*Photo By Niles Gregory*
Virginia natives Broadside have recently released their long anticipated album, Into The Raging Sea. We sat down with vocalist Oliver Baxxter to talk about the album and what releasing music during quarantine has been like!
Hey! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with My Life Backstage. How have you been?
I’ve been well, all things considered. A lot of reading and occasionally I’ll make myself a cup of coffee. This quarantine has been a complete learning experience.
Into The Raging Sea is your first release since 2017; what’s it been like releasing music during quarantine and not knowing when you’re going to be able to tour again?
It’s only a little terrifying. It’s bizarre thinking that the next time we play a show, we have an entirely new album of songs to put on the setlist/ that we’ve never played live before. Usually, you release a single and play it on whatever tour you’re on at the moment. This has been just a completely new way of doing things. As far as the thought of not playing shows for a long time goes, that still hurts.
Congratulations on your album hitting 1,000,000 streams in 24 hours! How did that feel and what was that experience like?
It felt like a small look at success. I think we are blessed with the fact that everyone that would listen to this album is stuck at home right now. Not distracted. In a way, we cornered them and said ” here listen to this record and give me feedback on Twitter”. I was very happy with those numbers.
How is Into The Raging Sea different from your previous releases?
It’s the adult version of myself singing. The music is also more mature. We wanted to write songs that represent the new Broadside. Going into this record though, we didn’t know exactly what the “new sound ” was going to be. We found it organically, in my apartment last winter. Jeff and I wrote 11 demos and they all sound pretty close to what you hear on the record. This version of the band just feels more authentic to who I am. The music gives me confidence.
What’s your favorite song off of the record and why?
I would say Clarity or Seasons. Clarity is a different song entirely from what I’m used to writing. It has a straight forward approach to a slow build-up. It plays like a country ballad. For a song about me questioning my mental instability, that’s a fun mix up. Yeehaw! ‘ Seasons ‘ is a song about my struggle with my episodes of severe depression. Not very fun topics but at this point in my career, I’m singing my sadness in hopes to normalize it within myself. Free
(ish) therapy.
What’s next for Broadside post-release?
I think we need to learn to do digital shows/ streaming. It doesn’t look like I’ll be touring much so I think we need to figure out a few ways to remain relevant. Luckily, our fans are very good to us and support this record enough to be happy with any content we put out around it.
I can confidently say that Into The Raging Sea is one of my favorite releases of the entire Summer. Broadside’s dark, yet hopeful lyrics allow the listener to dive deep into the emotional vulnerability of Baxxter and the band, making this piece of work something special for fans to hold onto for years to come.
To keep up with Broadside, you can follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and don’t forget to stream Into The Raging Sea wherever you listen to music!