Image Courtesy of Sacks & Co.Civil Twilight is currently on tour in support of their newly released third album, Story of an Immigrant. The title of the record carries a literal meaning for the band, as they hail from South Africa. In fact, they count Story of an Immigrant as their most personal album to date.
"I think lyrically, definitely [Story of an Immigrant is more personal]," vocalist Steven McKellar tells ABC Radio. "A lot of looking back at our childhood. And I think musically a lot of looking back as well."
"A lot more early influences from South Africa kinda crept into the music this time around, which hasn't really happened on the last albums as much," adds drummer Richard Wouters.
Earlier in their career, Civil Twilight garnered many comparisons to bands like Muse, U2 and The Police, but for Story of an Immigrant, the band wanted to create an album that better reflected the music of their upbringing.
"We got filtered down all this music from Europe and the U.K. and the States, and I think we were just kinda like enamored by that music for so long," McKellar explains. "We wanted to make that and sort of ignore what was around us and just kinda look at what was coming in on the ships, as it were. Now I think we're just willing to really embrace what we were surrounded by as kids."
While Civil Twilight looked towards their childhood on Story of an Immigrant, McKeller felt that he was maturing as a musician and a songwriter, especially when compared to the difference between the band's self-titled debut and their sophomore album, Holy Weather.
'I listen to [Holy Weather] and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, Steve,'" McKellar tells ABC Radio. "It's like embarrassing because it seems like I'm just revolting against what I did before [and] reacting to the attention that the first record got and how much I've grown and trying to prove a point: 'This is how much I've grown, take a look at this!' And this record I think we just got beyond that."
That maturation allowed Civil Twilight to make a more concise record with Story of an Immigrant, and, overall, "have some fun," which resulted in the album's lead single, "Holy Dove." The track features heavy, synth-based riffs and is punctuated by the line, "I'm not going down with the rest of you." McKellar likes that the line is open to interpretation, although he has his own understanding of its meaning that he has declined to share.
"I've told like two people what I wrote the lyrics from, what the perspective was for me. I told two people and they both were like, 'Oh my gosh, that's so lame! Don't tell anybody that!'" McKellar laughs.
Civil Twilight's next tour stop is tonight, July 28, in Cleveland. Story of an Immigrant is out now.
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