Page 36 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2020

AJ: Definitely. I’d like to think there’s a bit on each track. But the opening track, ‘Dramatic,’ and the
instrumental, ‘Kerac’ will give you an idea of how each band/style made its way into the writing
process.

MH: We both were obsessed with ‘Dum Dum Boys’ and that whole album (Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’)
had a lot to do with the sound. My new-found love for Psychic TV and The Stranglers also gave us
ideas on how to step out of the box thematically and arrangement-wise. We really wanted to make
the sounds we hear in our heads and feelings in our guts, so it was lovely to have new influences to
draw from.

MW: I've read that your recording techniques on this album were a bit unorthodox. Could you
elaborate on that?

AJ: Ha ha! Yeah, we definitely had to adapt to new techniques for this one. Some groundwork had
been laid out before lockdown, but much of what you hear (entire songs even) were done in isolation,
sending tracks back and forth to one another. I remember doing a vocal take in my car so as not
bother anyone at my girlfriend’s apartment complex. I think the situation helped to push us in this
new direction, though. It gave Mark time to arrange the synth parts and created a necessity to use
different gear or sounds.

MH: We’ve always recorded in non-traditional ways or really in any way we could make work. Some
of the record was recorded in my old house, but due to COVID-19 and the loss of gigs, I moved into
a flat with my girlfriend and finished the record there. I’d build on the drum tracks we did in my old
house, then Adam would record some guitar at his place and email it over. After a few days, we had
built some cool tracks and it might have been different if we were sitting in the room together. After
we finished, we ran the mixes through tape and sent it off to be mastered. It was a fun record to
make and I feel like it made us better at recording technique instead of the free-for-all, booze-filled,
sessions for the last few releases.

MW: When you guys play in the U.S., do you travel far to gigs or do you stick to Austin?

AJ: As Cold Jackets, we’ve stuck mostly to Austin and have traveled a bit around Texas. Since we
travel so much for other bands, we decided to only do targeted shows for CJ. So apart from the UK
and Europe, NYC and California are also on our list.

MH: We usually only play Austin and the surrounding areas in the U.S. My day job is drumming for
Austin blues legend Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, and we tour quite a bit playing festivals and
theatres all over the country. Adam played guitar in the band on this last tour. So maybe as things
progress with Cold Jackets we can tour more, but right now, our Austin/UK thing works for us.

MW: What are your post-pandemic plans? Or do you think it's too early to plan anything yet?

AJ: Unfortunately, a little too early still to plan for much. Obviously, we’d like to get back to UK as
soon as is appropriate. In the meantime, we’re always writing and planning on releasing some live
performance videos soon.

MH: After the pandemic, I want to sit at the pub all day with Adam and our buddies and catch up. I
also want to go visit my family in the Philadelphia area. It’ll be great to gig again too!

MW: Thanks guys! Catch you next time you're in the UK. Good luck!