The Next Chapter: Deafheaven Preparing For Life After 'Sunbather'
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Written by Huw Baines
It’s almost 2pm and it’s hot. The violent electrical storm that will interrupt a headline set by Jack White at Mexico City’s Corona Capital festival is hours away and Deafheaven are opening the main stage. A teenager in a Kings of Leon cap slumps against the barrier, its peak barely concealing the look of bemusement plastered across her face.
Close to the front, a vendor selling from a tray of Cokes tries to engage with a tall man, whose eyes don’t leave the stage. As frontman George Clarke raises his arms, whipping a small pit into a controlled frenzy, the man hoists a homemade sign. In the stencilled script of Deafheaven’s ‘Sunbather’ record, its message is simple: Thank You Very Much.
Shielded from the sun in the band’s dressing room after their set and sipping a beer, Clarke is philosophical about their role at the festival. Theirs are the only blastbeats that’ll be heard in the next 48 hours as bands from BiffyClyro to Haim tread the boards.
“It’s hard, dude,” he says. “It’s not the first time that we’ve done that this year, as far as being the odd man out. It’s always a challenge. It’s always hard because you’re so far away. It’s about movement and trying to get people energised.”
‘Sunbather’, the band’s second album, was released last summer. A rich, sprawling thing, it busted through the fences that often surround metal releases, receiving critical acclaim from publications including Pitchfork and Spin, riling purists and even darkening the doorway of Rolling Stone’s year end lists.
“I’m extremely proud of that record,” Clarke says when asked about his relationship to 'Sunbather' now. “I still enjoy that record a lot. But you know what it’s like. God, we wrote it in 2012, some of it 2013. It’s just time...and we’ve toured a lot in the last year. We’ve played those songs more times than I can count. I still really enjoy those songs but I’m very much looking forward to the next chapter.”
A year on, Deafheaven recently offered the first taste of life post-’Sunbather’ with their entry in Adult Swim’s singles series, From The Kettle Onto The Coil. Free from the continuity issues and tonal pressures of a full-length, it’s a neat distillation of where they are now. In Mexico City, the song is greeted like an old friend by the diehards at the barrier.
“I’m happy that Adult Swim presented us with the opportunity,” Clarke says. “It’s really fun to be able to play something that’s not ‘Sunbather’. At this point it’s my favourite song to play in the set. It’s fresh. We just jammed it out. There was thought to it, of course, but not album-oriented so we could just do what we wanted with it. It’s also the first time we had the five of us together writing a song, which was nice. I would call it a bridge, but [it’s] not even. It’s a standalone and I like it for that reason.
“We really started playing it on our last tour and every night people responded really well. You’re never entirely sure. I always do the ‘this is a new song’ thing. When I say that and people start cheering I automatically think: ‘This is going to go over well.’ Today was no exception. I’m glad people have been into it.”
With a breakthrough record in the can, Deafheaven’s next move will be studied closely. A new level of scrutiny awaits them pre-release, with speculation about label switches - ‘Sunbather’ was put out by Deathwish Inc., the hardcore label run by Tre McCarthy and Converge’s Jacob Bannon - and new directions already bubbling under.
“There’s no here or there,” Clarke says on the label issue. “Nothing’s been finalised. Though we have plans for our next record, logistics like that haven’t been talked about too much. We’ll see where that goes. We love those guys [Deathwish] and they’ve been supportive since day one. Ultimately, that’s what’s important.”
While we can expect Deafheaven to head off on at least something of a tangent with album three, one thing that will follow a similar schedule is the writing process. ‘Sunbather’ was compiled in the immediate aftermath of touring for ‘Roads To Judah’ and, with a couple of shows left to round off this year, the band - with Clarke joined by founding guitarist Kerry McCoy, Daniel Tracy, Stephen Clark and Shiv Mehra - will soon produce pen and paper for the next session.
“It’s hard to write on the road,” Clarke says. “Your schedule is so busy. There’s definitely ideas. We talk all the time. Especially being a five piece now, there’s different input and people bring their own things to the table, which is awesome. Most of it’s just discussion.”
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