Welcome to In Conversation, a special interview column on the site where we sit down with artists and dive deep into everything music. This week, Joe sat down with Bloom members Jarod and Jono over Zoom to discuss the band’s new single, their creative process, what they’ve been listening to, and what’s next for the band.
Joe: Does the new single feel like the starting point of what’s to be a big year for the band?
Jarod: I think it’s definitely a bit of a new direction. It still feels very Bloom, but it’s a little heavier. A little further refined for what we want in the future. Especially more highlighted cleans I think is a big thing we’re looking at. It’s like a highlight of our set I feel is those big sections. So moving forward we want more of that, a few more little breakdowns, little clean choruses, that kind of stuff. Definitely feels like the next step forward for us.
Jono: I think as well it’s been a while since we’ve been even able to record. The last set of recording dates we did was end of 2019, and then with the pandemic, we worked with a producer who lives in another state, and there were restrictions on the border, so we couldn’t go down and see him. We’ve had a lot of time to work on the new material and set goals, what we want to achieve with the next releases, which hopefully in the back end of the year we’ll be able to kick some goals and knock out some really cool things that have been in the works for what has nearly been 2 years now.
Joe: Looking at the video itself, each one of your videos has its own aesthetic to it. What was your approach for “Sink Into The Soil”?
Jono: We wanted to create a feeling of claustrophobia and with [Sink Into The Soil] sonically a heavier song, we wanted something visually to match that. So we ended up filming all of the band’s stuff in a shipping container which was barely big enough to fit all of us in to really try and create a feeling of closed-walls and feeling trapped, which kind of ties in lyrically, and what the song is trying to convey. The video was a fun one to execute. Like, there’s shots of me and Jarod getting soil thrown at us with our heads being buried in soil and I think a lot of the concepts in the lyrics like “Sinking into the soil”, we wanted to visually represent some way as well.
Joe: What’s it been like seeing the positive reaction to “Sink Into The Soil” online and through social media?
Jarod: It’s been sick, and it’s felt bigger than any of our previous releases. Getting tagged in the comments on posts and all those little things add up, and at least from what I’m seeing, it feels bigger than our previous stuff, which is awesome. I haven’t really seen any hate, which is nice.
Jono: It feels like it’s getting in front of more people. Organically, people have been coming across it more easily because we have a back catalogue of releases now, and people are somewhat familiar with Bloom or they’ve heard of Bloom before and are a lot more receptive to when we put out something. They’re eager to hear it. It’s pretty cool, just releasing music in general. We wanted [Sink Into The Soil] to come out earlier than it did, and I think for all of us, we are just relieved that we can say “Cool, we’ve ticked off this one on the list. We finally got it out. Onwards and upwards.”
Joe: What was the writing process to “Sink Into The Soil”?
Jono: It was a process that started January 2021, so we had dates. Like, we were going to do a single, and we want to get something new out there to give us a little more time to work on our next release in a larger format and refine that. We wanted to get a single out at the start of 2021. We didn’t actually start recording “Sink Into The Soil” until September because we kept getting pushed back dates since [Covid] cases were rising up, so the borders should re-open and we’d be able to go down and record it in person, because we don’t want to do it remotely. We want to create the Bloom environment that’s worked well for us. It eventually got to the point where we just had to keep pushing it back and we ended up doing “Sink Into The Soil” entirely remotely with our producer, which was a different style of recording in a different studio experience that we were used to. But, the timeline is that if we could have had this song a year ago, we probably would have. It was just kind of waiting to see things begin to ease up. It just inevitably meant that it got pushed back to late 2021 when we were able to do anything.
Joe: What was the [pandemic] starting process like, and what were the learnings you took from the change in environment?
Jarod: Personally, me and Jono had work situations that were pretty bad throughout. We had a few different lockdowns in Sydney spread out, and then in the middle of it, had a full Australian tour with Thornhill, so it’s been super up and down musically. When we were touring with Thornhill, I was in the mindset of music, touring, playing, and wanting to write more. Then, when we were in the worst lockdowns and in bad working conditions, there was no drive to create anything because that was bringing us down. Jono had a similar experience and surely the other guys did as well. It’s been a bit up and down, but I think within the time, we found enough good moments to ride it out. Now it feels like we’re coming out on the other side, and I’m way more positive now than the early days.
Jono: It was tough to put pen to paper. It was tough to think about music because there was nothing immediately in front of us to look forward to. When you put out a release, it’s like “Fuck yeah I’m going to tour off this and I get to play shows” which is the main part, and everything just felt so dire. Like it wasn’t going to happen. So it became a mental obstacle to keep grinding and keep working, and obviously Bloom is not been a stranger to the pandemic and it impacting our stuff. In Passing, the previous EP we released, we released in the middle of one of the first outbreaks in Australia, around October 2020. So we are used to being fucked around by Covid, though we didn’t really get to give that release a full tour that we wanted to. I guess we were grinding away slowly because it didn’t feel like there wasn’t any hesitancy to make things happen quickly because what was the point.
Jarod: Yeah, there was no deadline because we didn’t have shows or anything. Whereas now, deadlines are tours, like our own tour. There’s actual things to look forward to and we need “x, y, or z” out before this time.
Joe: With having these deadlines, such as the tour next month, with things going on, does that help build momentum for yourself personally or for the band to get a tempo going?
Jarod: For sure, it helps a lot because you can’t push things back as much. You can set your mind to it and get to it. It definitely helps me for sure.
Jono: You have to be stricter on yourself. It’s like, if I want this thing to happen before this time, then I actually have to do it. Whereas, if I’m like, oh we’re gonna write and release a single, but who knows when it’s going to come out because who knows when we’re going to be able to do it, there’s no hesitancy. Like Jarod was saying, there’s things this year that we haven’t announced yet and will come in due time that are like “we want x, y, and z to happen before this date because this is gonna be so much cooler if we can get this done before this happens.” It really helps make you want to do the stuff that you would otherwise go “nah, fuck it, I’ll do it later.”
Joe: Having your counterparts in Australia, with the new Void Of Vision single, Northlane album in April, etc., does that help give you motivation?
Jono: It feels like things are returning to normal. Seeing other people do things is like “oh okay, cool, we’re getting back into the motions.”
Jarod: Everyone releasing stuff builds everyone else up in a way because if they’re doing shows, it’s creating opportunities for us to tour or play certain shows on those bigger artist bills. They’re also our friends. Thornhill are our closest friends so seeing them be successful with their new single is sick and inspiring and we love to see them be successful.
Joe: Does seeing the quality in the Australian (metalcore and hardcore) scene push you to try and be up there with the likes of other bands?
Jono: We’ve got fucking Polaris, so Australia is way cooler. But no, like Australian metalcore at a local level, Australia has always had really strong acts and obviously when you see some of the bigger names releasing material and touring, like Jarod was saying, it’s opportunities for everyone. Playing and touring, they’re looking for supports, and that would be great for us. Australia is a close knit community. You start to meet people through going to shows and touring with other bands. As your band grows and you start making connections with other Australian bands, everyone starts to grow together.
Joe: It’s been a year and a half since In Passing, in retrospect, what are your personal connections on that EP?
Jono: I think that it reached a lot of people and the response we got from it was more than we were expecting. Releasing In Passing also coincided with our signing to Greyscale Records, and that put us in front of a much wider audience than we could have achieved if we just threw it up online and made a couple of posts. Right when it came out, it was so positive and people sent really nice messages. The source material (lyrical), what the EP is about is obviously something that is quite personal to a lot of people and it was really wild connecting with so many people. While we didn’t get to give it the tour that we originally had envisioned for it, when we had finally got to tour with Thornhill, we all met so many people at shows that had the nicest things to say and people who had been messaging us online and actually getting to meet them in person and have a conversation with them. It was really cool to finally just get it out in front of people and see how they responded to it in person. The response to it was really good and I think it did better for us than we were expecting it would and it got in front of more people than we expected it would.
Jarod: I think we’re also super proud of it as well. I think [In Passing] is a super solid EP. Playing it has been sick, and we’ll keep playing it for a while. We still got a long way to go with it.
Joe: Melodic hardcore has had its ups and downs within the past few years. Do you feel you’re carrying the torch for the genre, since it hasn’t had as many acts as say 2015 for example?
Jarod: Yeah, it’s no 2015 anymore for sure. That was the pinnacle of melodic hardcore. Especially in Australia, it used to be a lot more active. But we’re happy to still be in the genre. I still think there’s definitely a space for it and I think what we’re writing is still intriguing and interesting. I’m very happy with where we’re sitting. We just need Counterparts to tour Australia.
Jono: It is really weird. When Bloom was starting out, the idea of Bloom started late 2016/early 2017. In that time, we had a bunch of really solid Australian melodic hardcore bands who just don’t exist anymore. Now looking 5-ish years on, it’s like “oh shit, there’s not many of us left.” There’s still a bit of melodic hardcore in the UK, a bit in America, but in Australia, there’s not heaps, and people still really like melodic hardcore. It’s still a genre that’s relevant. It’s something that we feel most comfortable writing, that style of music. We like how we’ve been able to evolve our sound, such as taking heavier sections or having choruses that people can sing along to, and that’s just been from how we’ve grown and worked out what works out well for us, and when we play live, what people like to hear, and what we like to write and play. It’s sad that there’s not as many melodic hardcore bands in Australia that there used to be. But we’re gonna keep on writing it, and hopefully from that, there’s more [melodic hardcore] bands that come from it and we can revitalize the genre.
Joe: Did the idea of writing melodic hardcore come from liking it and wanting to create it, or did you notice that there was a gap in the scene that needed to be filled?
Jared: I guess it stemmed from that we were listening to it. I mean, what we were initially writing was garbage, but yeah.
Jono: It was fucked, but the bands we were listening to when Bloom started were Touche Amour, Casey, Counterparts, and that was when we started to aspire to be like these bands. That was how it started, it was never like “oh shit, there isn’t many melodic hardcore bands, we should seize the market.” It was just what we were listening to and what we all loved. Like Jarod said, the first shit we wrote was fucking bad, but we found our stride and we found what works for us. Then we got there.
Joe: What are you both listening to at the moment?
Jono: I’m still listening to a bunch of Infant Annihilator, which is so out of left-field. But I’m a fan of the new Kublai Khan TX single. I’ve been getting into Deftones (Koi No Yokan). That’s kind of the main ones. Whenever I’m doing work, I need music to listen to in the background. I always have to go for the most extreme heavy shit. If I’m working, I need blast beats and massive sub drops, and the likes.
Jarod: I typically throw on daily mixes, so it’s super varied. I’ll also listen to Counterparts and Loathe, and then I’ll also listen to Doja Cat. Massive difference for sure. I’ve been getting more into Loathe recently, but I don’t want to admit it because [Jono] wanted us to get into it a while ago.
Jono: I was carrying the Loathe torch since the [Prepare Consume Proceed].
Joe: What does your ideal UK-based tour look like?
Jono: The headliner is Counterparts. I’d love Loathe to be on it. Would love to do a show with Stick To Your Guns as well. I know that they do insane shows, but they do insanely well in the UK. Architects as well. Pick any of those bands, pay me $50 a show, and we’ll be there.
Jarod: That’s kind of it, right. Obviously we always talk about Counterparts, and Loathe for UK would be sick because it’s their hometown shows. Sleep Token would be so different than us but I think it would also be sick. There’s some crossover there. They’re like church music but also hardcore in a way I feel.
Joe: What has it been like working with Greyscale Records? Anything you’ve learned, opportunities you’ve made, etc.
Jono: They’ve been so good to us.
Jarod: I think the main thing for me is the support network and having the two people who own the label being seasoned veterans of hardcore in general (across different areas of it as well). It’s been sick having a direct line to those two guys to be able to as questions so we don’t make a dumb rookie error, and they can give their advice. It’s been a massive thing for me, and obviously they help logistically, getting everything out, everything submitted to different agencies and set up things. It’s been nice to have the backing from an outside agency.
Jono: As well as the perception that the general public has on a band, I think signing to Greyscale played a big part in taking us from a local band to something bigger. The fact that you can walk into an electronics retailer and pick up a CD of ours off the shelf or we’re able to get a vinyl done. Just establishing yourself and taking yourself more seriously and having other people perceive you as sort of a more serious band. A band that is trying to push itself towards that next level. Greyscale has been super monumental in making that happen for us.
Joe: Did meeting people through Greyscale help establish a sort of community in the label?
Jono: Greyscale do record showcases for a lot of their artists, but we signed to Greyscale and then the pandemic started. So there hasn’t been too much on the runway. But I mean Alpha Wolf for example. I know I can hit up the guitarist for Alpha Wolf for video related stuff and all of the stuff that he does. He’s created assets for us. Or the ex-vocalist for Gravemind was working for Greyscale as well. You are able to meet and talk to people that you typically wouldn’t if you weren’t with Greyscale, since it would feel like they’re out of reach.
Joe: Is there anything outside of your typical musical inspirations that you derive from?
Jarod: We haven’t really delved into much outside of music, with movies and books. We do, however, take inspiration from genres outside of hardcore. We wrote some stuff recently where I use an indie-pop song, and try to make it hardcore. We do that a lot. I think that’s crucial to make your stuff interesting because if you just take inspiration from hardcore, then it’s just going to be generic and not super interesting. I think we do that quite well, but I’m not sure even with lyrics we really take from [movies or books]. It’ll be pop music I listen to, and they’ll say something, or I’ll hear a quote in a TV show. That’s kind of the first thing.
Jono: That was the only thing I could think of. Like a time we’ve borrowed from outside of music. There was a line in a TV show that Jarod heard and we were like “that sounds like a cool lyric.” But I think you hit the nail on the head. We borrow a lot from stuff that is outside our genre. Paramore, for example, is a really cool example of a band that they do really well. We hear that and we’re inspired by that, and it seeps into the songs we’re writing. I don’t think movies or books have had too much of an influence.
Joe: Are there any other big plans for the band this year?
Jono: In a perfect world, we will get to release more music, tour that music, get fired from our jobs because we’re touring so much, and hopefully get something locked in for international. That’s the next milestone for us, is that we want to do something in Europe and the UK. We want to do something in the States. We want to do something in Japan. We want to tour so much because we missed out on so much of it over the last couple of years.
Jarod: That’s definitely ideal. Tour, release music, and then tour internationally.
Many thanks to Jarod and Jono for sitting down for a chat with us. For all things Bloom, core, and music in general, keep it locked on Boolin Tunes.