It’s the sounds of the ’60s on steroids: A kaleidoscopic ode to love-fueled anxiousness, The Mellons’ smile-inducing new single “Make Me Really feel” aches with internal turmoil and soars with wondrous harmonies because the Salt Lake Metropolis band ship playful psych-soaked energy pop with an edge.

Stream: “Make Me Really feel” – The Mellons

They could owe their sound to the bands of the mid- to late-Nineteen Sixties – the “golden age of pop,” because it’s identified to music students and historians – however The Mellons don’t dwell previously. You would possibly say they let their songs do this for them, however even that may be a stretch: A lot of the Salt Lake Metropolis group’s still-burgeoning artistry is predicated round reinvention, reasonably than retro revival. Their songs are continually poking and prodding at psych pop’s boundaries, pay homage to their favourite acts whereas exploring the place they will take this beloved sixty-year-old fashion.

It’s about experimentation and tasteful zhuzhing, breaking the mould, difficult norms, and defying expectations – simply as The Seashore Boys and The Beatles did, again of their day – and nowhere is that this extra pronounced than on The Mellons’ newest single. A kaleidoscopic ode to love-fueled anxiousness, “Make Me Really feel” aches with internal turmoil, soars with wondrous harmonies, and stuns with radiant devices as The Mellons ship playful psych-soaked energy pop with an edge.

It’s the sounds of the ’60s on steroids: Elevated, expanded, and rigorously refined to really feel as undeniably nostalgia-inducing as it’s irresistibly smile-inducing, recent, and enjoyable.

I hadn’t observed I used to be watching you
Till you rotated
I hadn’t observed you had been watching me
Till you made a sound

However ooh, you make me really feel
Like one thing’s runnin’ out of time
Ooh, you make me really feel
Like nothin’s gonna finish fairly proper

Ooh… You make me really feel…
You make me really feel…

Atwood Journal is proud to be premiering “Make Me Really feel,” The Mellons’ first and sure solely single of 2023 (out November 28 through Earth Libraries). The band’s official “return” because the launch of their acclaimed debut album Introducing… The Mellons! final October sees the four-piece of Rob Jepson, Andrew Beck, Denney Fuller, and Ian Francis persevering with to ascertain themselves as a singular spark of creativity within the bloated trendy musical panorama. Constructing upon the “sunshine and disappointment” that outlined their first LP, “Make Me Really feel” is a buoyant, confessional reckoning round what The Mellons seek advice from as “the seasick melancholy of a primary love” – all these uncertainties and insecurities that develop inside us as we really feel ourselves falling for somebody new.

“Ooh, you make me really feel like one thing’s runnin’ out of time,” Jepsen sings in an emotional climax, his voice surrounded by a symphony of candy, seductive pop and psychedelia as he and his bandmates construct a fascinating world of heat and marvel. “Ooh, you make me really feel like nothin’s gonna finish fairly proper…”

The Mellons describe “Make Me Really feel” as a portrait of the ever-persistent anxiousness that accompanies all new relationships.

“Rising up I used to be at all times on the lookout for relationships that may fulfill and excite me,” Rob Jepson tells Atwood Journal. “I wished new friendships, new romantic connections, and many others. However I additionally felt terrified that opening as much as anybody, particularly romantically, would ship me careening towards ache. Like everybody, I wished to attach. However, like everybody, I used to be additionally deathly afraid of it. The verses on this track discuss in regards to the intrigue of assembly somebody new and changing into intertwined with them. “I hadn’t observed I used to be a part of you, and also you had been a part of me. I didn’t know that it was so till you lastly made me see.” They describe the fun of recent love and how briskly issues can appear to maneuver when issues are beginning out. The verses are the hopeful a part of the track.”

“The choruses, in distinction, discuss in regards to the dread of issues ending badly. “However ooh, you make me really feel like one thing’s runnin’ out of time. Ooh, you make me really feel like nothing’s gonna finish fairly proper.” It’s that horrible feeling that irrespective of how promising issues are at first, any good relationship is destined to finish badly. Maybe there’s one thing in there about worry itself; how worry will be the very factor that stops us from realizing good relationships, good goals, and many others. My favourite a part of the track might be the one-off line, “Who can say how far we’ll make it? However I don’t know if I can take it!” That line, to me, captures the crux of the difficulty: we would like the enjoyment, however we worry the ache! We’re instructed that when folks first hear the track they assume it’s a romantic, peppy love track. To be truthful, the instrumentation largely sends that message. The chords are simple and peppy, and the instrumentation is usually upbeat and enthusiastic (although the refrain chords do have a minor darkness to them). When folks cease and soak up the lyrics, they understand it’s extra conflicted than that.”

I hadn’t observed I used to be a part of you
And also you had been a part of me
I didn’t know that it was so
Till you lastly made me see

And who can say how far we’ll make it
However I don’t know if I can take it

The event of this track was atypical for The Mellons.

“Usually we deliver a track idea to the desk after which tinker with it within the studio till we’re pleased with the track construction, half writing, and association. Anybody can write for any instrument, and the method could be very unstructured,” the band explains. “On this case, Rob introduced the bones of the track to follow and every Mellon wrote their very own elements in dwell setting, band-rehearsal fashion. Rob on keys, Andrew on guitar, Denney on bass, and Ian on drums. It was actually energizing to write down the elements dwell that method, letting everybody play off of one another and match each other’s vitality.”

“This track can be distinctive in that we’d been performing it dwell for greater than a 12 months earlier than we lastly stopped and recorded it. With our first album, Introducing… The Mellons!, a lot of the songs had been created within the studio and we discovered to play them dwell after the very fact. On this case, we crafted and “road-tested” the track in a purely-live setting earlier than lastly laying it down.”

‘Trigger ooh, you make me really feel
Like one thing’s runnin’ out of time
Ooh, you make me really feel
Like nothin’s gonna finish fairly proper

Atwood Journal caught up with The Mellons to dive into the depths of their latest track, choose aside their singular sound, and get to know this new fab 4. Stream “Make Me Really feel” solely on Atwood Journal, and meet up with Rob Jepson, Andrew Beck, Denney Fuller, and Ian Francis of The Mellons in our interview beneath!

Ooh, you make me really feel
Like one thing’s runnin’ out of time
Ooh, you make me really feel
Like nothin’s gonna finish fairly proper

Ooh, you make me really feel…
Ooh, you make me really feel…

.– —

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Stream: “Make Me Really feel” – The Mellons

CATCHING UP WITH THE MELLONS

Atwood Journal: Hey The Mellons, thanks a lot on your time! What instantly excites you about having your new single “Make Me Really feel” out on the planet?

Rob Jepson: The music video! We had a lot filming this. We are able to’t look forward to it to be out on the planet.

Ian Francis: It’s simply thrilling to launch new music once more. Our LP got here out over a 12 months in the past now and we’ve undoubtedly let it simmer for some time earlier than releasing anything. Though we’ve been enjoying a lot of exhibits it feels good to point out folks we’re nonetheless working onerous behind the scenes to deliver out some new tunes!

Denney Fuller: It’s nice to get new music out after spending a lot time and vitality on our debut file. Simply to know we are able to do it once more! (and time and again if we wish to…)

Are you able to share a bit in regards to the story behind “Make Me Really feel” – how was this track made, how did it come to be?

Rob: It began as a living-room demo with simply piano and vocals. Then all of the Mellons jumped in and layered it with elements. Not like most of our songs, we didn’t piece it collectively within the studio. As a substitute we jammed it out dwell till we had been pleased with it. Then we performed it dwell for a 12 months earlier than lastly monitoring the studio model.

Ian: Yeah we undoubtedly took a unique method with this observe. Our songs have been principally recorded and conceptualized from begin to end earlier than we’ve performed them dwell, however this one was extra open ended. Like Rob stated, elements of this track had been already written when he introduced it to us, however we took our time including different elements and finalizing every part. It was cool to only let the track sit whereas we refined and tweaked it over time of enjoying it dwell. What you hear on this recording is the ultimate end result and it’s enjoyable to see the way it’s advanced into what it’s at the moment. It’s loopy to assume this was initially extra of a heavy steel disco people tune! (probably not).

Andrew Beck: One factor that makes the creation of this track distinctive is that we recorded most of it dwell, collectively in a room. Often we file one instrument at a time, within the studio, however we thought we’d strive an method that may seize the push and pull of the 4 of us enjoying collectively dwell.

Denney: This track was enjoyable to see evolve over a 12 months or so enjoying it dwell! And it continued to evolve as soon as we began monitoring it. The concepts saved coming, and we let ‘em in!

This single marks your return following your introductory debut album final 12 months (which stays SUCH a enjoyable pay attention)! Inform me about this track as a follow-up; how does it differentiate itself out of your debut, in your eyes, and in what methods do you see it as a continuation of the band you launched us to only final 12 months?

Rob: We’re actually excited to deliver extra music into the world. We’re engaged on a *cough* top-secret *cough* file (of an undefined size), that may showcase fairly a couple of surprises. BUT, this track ought to really feel acquainted. It has lots of components that can be acquainted to Mellons followers and it ought to match proper in with Introducing. As for the remainder of what we’re cooking up? You’ll have to attend and see.

Ian: I might say “Make Me Really feel” is fairly much like a track you’d hear on Introducing…, but it surely’s additionally kind of nodding into the brand new route we’re headed. Virtually as if it’s a transitional piece!

Andrew: What Ian stated.

Who’s everybody’s favourite Mellon? And don’t simply say the apparent, “Denney.”

Rob: Denney!

Andrew: Skeletor!

Ian: Little Debbie!

Denney: Denney!

Skeletor: Denney!

Debbie: Banana!

Your artwork feels so definitively related to the pop music of the Nineteen Sixties. What’s the expertise like making this sort of music (which was, in some ways, restricted by the technological capabilities on the time) with the expertise accessible to you at the moment?

Rob: What an awesome query. We’re fortunate to have Denney within the band, who’s a improbable songwriter, instrumentalist, and engineer. He can converse to this the most effective. My quite simple tackle it’s that all of us like to mix the previous with the brand new. Our songwriting blends traditional ‘60s components with trendy songcraft. Our devices and amps are a mixture of top-of-the-line, trendy gear and real classic items. Within the studio, it’s the identical method.

Andrew: I like having limitations when making artwork – in some ways it shapes what you create. We use lots of classic gear and approaches after we file. One purpose why having at the moment’s expertise is wonderful is as a result of we are able to achieve this a lot of our creation at residence!

Denney: The expertise is slightly totally different than the times of previous. All analog could make for some actually superior performances, colour the sound, and actually glue collectively the combo in a sure method, With trendy recording, you are able to do tons of takes, strive totally different devices for various elements, and stack a lot of layers, which may give us a rad sound! We additionally use lots of classic microphones, and attempt to get a lot of use out of one among our favourite devices, the Mellotron!

In the meantime, how did you begin down this highway? Did you take heed to somebody like The Seashore Boys sooner or later and simply say, “I must make artwork like this”… or is there extra to the Mellons’ backstory than meets the attention?

Rob: I really feel prefer it was extra pure than deliberate. Once we got here collectively as a band, we had been all independently pumping out ‘60s-flavored demos, writing Seashore Boys-esque lyrics, and sporting classic put on. However none of it was calculated. Once we lastly formalized ourselves as a band, I believe we had a option to make: can we lean into our love of the ‘60s, or can we purposely pivot away and go extra mainstream? We selected to lean in.

Ian: All of us want to begin someplace and that may be present in our influences. For me it’s strolling a high-quality line between being my genuine self as a drummer whereas staying true to the musical stylings of the style. There have been a number of instances the place I’ve needed to assume “Okay this drum half is cool, however does it work with what we’re making an attempt to perform as a complete?” Typically it’s sure, different instances no. What issues most is serving the track.

Andrew: I bear in mind, in proto-versions of this band, Rob and I being very open to making an attempt very totally different types and instructions. We had been musical scientists within the lab, pouring this bottle into that bottle and watching the response. I believe every of us brings barely totally different stylistic inspiration (which a lot overlap) to the band and our tastes mix to make the ultimate soup. Rob typically loves chill melodic stuff, like Simon and Garfunkel or the Seashore Boys. Denney could be on a British invasion, rootsy rock kick with bands just like the Kinks and the Zombies. Ian loves Hal Blaine, Burt Bacharach and swinging rock and roll. And I wish to deliver classical baroque influences, in addition to the bizarre and experimental… In fact all of us love the Liverpudlians.

Denney: Once I was rising up, my mother used to take heed to the oldies station (which at the moment was enjoying ‘60s pop) within the automobile and at residence. So, I received basis of all these ‘60s songs and types in my ear. Though I didn’t recognize it on the time, it ended up being the kind of pop music that I’m most affected by now. I do bear in mind listening to songs like “Enjoyable Enjoyable Enjoyable” and “Wooly Bully” as slightly child, and having a sense that simply electrified my soul!

What’s your relationship like with Salt Lake Metropolis? Has town had an affect in your music, and are you influenced by your hometown in any method?

Rob: We love our metropolis. Salt Lake has such an enormous and numerous music scene. Most weekends you’ll be able to take your choose of what taste you wish to get a style of. Fortunately, for us, meaning there’s room for teams like us which are slightly totally different. I really feel like our followers aren’t essentially ‘60s aficionados (although some are). For probably the most half, they’re simply nice individuals who wish to have time at a present. Salt Lake’s music tradition actually facilitates that!

Vern Tooley (mimicking Sir Paul McCartney): Nicely, uh, it was Yoko who introduced me the demo. And she or he stated, uh, it could be nice if the remainder of the Beatles might end it. And it turned out, it was a few plate of spaghetti, that misplaced its poor meatball.

Ian: Salt Lake Metropolis has the most effective music group within the US of A (and I’ve lived in all 50 states so I can say that objectively! kidding). However Salt Lake actually is one thing particular. It’s a small metropolis with massive aspirations so I really feel like it’s welcoming and supportive of all artists. We’re fairly spoiled in the truth that there will be two or three superior separate exhibits taking place in a single night time. So many good bands and so many good people who find themselves excited to be part of all of it in any method they will. I believe The Mellons’ fashion is a bit more area of interest in comparison with different acts round right here, however we nonetheless have an incredible group of mates and followers who make each present a blast to play.

Andrew: Utah is sort of a cursed place, however I actually like Salt Lake Metropolis.

Denney: SLC is such an awesome place to be for musicians. Nice sullorrr unity, accepting scene, and wildly proficient of us!

Final query (for now)! What do you hope listeners take away from “Make Me Really feel,” and what have you ever taken away from it?

Rob: This track is absolutely in regards to the battle between hope and worry. So, I hope it makes folks check out their very own inner-optimist and their very own inner-worrier and let the 2 battle it out! For me, this track at all times makes me marvel if I’m going to just accept the chance of getting a loving relationship, or if I’m going to run for the hills. It will be superior if it made anybody else replicate on their very own relationship selections. However, if folks don’t really feel like getting all neurotic and introspective, I hope they’ll at the least have some enjoyable!

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Stream: “Make Me Really feel” – The Mellons

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