As December Falls have spent the past seven years being told they were going about things the wrong way.
Soon after forming in 2014, the Nottingham based punk-pop band were advised to ditch the guitars and focus on poppy, synth-driven tracks. They were lectured that releasing 2019’s self-titled debut album without a label was a huge mistake. At every turn, the independent group were told to work with bookers and promoters to stand a chance of selling out a headline show. Believing in themselves, As December Falls refused to listen.
“Everyone’s got an opinion and nobody wants to help you do it,” starts guitarist Timmy. “They just want to talk at you and take your money.”
The band (vocalist Bethany , guitarist Ande, drummer Lukas and Timmy) started with a common goal that endures to this day – to write some great songs and take it as far as they could. “Each year it seems to have gotten bigger so we’ve just gone, let’s carry on,” explains Ande as Bethany continues, “We’ve built this whole thing ourselves. I know that we’re a good band. I know that our songs are good,” but sometimes, it does feel like As December Falls versus the world. “It sounds like a cliché but you are on your own and you have to decide to keep fighting, keep rolling with the punches and just see what happens,” grins Timmy.
Every step of the way, the fiercely independent band proved each one of those vocal naysayers wrong. That self-titled debut saw the band sell out 90% of their self-booked, self-promoted UK headline tour and for the first time in their career, the band weren’t having to put in a chunk of their day job earnings to keep things moving. As they went into 2020, they were more comfortable, more confident and more sure of themselves than ever.
“We’re always chasing the next thing, we’re never quite happy with where we have gotten to,” explains Timmy. “We’re never complacent.”
That drive is about the only thing the band do agree on. Musically Ande pulls from the world of classic rock, idolising the likes of Slash and Jimi Hendrix while Timmy grew up on vintage pop-punk (Blink 182, Sum 41, Fall Out Boy and Panic At The Disco) but became obsessed with the emo rock of Basement, Turnover and Citizen when ADF formed. You can hear that in their music. Bethany on the other hand, having never been in a band before, spent the early years watching videos of Marmozets, Joan Jett and other “strong female rockstars” for inspiration. After a string of EPs, it all came together for that debut album. A record full of party-starting anthems, the band sung about going out, always being skint but always looking for a good time. As Timmy explains, “It’s got this massive injection of youth.”
That record really set something in motion for the band and “It’s just snowballing now.” With their future very much in their own hands, 2020 gave them a chance to work out exactly what sort of band they wanted to be. They agreed, “Let’s make this thing as big as we can get it.” New album ‘Happier’ (Out X) is another celebration of noisy rock & roll that sees the As December Falls ready to take the next step.
They’d always planned to do a second album last year but originally, recording was pencilled in around a hectic touring schedule. When that fell away, the band put all their energies into ‘Happier’ and the result is “something really special that we may not have got otherwise,” according to Timmy.
The band love that first album but as Ande explains, “it was recorded in a garage in London on an old iMac” and it sounds like it. For the second record, they wanted something bigger so after looking at various label offers, As December Falls did what they do best. They did it themselves and took out a bank loan to fund it. Working alongside producer John Mitchell (“the perfect guy to make this record because he’s made so many albums we grew up listening to – You Me At Six, Enter Shikari, Architects.) the band made something more cinematic, more dynamic and more emotional than what’s come before.
“We’re growing as a band,” promises Timmy and part of that includes now working with a small, carefully selected team. “As with anything in this band, none of it was planned,” laughs Ande.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to anything, as long as it’s going to keep pushing us forward. It just made logical sense to take that next step and see where it takes us,” adds Timmy. They’ve still got that resilient DIY spirit though. ‘Happier’ is coming out on their own label and they’ve maintained full control of every aspect of the band. “We’ve still got our soul”. And they’re eager to bare it across ‘Happier’.
“We’ve tried to keep the ADF party vibes with the music, but lyrically it’s much more mature,” starts Bethany. “This one is going to feel different. There are actually messages behind the songs.”
‘Afterglow’ is a call to arms against gossip, the frustrated ‘Over It’ is “the song of 2020”, ‘You Say When’ is about being completely head over heels in love while ‘HNA’ and ‘All Of This Is Over’ deal with the death of a relationship. ‘Tears’ is a song of “female empowerment”, ‘Fake Company’ was inspired by a particularly bad case of social anxiety, ‘One Last Song’ brings their us against the world mentality to anthemic life and the title track came after a bad mental health day. “I was struggling,” admits Beth. Like most people in 2020, “I went from working in an office and having total freedom to staying at home and not seeing anyone.”
All of the songs come from a real place and for a lot of ‘Happier’, Bethany “had to have the confidence to be vulnerable and let people see that side of me. I was unsure about it at first but this past year, some of the most confident, out-there people I’ve ever met in my life have messaged me to let me know they’re struggling. If 2020 did that to them…” she continues. “If I’m open about my mental health, other people might be as well.”
Lockdown had an effect on the rest of ‘Happier’ as well. Around them, As December Falls saw countless bands dropping the guitars and going more pop but “we didn’t want to follow that herd. If anything, we wanted to go heavier.” Take that and mix it with the fact the band couldn’t tour and couldn’t even get in a room to play together, so when they were finally unleashed in the studio, they plugged in their gear, turned it up loud and made what Timmy describes as “a solid, unapologetic rock album.”
But even in the studio, the band were dreaming about those live shows. “It’s people screaming those lyrics back at you that makes everything worth it,” says Ande as the band once again manage to agree on something. “We just want to connect with people.”
But despite years of being told what to do, how have As December Falls remained true to their own vision for the band? “For me, it’s because those demands have never come from a fan. No one has come up to us after a show and said ‘you need more synths’, or ‘you should sign to a label” laughs Ande as Timmy continues, “As people, we’re rebellious and independent so it’s about staying true to what we want to do as artists.” It’s Bethany who explains the ADF mantra best though. “We’re going to do what we want to do and we’re going to do it our way.” Don’t stand in their way.