Filthy Hearts are a fairly new punk band out of Denver, Colorado. The band was formed by ex-The Larimers vocalist, Ryan Hatfield.
The band release their debut EP ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (Inside)’ on September 23rd – and we at Punktastic are offering an exclusive stream of the 4 track offering ahead of its release.
Lauren Mills caught up with band members to ask them some questions about the EP, their formation and the catharsis that comes from the breakup of old bands.
How did Filthy Hearts form?
Filthy Hearts formed as a way that I could get music out that wasn’t in tune with my previous band, The Larimers, sensibilities. I had wanted to do a bit more punk rock style melodic songs and had recorded a few demos of the songs acoustically. Steve, who is definitely my co-conspirator and helped write all of these tunes, dug the song and we kinda ran with that for a while with our friend Alec, who played drums, and we kinda shaped this song into a sound that we wanted to do. That was around July of 2015 and for a few months, due to my other obligations, the band was a pipe dream. Though in February of this year, my schedule had started to free up from leaving The Larimers, so Steve and I decided to try and make this a thing again. Steve and I looked for a drummer, who was kinda into the same kinds of bands that we were, so that the songs would come naturally. We have definitely found that in Tom. He plays aggressively, tight, and really is the back bone of our sound, & a great drummer. When we added Justin, a good friend of mine that I had wanted to play in a band with for some time, on lead guitar it was just such completion to the whole thing. His leads shine through bright on this EP and his vocals add a greater depth to the whole thing. I really love his reprise at the end of ‘Halfway to Dismay.’ Filthy Hearts has definitely evolved quite a bit from that first song, but we are definitely trying to go in a more aggressive direction, albeit with melodic and heartfelt lyrics.
“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead Inside” is your debut EP. Tell me about it. What themes did you express lyrically and what were you hoping to accomplish with the EP?
When I was writing the lyrics for I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (Inside), I had just gone through a break up with my previous band, The Larimers, and there is definitely a lot of what I was going through mentally at the time of the record. It has themes of miscommunication, betrayal, friendships lost; anxiety of moving on, alcohol abuse and anxiety in general is a big theme in our music. We all have anxiety and that is a good thing to some degree because we all have quirky personalities and it can be a hurdle to overcome sometimes.
One of the issues I have a huge problem with communication about my feelings on things, which is what ‘Precipice’ is about, until I get upset, it’s definitely not an excuse, just confrontations give me pretty severe anxiety, which makes me feel like I’m going to die. This is probably something that people with anxiety can relate to, but I often use my anger to push through it and that can get very bad. The hook, “I always have to have the last word every time” is something my wife, Jenae, has told me when we have gotten into arguments. I felt like Dewey Cox in Walk Hard when I decided to use this line.
I have always struggled with alcohol to some degree, particularly hard alcohol, so that comes through as well via ‘Drinking Wells is The Best Revenge.’ Steve wrote this killer rhythm guitar line and I had written these lyrics years ago when I was in bad spot in my life. I couldn’t afford to pay my rent or take care of myself, but I was still at the bar. It was a pretty shitty point and the song definitely isn’t glorifying anything about putting your addictions first. The song is just a very melancholy take on my experience.
Breaking up with a band can bring on a lot of the same feelings you would get when you break up with a significant other, so those themes can be transposed, but that was really just my take on the whole experience of walking away from something that you had put so much into. Which, is what I was feeling when I wrote ‘Halfway to Dismay.’ It’s more than a little disheartening when you feel like there is no other recourse and no way to talk this out or that any compromise would be unfair to you. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do, but was actually quite rewarding in the end.
In ‘Not for Very Long’ it is about feeling hopeless and that any step you take it going to be in the wrong direction. Then writing some words on a piece of paper and really getting this sense that it may be hopeless, but you have control. That no one can define you and that in the end all you really have is yourself, but the other realization is that you feel like you really can’t hold on much longer and things have to get better, whether it’s by changing something in your life or letting someone go. I think that’s something that anyone who’s struggles with self-doubt/anxiety can really relate to because we dictate our own happiness and that that’s a hard pill (no pun intended) to swallow.
What we were trying to accomplish first and foremost is to define our sound and put out a record of songs that we would listen to. I wanted to write relatable songs, but from my experiences, so that they are honest and not just the same old kinds of songs. We write pretty fast and already have a few more songs that we will record next year. This is also our first release and we want to get out on the road to play other states, as we have just been playing in our home base of Denver, which is pretty impossible to do without some way to show that you have music. We’re also hoping that this opens more doors of opportunity for us.
How did you get into punk rock?
I got into punk rock through Green Day, Blink-182, Offspring, & Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Then from there just going to shows and checking out the bands that influenced the bands I was into.
Do you plan to record an LP?
Yes, we do plan on recording an LP next year. This is just our first release.
What was it like recording the EP?
Recording the EP was a great experience. We went to Felipe at Green Door Recordings in Englewood, CO. I’ve worked with him before and it is always an awesome time. He’s very knowledgeable about what does and doesn’t sound good and he was instrumental in making this record possible.