Pssst! They just announced that they are going on tour next year! The Back to Life Tour!
There’s a sort of contagious joy when it comes to a band who have recently come into their own, and Hinder is doing that right now. It doesn’t matter that they’re already a multi-platinum selling rock group – they are proof that reinvention, even if based on their organic and creative origins, can be a good thing. The energy in their latest release is refreshing. Their attitude and approach in 2024 has arrived with an air of respect that only a band who has been around the block can grasp. Both the industry and fans are watching this rebirth of a modern rock band with immense hope in their heart and the genre-defying sounds of new music in their ears. The music is powerful, evocative, grandiose in the best way, and reflective of not just themselves, but the world at large. (And, if you take an even closer look, their new single holds a cracked mirror up to the nation we call home.)
We had the chance to sit down with drummer Cody Hanson for a conversation that was nothing short of encouraging about the current state of the hard-hitting Oklahoma City four-piece.
I can imagine that you’ve had this song, and all the songs on the forthcoming LP, in your back pocket for a little while now. You recorded it, got it ready to go, but then there’s the rollout process, which is not necessarily quick. When was this one, titled “Everything is a Cult,” recorded? How long have you been sitting on it? Because it’s a really cool track for you guys, and I just know that I couldn’t keep this song to myself if I had to!
Well, thank you. This song is actually one of the newer songs for the album, but we’ve still had it around for quite some time. I think we wrote it a couple years ago. We have recorded several different versions of it. We went to LA and recorded one version with another producer, and then decided that we were gonna come back home and rework everything on our own in our studio, so there was a different version floating around – one that we actually even played live for a little while. Once we got it home and we were really able to just kind of focus on it, we decided it that there was this entire middle section that we just needed to throw away and rewrite. I think it really helped out the song and overall it boosted the track. After that, we decided that it deserved to be a single, and now we’re just excited for the world to hear it.
It’s a little bit of a different direction for Hinder, especially coming off of “Live Without It,” which had a little bit more of an alternative sound and a little bit more of a nostalgia to it. I feel like “Everything is a Cult” has a modernity, as well, and it also has a lot of groove to it. These two singles back-to-back are setting a great stage for what’s to come with the album next year. I’m curious, though: how do you guys know when a song is like a single? Is it a feeling when you’re putting it together? Is it shopped around and talked about? Do you know right away?
Yeah, so once we send it around internally – within our team, within the band, within management – I think we know pretty quickly which songs stand out. Sometimes there are just songs that you personally feel really strongly about and songs that you really wanna fight for. There is actually a song coming out before we drop the album next year that Marshal [Dutton] and I felt really passionate about. We felt like we wanted to kind of fight for that song and make that the standout track for the album, so that is gonna be tied to the album release. We felt like that was a special one. With this one, I just noticed that every time I played it for anybody, it was like there was an excitement along with it, you know? Anytime I would show it to anyone, whether it be friends at radio stations or friends that used to work at our old record label or anybody on our team, there was just an excitement about it it that made us realize that maybe we should put some effort behind it.
That makes sense and I think these have been great single choices. They deserve their own life and deserve to not get lost in the shuffle, so to speak, of a full LP. However, I do believe that Hinder is still an album band. It’s exciting to see that both sides of the coin are working out well, though, and setting the scene for this era of the band.
Thank you. I’m kind of nervous about this album because I feel like – from a songwriting standpoint – this is one of the strongest things that we’ve ever done. There are a lot of great songs on this album that, like you said, I’m afraid will get lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, that’s just part of it, you know? That has happened many times throughout our career, but we love the songs, and we’re just lucky that we’re still here making them.
Absolutely. The true fans will find the songs that resonate the most, always, and that give-and-take between the audience and the band is something you’ve always done well. With these two singles thus far and an album looming overhead, I can tell that there has been some real creativity and focus in the band. This time around specifically, I can hear something new, something nuanced, and I see that a little bit of a new level has been unlocked for the band. Do you feel the same?
Well, thank you, and I absolutely do. Over the pandemic, Marshal and I wrote an entire album that was almost like a throwback sound. We wanted to write something that was… I don’t know exactly, but it was kind of paying tribute to the first album and that sound. Then, once we got it done, it just wasn’t exciting. We decided to throw it away and start over. It didn’t feel like where we are as a band now and it felt like we were trying to be something like we were back then. It didn’t feel authentic to us, so, like I said, we threw it away and started over. You have got to be true to who you are at the time and with what you’re feeling in the moment.
Because there is a little bit of a different edge to “Everything is a Cult,” even if “Living Without It” sounded like quintessential Hinder, it’s not a ‘throwback’ sound, as you explained. What were you and the band listening to when making these songs and creating the upcoming record? Were there any artists, albums, or styles of music that, personally, you were just kind of getting into at that time that maybe reflected in the music?
I wouldn’t say so on that one. How “Everything is a Cult” came about was a little different than how we typically approach a writing session, though. We had a friend come down by the name of Maïa Davies. She’s a Canadian singer-songwriter. We were sitting in the studio having drinks late one night and I just started building a track. I had a guitar in my lap and I just started with that one-string guitar pattern and then added some electronic beat things over with my left hand. I just started building the track while everyone else was back there kind of kicking around other ideas for melodies and lyrics. Before we knew it, we had this whole thing built that felt very different from anything that we had done in the past. It was exciting. It just sounded really cool to us and really refreshing, so that’s kind of how it happened.
I said it before and I’ll say it again – there’s a groove to the song! I’m glad that you guys felt that, as well.
The second verse of the song is definitely a departure from anything that we’ve done previously. It’s got what we call an angry, rap-like vibe. That was actually a part that I did in the studio! Originally it was written with the intention of a feature, just having some aggressive vocalist come in and do the part, but we never really found anybody that fit. We had somebody else try it and they sent in a version, but it just didn’t quite hit right. We decided to keep it even though it was written with another vocalist in mind, which is also something we haven’t done in the past. There are a lot of firsts on this track for us.
We may find somebody later that we think fits the part and maybe we will do a re-release or something like that with it, this just kind of felt like how the track ended up was the way it was supposed to, especially once we actually got it all finished. We’re happy with it.
I’m glad. I think that hip-hop type part in the song in particular will be exciting in a live setting, too. I actually can’t even imagine that explosion that might come from that! Have you done that part and this final version of the single live thus far?
When we did it live and we played it a handful of times, the drum tech I had at the time couldn’t figure out how to get the microphone around to me in time for that verse without hitting me in the face with it, so Marshal actually took that part live. I haven’t had the chance to perform that part, but it was great playing the song live and seeing the reaction, even though it was a different version. We’re really excited to start it back up and play it with that heavy, riff-y middle section that we didn’t have before. Like I said, re-working it just elevated the song to a different level, so we’re excited.
It’s so amazing how different people can relate to your music and have been connecting to your songs over the many years you’ve been around. On stage and off, how has it been growing up with your fans and seeing the audience change and grow and evolve? How does that feel for you? Is that as exhilarating to look out and see such a diverse fanbase rocking out that crowd and experiencing a truly emotional and energetic and fun show? That’s what it is every time.
Thank you! It’s actually really awesome. It’s a really interesting time for us as a result, too, because we’ve gotten to know a lot of fans over the years. We like to go out and be personable and talk with them after the show and have drinks and stuff. It’s cool to see all these older fans now bringing their kids around to shows, too. It’s right at a time when we are releasing new music and we feel this sense of renewal from that, I guess, within the band. The fact that there is this resurgence of the older rock sound right now at the time that we’re releasing new music means that we are getting exposed to this whole new fan base – and with this new music! We’re hoping that it helps us continue on and helps the longevity of the band. It’s really an exciting time for us.
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