Terrible Love are a breath of fresh air in British hardcore. Made of ex-members of Bastions, Goodtime Boys and Grappler, the five-piece from London released their EP ‘Change Nothing’ in January to wide acclaim and they just announced a tour with Rolo Tomassi in April as well as a limited 12” release of ‘Change Nothing’ through Big Scary Monsters. We caught up with vocalist Jon for a brief chat.
Your EP, ‘Change Nothing’, came out on January 16th and so far the reception has been incredible. How does it feel to have this music finally out there and to see it be received so positively.
It always feels great to finally share something you’ve been working on with everyone, especially after sitting on it for a while. It also helps that people seem to like it.
One thing that really stands out is the production. It’s so professional, especially for a first EP. Was this something that you were striving for to make as big an impact as possible?
I think this is something you should always aim for, though working with Lewis Johns will make any record sound good.
Considering you’re made up of members of bands that have had considerable success in the hardcore scene already (Bastions, Goodtime Boys, Grappler), do you feel like you need to get up to that level as soon as possible? Or are you viewing this as a separate entity and taking it as it comes?
Absolutely viewing Terrible Love as a separate entity, however it’s been really good to have the experience under our belts from our previous bands to guide us.
On that note, how do you feel about being a ‘supergroup’ of sorts and the fact that this is referenced all the time? Do you mind the term, or would you rather people just focus on this new band instead of bringing up the past?
It’s not that I mind the term, it’s touching people would refer to the band as such, but we’d all prefer people to focus on the new band as much as possible, hence why we’ve kept a bit of ambiguity to the lineup thus far.
I’m really into the way the UK accent shines through, I think it’s so important for bands to own where they come from and not be ashamed of it or hide it. Was this a conscious decision the band made or is it just the way the vocals are delivered?
I’ve always found bands whose accents change when they sing odd. It wasn’t a conscious decision, I’m from the UK, so I should sound like it when I shout. Anything else would make the delivery fake.
Writing sessions for the EP were held in Cornwall, was it good to get out of London? Do you feel like it had any impact on the way the EP was written or the way it sounds? Would you consider doing it again in the future?
No phone signal was the best bit. It’s crazy what you can get done when you can’t procrastinate online. I think it’s refreshing to get away from it all when writing, beautiful countryside and beaches also help.
You’re playing two shows with Jungbluth from Germany in February. That band is incredible. How did those shows come about? Have you known them a while or is this the beginning of a new friendship? Both your bands have a really similar energy and those shows are going to be so good.
Jungbluth are a band that all of us have been fans of for a while and getting the chance to support them for our first shows is awesome. Not too sure how they came about, but would obviously love to play together again in the future.
I assume you won’t be resting on your laurels with this release, especially considering the attention it’s been receiving. I think you’re planning to record a 12” this year, right? Any ideas on when that will be happening or will you just see what happens? How about tour plans? Are you going to try play as much as possible or take it slow?
We’ll be playing and writing as much as possible, as for releases and tour plans. Watch this space.