ABC/Randy HolmesAWOLNATION's sound has always mixed a variety of sounds -- rock, electronica, hip-hop -- but for the band's next album, Here Come the Runts, frontman Aaron Bruno wanted to focus more exclusively on the rock.
"I'm always discovering new music at all times, and one thing I've found is the singer-songwriter lasts -- at least to me," Bruno tells TeamRock. "Trends come and go -- whether it's electronics or synthesizers, certain kind of beats, certain kind of drum sounds -- but it always goes back to the lyrics and some sort of chord progression, be it a guitar or a piano."
"So that's where I’m at now, and I think a lot of people feel the same way -- it's time to make a change," he continues. "[Here Come the Runts] doesn't have all the bells and whistles, and bells and whistles are the obvious plastic sounds."
Bruno doesn't totally eschew electronics on the new album, but when they do appear, he wanted them to feel more organic.
"Even the electronic aspects of the album, if there's a synth here or there, [have] got more of an analogue feel than some dubstep kind of trap thing," he explains.
Lyrically, Here Come the Runts focuses on the underdog -- the kind of person Bruce Springsteen would sing about.
"We go through each day thinking okay, how are we going to eat? Or how are we going to make money? And all those things," Bruno says. "When really, at the end of life, when you're faced with the end of your days, the real question comes in hand: what now? Or what next? Those are the sorts of questions that fuel most of my thoughts, lyrics and study."
Here Come the Runts, featuring the lead single "Passion," will be released February 2.
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