Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine
Beartooth’s 2023 album The Surface arrived as a lesson in self-love, somewhat of a complete curveball to the pain, grief and depression that has laced Beartooth’s back-catalogue. But maybe in retrospect, records such as Below, Disease and Aggressive were learning curves and now, The Surface is teaching Beartooth how to love themselves and how to be happy in their own skin. We sat down with Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo at their label home Red Bull Studios, to discuss how the alternative scene could benefit from more self love songs, finding newfound rushes of euphoria and how fans could relate to a happier version of Beartooth.
To start off this new era of Beartooth, we should start by discussing lead single Riptide. There is a specific line in Riptide where you sing “I wanna feel euphoria, give me the rush.” Did it feel like a rush of euphoria when releasing the track, given the positive mental attitude a lot of this album takes on?
Definitely in a different way. I think that line specifically is referencing me wanting something different to what Below was. That record was just so dark and I vowed to myself at the end of making that record I would never make a record like that again. Riptide is just me manifesting the themes on The Surface and what the album turned into. I never felt feelings like I have gathered from making this album. Making The Surface has been truly revolutionary.
In the middle of all the positivity you are showcasing on the new album, a song like Sunshine comes along and almost grounds the album. The track touches on themes of the mental and physical effects of seasonal depression. Talk to us more about the general meaning of Sunshine and how you think it’s a reality check to the rest of the record.
I think it’s crucial and I think Sunshine really describes the transition I was going through whilst making the album. Obviously it specifically references my seasonal depression and making the choice to move from Ohio to Los Angeles, but I also think I’m referencing a lot of old Beartooth music, especially with the vocal style I’m using. I think Sunshine really wraps up the transition I was going through really well.
We think a song the scene needs a lot more of is Might Love Myself. For example, we hear a lot of songs that deal with dark subject matters, which is great because if someone is going through those difficult times they can relate to those particular struggles. However, Might Love Myself encourages us to accept ourselves for who we are, which on the contrary, is something we don’t hear enough of. Do you think that the scene could benefit from more songs like Might Love Myself?
If I’ve learned anything about the scene, it’s that it has so many fans from different walks of life all in different places. I don’t know if I could speak for the scene, but I can speak for myself and for what Beartooth is to me, which is always me writing about exactly what I’m going through. Might Love Myself is super important and hopefully people can relate to it and it can evoke something in them. I understand that song might not be for everyone. It took me so many years, in a place where a song like Might Love Myself – I would have not resonated with back then. But what I do hope people resonate with is understanding that song in the context of all the other Beartooth songs that I have written before it, and that it does mark a chapter of growth and change for us, which is something I was yearning for the entire time I’ve been making Beartooth songs. Now to feel self-love on this album is the single most important change I have made in my own life.
Moving onto your new album The Surface. When we look back at your previous album Below, there is a stark contrast thematically to The Surface. We don’t need to tell you Caleb, but a lot of listeners related to the anguish you expressed on Below. Perhaps with The Surface a lot more listeners can relate to the self-loving attitude and will be inspired by the new, uplifting nature of Beartooth. Do you hope that listeners will have the same relatability they had to Beartooth on Below, now with The Surface?
That would be amazing. I think to me the importance of Below and why it was such a dark record is that at its core, it’s a period piece of what it really felt like to be in the middle of a pandemic. We all went through so much darkness and so much pain. But I do feel like the world is hungry to grow out of that and I think we all have a newfound optimism for life, how precious it can be and how short it is, that I hope people can take away similar positive themes from The Surface. That would be a massive bonus for sure.
Thank you for taking the time to chat to us Caleb – and congrats on the new album!
Interview by: Katie Conway-Flood
Beartooth‘s new album The Surface is out now via Red Bull Records, available to stream or purchase HERE.
See Beartooth live at one of the following dates:
October 2024
Thu 10th – BERLIN, DE – Columbiahalle
Fri 11th – COLOGNE, DE – Palladium
Sat 12th – COLOGNE, DE – Palladium
Tue 15th – VIENNA, AT – Gasometer
Wed 16th – WIESBADEN, DE – Schlachthof
Thu 17th – WIESBADEN, DE – Schlachthof
Fri 18th – MUNICH, DE – Zenith
Sat 19th – PARIS, FR – Le Bataclan
Mon 21st – BIRMINGHAM, UK – O2 Academy
Tue 22nd – BIRMINGHAM, UK – O2 Academy
Thu 24th – MANCHESTER, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse
Fri 25th – MANCHESTER, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse
Sat 26th – LONDON, UK – Alexandra Palace
Mon 28th – BRUSSELS, BE – Ancienne Belgique
Tue 29th – BRUSSELS, BE – Ancienne Belgique
Thu 31st – TILBURG, NL – O13
November 2024
Fri 1st – TILBURG, NL – O13
Sat 2nd – HAMBURG, DE – Sporthalle
