiest and closest to past material – yet already more focused and poignant than much of it.
When I point out this growth, Jesse laughs. “Wait ‘til you hear what’s coming next…”
Hours before their Osheaga set, we met with dark pop band The Neighbourhood’s lead singer Jesse Rutherford and drummer Bryan Sammis to discuss their rising fame, genre blending, MySpace and, well, California neighbourhoods.
Once in a while, maybe once a year, a pop song surfaces seemingly out of nowhere and you know. You know it’s going to catch eyes and raise eyebrows, you know it’s going to ignite pop fans and refresh the genre that too often plays it safe. The Weeknd’s “Wicked Games” was that song; Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” too. This year, it’s The Neighbourhood’s 'Sweater Weather'.
With its black-and-white beaches and ’69 Mercedes convertible, sleek fonts, sunlit girls and boys dripping with Steve McQueen cool, the video was bound to make the blog rounds. But it’s when the song’s hip hop-flavoured drum beat, longing guitars and chorus that won’t let go hit the speakers that we all sat up to ask, “Wait, who is this?” The five-piece already had an EP lying around the web at the time, but that combination of song and video ignited the kind of star-making moment most bands only get to dream of. Since, the song has hit the top of Billboard’s alternative chart and the band has released a major label LP on top of playing top North American festivals from Coachella to Lollapalooza.
“Playing festivals is pretty cool,” Jesse says of their presence on this year’s circuit. “I just wish we could hang out at the festivals – usually we have to leave right away.” “You think you’re going to be able to catch all these other artists you want to see and it turns out you have no time to,” Bryan adds, fresh off the fourteen-hour drive from Chicago’s Lolla to Montreal. “Today we’re literally leaving right after we’re playing.”
“And it’s cool to get to play with a lot of people, but it’s not your show,” Jesse notes. “We’re a newer band, so most of the time we play early. At Lollapalooza, we were the first band up – the very first. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was incredible. The crowd was amazing—”
“It’s just that we consider ourselves to be more of a rainy or nighttime type of band,” Bryan continues. “So when we’re playing early in the day, certain songs don’t fit the vibe and we have to change up our set accordingly.”
It’s true – despite their California upbringing, it is difficult to imagine the sunlight inspiring their debut record I Love You. One of the most assured and textured pop albums this year, it blends genres into a set of songs both atmospheric and accessible. Jesse’s lyrics pierce through the foggy soundscapes as refreshingly vulnerable and unpretentious ruminations on the fear of not making a mark, failing relationships and the strangeness of growing up.
When I tell them I often have trouble describing their genre-bending, they recommend to settle on “dark pop”. “That’s the easy, my-grandma-asked-me-what-kind-of-music-I-play-and-I-don’t-wanna-go-into-too-much-detail answer,” Bryan says of their sound, which seems to come to them so naturally that even they aren’t too eager to put it into words.
As the “Sweater Weather” videoclip suggests, though, the band’s attention to detail extends well beyond their music and drips into its accompanying visuals. “It’s always been our intention to be the full package,” Bryan says of their slick, calculated aesthetics.
“It’s funny, though,” Jesse nuances. “When we first came out, it was really about the music and the videos, but not at all about what we looked like. That didn’t matter then. But as time went on it hit us, like ‘we’re really doin’ this’, so we went for it.”
Now, the band is notorious for its black-and-white aesthetics that extend from promotional photos to videos, wardrobe (made up of the bold designs of the likes of StampdLA, En Noir, MadeBuyUS and Rhude Designs) and even late-night TV appearances. “The whole black and white thing – people always ask us about it. We knew we wanted to do that from the first song that we wrote. We had a name, we had a whole vision, you know,” Jesse says.
Bryan adds: “It’s the coolest thing when fans will tweet, ‘the only bummer about seeing The Neighbourhood in concert is that it’s not in black and white’.”
When I ask Jesse if it is true that he does all of the band’s graphic design, he gets slightly bashful, muttering a “thank you” while Bryan champions his bandmate’s skill.
“This guy. You shoulda seen this guy’s MySpace page back in the day. It was off the chain.”
“Aw, I fuckin’ killed MySpace.”
“I had the worst. Terrible,” I told them.
“Really? Dude, you shoulda hit me up. I woulda made you a layout.”
California, home to all five band members, comes up more than a few times in their songs. “It has shaped us, but we’re definitely not the typical California posterboys - especially since we’re not beachgoers,” Bryan admits. “But obviously we’re lucky to live there.”
“Yeah, we are. California’s the best shit ever,” Jesse continues. “It’s funny ‘cause any place I go, I’m like, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t mind being here for two weeks’, but everybody I meet who is visiting California tells me, ‘Oh my god, I wish I could live here’. When I was a kid I always thought that was funny ‘cause when I went to, like, Las Vegas or Seattle, I didn’t feel that way. Now that I’ve traveled more, I get it.”
They toy with their love/hate relationship with Cali beaches on “West Coast”, a song released as part of The Love Collection in support of their summer tour of the same name. The track, with its straight-up hip-hop beat, playful lyrics and jokey chorus lament (“I’m so west coast / It’s a goddamned shame”) shows the boys getting more confident and precise by the day. On “No Grey”, they match the hip-hop drums with bluesy guitars as Jesse reflects upon the band’s newfound success, money and notoriety, while the collection’s final track, “$TING”, is the moodiest and closest to past material - yet already more focused and poignant than much of it.
When I point out this growth, Jesse laughs. “Wait ‘til you hear what’s coming next…”