The unashamed Pop being banded around on the North Highlands’ debut, Wild One, beats with an infectious and upbeat persona. Fronted with the pure, sweetened tones of lead-singer Brenda Malvini, the record is a continual flaunt of Indie-Pop – yet isn’t afraid to tell it like it is (check the track Benefits where, as Brenda puts it, “you work hard your whole life and then it isn’t enough”).
Of course we felt impelled to get some questions to Brenda on how it all started, the debut record and what happens next:
Bowlegs: What was the thinking behind naming the band after your hometown?
Brenda: When I was thinking about what to call ourselves, I was thinking of what we all have in common besides being musicians and best friends. We’re all from other parts of the country and now, after living in New York for six years, we’re still very sweet on what home means to us. I guess most days we feel like orphans in this big city. New York is a makeshift home and the home that we cherish is just a memory. North Highlands is a suburb of Sacramento, California where I grew up next door to my grandfather, a retired Air Force man. After the Air Force base closed in the 90s, the neighbourhood completely transformed. It’s trapped in how it looks the same, but it’s a completely different place, completely wrecked with poverty. The idea of North Highlands (home) is romantic and we’ll never be able to get back there now that we’re older. I think this is a huge influence on what pushes us to write, that we can’t get ever get back home.
Bowlegs: How did the band get together?
Brenda: I had been sitting on some sketches of songs for a year or so, never having time to get a proper band together. Mike and I had jammed a few times over the years but college really took up most of our time. We all met in music school at New York University and nearing graduation a good friend of mine booked me a show and told me to get my shit together. I literally had a month to get a band up and running. I called on the guys and for some reason it all worked out that they were available and wanted to jam on the songs. From the first rehearsal we started feeling things out; there was this vibe in the room from the instant we starting jamming. We really wanted to keep working on this sound that made us all a little drunk and I’m not talking about the insane amount of beer we’d been drinking. We were just so stoked to be out of school and finally have time to make music. We’ve been working on that sound ever since.
Bowlegs: What bands influence our sound?
Brenda: Well when we were making the record, Mike was listening to Twin Shadow and Bad Brains. Jasper was listening to Glasser and Television, Daniel was listening to Shuggie Otis and Teddy Pendergrass, and Andrew was listening to Fleetwood Mac. I was listening to Deerhunter, T-Rex, Beck, Talking Heads, and Dirty Projectors. I don’t know – we all love whatever music we can get our hands on that it’s sometimes hard to tell where the inspiration comes from.
Bowlegs: Tell us what the song Benefits is about, and is it from experience (first or second hand)?
Brenda: It’s a song about growing up I guess. It’s the realization that college is a scam. I don’t need a music degree to work in a café, but ever since I can remember someone was telling me that I needed this piece of paper to prove my worth. So I worked hard, got into a good school, took out a shit ton of loans and put myself through. And now I’m in debt for life. But there’s something insanely comforting in knowing that I’m not the only one and that I’m not a deadbeat – because at this point I have no idea when I’m going to be able to pay it all back. But what I’ve always wanted anyway was to make music, to play in a band, and to be on the road forever. So I guess this recession is granting me permission to do so. And if I didn’t get into all this debt, I would’ve never have met these guys and North Highlands wouldn’t exist. So I guess in a way college was worth something.
Bowlegs: Was recording Wild One an enjoyable experience?
Brenda: Insanely enjoyable. We worked with producer, Kyle ‘Slick’ Johnson who is a complete innovator. We tracked the album at Carriage House, in Connecticut. It has an adorable apartment above the studio, so every morning we’d wake up in our pyjamas, put the coffee on and get to work. We spent every minute together and that’s really how I like to work on a group project. But then, the rest of the album was finished in the opposite fashion – each band-mate went separately to overdub at Kyle’s studio, Fancy Time, in Philadelphia. We’d send each other fresh demos, which made finishing the songs sort of a game. This was an extremely exciting process for me because it was so out of my comfort zone – it really changed the way I thought about a lot of the songs, and inspired me to rewrite a lot of lyrics and finish the album.
Bowlegs: What track are you most happy with on the record?
Brenda: I think it changes daily and I’m sure each of us has a favourite. But for me I think it’s Roundhouse. We call our most challenging songs, ‘bears’. I think Roundhouse expresses what kind of sound we ultimately wanted to achieve on this record. When the song was finished and we were listening to it all together in the same room – it was like we had finally defeated the Bear!
Bowlegs: Do you really call your tour bus Dad?
Brenda: Yes, he’s a total Dad! He’s a 1990 Chevy conversion van, he’s rusty and he moves like a ship!
Bowlegs: Has Mike really got a tattoo of Dad?
Brenda: He sure as hell does!
Bowlegs: What has touring the record been like?
Brenda: Well, so far we’ve only been able to make a few out of town dates to North Carolina and Philadelphia. We can’t wait to be on the road for longer term and hopefully make it out your way. Travelling is our favourite thing next to beer, sandwiches, and writing songs.
Bowlegs: Taking time out at Christmas?
Brenda: Yes! We’re all retreating to our families. Jasper’s family lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and every Christmas he takes about a month off to spend some major quality time with them. We’re all very jealous of Jasper.
Bowlegs: What has been your favourite record of 2011?
Brenda: For me it’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra (self-titled), which was introduced to me by Mike!
Stream the whole album here:
