pulses.

Q1. For our readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you please provide some background on the band: where you’re from, when and how you formed, etc.

Caleb: we come from Northern Virginia, pretty much the suburbs of Washington DC. The most basic form of the band formed in 2015. I was in my senior year of school and wanted to participate in the battle of the bands before graduating. I was going to have two of my old friends from middle school join me for it but they had to bail out like a week or two before the show. I asked Kevin (my brother) and David, a classmate of mine, to replace them so I didn’t have to drop out. We didn’t win but we had a good time doing it, so we decided to keep the band going and start focusing on trying to write some original music. Been playing together ever since. Matt came into the fold a couple years into the band’s life and we’re grateful for that.

Q2. Who are some of your primary influences?

Matt: We pull from a lot of different artists outside of our genre on specific songs but I feel like a lot of our post hardcore base comes from The Fall Of Troy, Silverstein, Thursday, and Underøath among others.

Caleb: The Fall of Troy was one of the first bands that the three of us at the time bonded over, and so many other influences stemmed from that. I like being able to take inspiration from anywhere I can and any music that I just like listening to. Keeps things interesting. Growing up I listened to a lot of pop, r&b, hip hop, soul, etc. so it’s important to me to throw those kind of sounds into the mix as well.

Kevin: For me, lyrically, hip hop plays a huge role in how I approach writing. I love referential lines, puns, and internal rhyme schemes.

Q3. What made you want to pursue making music?

Matt: For me, I grew up with my dad always either playing guitar or watching concert videos around the house so I just got into listening to music early. Then he got me guitar hero and that got me into heavier stuff and gave me my own taste, from there I really wanted to play the real thing and got really into the idea of wanting to write my own music. It’s just the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do.

Caleb: Playing and performing music is always something I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid. I played in the orchestra all throughout school, and that gave me so much experience just playing in a group and giving me the opportunity to perform. Kevin and I were really involved in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band scene back when those were really popular (still stay involved to this day really) and doing that really enhanced the way I take in music. So much music inspires me in so many different ways, and I enjoy the ability to kind of pay it forward in a way by making it too.

Q4. Talk to us about It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This. What was the writing and recording process like? Was there a particular message or sound you were pursuing with this record?

Matt: Coming off of Speak Less, being a heavier project, I think we wanted to get back into our formula of fusing other genres with post hardcore and push it even further than we had on previous records. I think that’s what led to this album being so diverse.

Caleb: This time around I handled all the engineering for the record so I tracked/recorded everything, edited it, and mixed it. I feel like this allowed us to really hone in and focus on taking our time to make things sound exactly how we wanted. There was a sense of freedom in making this record that kind of harkened back to making our first record, bouquet. Just us hanging out in our basement and creating whatever came out of us.

Q5. Are there any songs that stand out to you on the most recent album or otherwise that you are particularly proud of?

Matt: I think Honesty, Honestly is my favorite song we’ve ever written. I’m so proud of how every element of that song works with the others, like everybody did exactly what they needed to, the feature from Sierra really elevates it, and I really love all the production stuff I added.

Caleb: Honestly, I’m proud of all the songs on the record and there are so many moments in particular too between all of us. Take a Look, Y’all was always one I was especially proud of personally when it came to the overall vibe of the track plus some of the vocals I laid down for it. Just a feel good song that feels uniquely us.

Kevin: The whole album really, I think it’s so worth experiencing it as a whole to truly understand the magic of the parts.

Q6. How has the band—personally, professionally, and/or musically—evolved since the beginning?

Kevin: I think we’ve just got better at working with each other, really. From the start, we’ve been doing exactly what we want in any given moment musically, and to be able to have some of the processes refined is really a blessing.

Matt: We were talking the other night actually about how it really feels like we can do whatever we want now. I think we’re at the point now where it really feels like a pulses. song can be anything written by the 4 of us and that’s a really cool place to be as a band.

Q7. What are some of the most memorable shows or tours you’ve played?

Matt: All of our tours with With Sails Ahead have been incredible honestly, so many amazing memories on those both on and off stage. Outside of those, we played a show in May of 2023 with our friends in The Callous Daoboys and it was such a blast, that’s probably one of my favorites in recent memory.

Kevin: Blue Ridge Rock Fest was a trip too; being able to play on such a big stage and be a part of a big production like that at our level is an honor and privilege, even when things were kinda going awry.

Q8. Do you have any “sibling bands” aka other groups or artists you’re close with and if so, who and how does that foster a sense of community and/or how are those relationships reflected in your music, approach to the band, touring, etc.?

Matt: With Sails Ahead is definitely the main one! We have toured together multiple times, collabed on several songs, we share a discord, and we talk in a group chat with them daily. We’ve built a really cool community with them and they’re some of our best friends.

Kevin: WSA is definitely one that folks should know by now as our bestie band and I think our friendship makes both our bands better. We’re definitely tight with a number of other bands but I think what we have together makes us really special.

Q9. What is on the horizon for pulses. in 2024?

Kevin: More music for sure; don’t think it’ll be another album but some little treat releases. More show dates, hopefully in new places and returning to some banger cities. More twitter shenanigans, I’m sure. Just more pulses. overall; we have no plans on slowing down our presence.