The Asheville-based indie band Midnight Snack has released its third full-length album “Child’s Eyes” in April this year. Lead vocalist and drummer Jack Victor spoke with ETV today about the making of the album, the challenges they faced, and plans for the rest of 2017. Check out the song “Shadow Chaser” from the new album here:
The band was started by brothers Jack Victor (vocals, drums) and Mike Henry Johnson (guitar, synth) before their enrollment in college. They added classmates Peter Brownlee (bass) and Zack Kardon (guitar) and old friend, Katie Richter (vocals, trumpet) to complete the five-piece and have quickly been making a name for themselves. Jack said he started writing the songs for “Child’s Eyes” when the band was on tour in 2014, a tour that lasted several months, allowing for him to come up with enough ideas that he would try out whenever he could get to a piano.
“The first two songs were ‘Luna’ and ‘Back to The Source’ and each of those kind of set the tone for the rest of the album,” Jack said. “From that point on I tried to focus on writing songs that were deeply personal and also songs that either illustrate time passing or looking back.”
The album took two years to write, arrange and record. The sound transformed as time went on, specifically due to this being the first record they made in their own studio and having to deal with the technical limitations that endeavor entails. Another first for this album was the writing process, where several arrangements were recorded in the studio before playing them as a group. As for the meaning of the song’s lyrics, Jack said he likes to let the audience decide.
“I’ve always felt that whoever is listening to the music is the authority on what a song means, because it is a subjective experience,” Jack said. “That said, the themes I was writing within were longing for a loved one and reflecting on growing up. We had just moved to Asheville, North Carolina around the time we were working on ‘Child’s Eyes’ and I think the set change helped to inspire some of these thoughts.”
Despite the experience of dealing with the technical limitations of their own studio, including microphones, sound isolation and glitchy software, it also allowed the band new freedoms. They could take as long as they wanted to record without having to worry about meeting deadlines.
“We had as much time as we needed to finish the record, so we took our time,” Jack said. “The hardest aspect was deciding when to be done. I think we could have just continued polishing it forever.”
The band is currently on tour concluding at the Asheville Barnaroo 2017 on Sept. 30. They are also working on another track. Beyond that, Midnight Snack is leaving their options open for what’s to come.
“It’s tough for us to look too far down the line,” Jack said. “Hopefully many more shows and records!”
To stay up to date with Midnight Snack, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, YouTube, Bandcamp, and its official site.
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