Robert DeLong Talks “Song-Based” Approach to New Album, “In the Cards”

Image Courtesy of Glassnote RecordsRobert DeLong's sophomore album In the Cards, featuring the singles "Long Way Down" and "Don't Wait Up," is out now. For In the Cards, DeLong wanted to try something different from the "dance-music oriented" sound of his debut album, and he feels that "Long Way Down" exemplifies his new approach.

"I wanted to explore in general even with this album -- and 'Long Way Down' was kinda the poster child for it -- writing more song-based songs that really were, not dance songs, but were like traditional pop songs in a way, something that people could digest I think a little bit more, I guess, fluidly," DeLong tells ABC Radio.

"So ['Long Way Down'] was my first attempt at it, and it apparently worked out well for me," he laughs. "Long Way Down," the lead single from In the Cards, reached number three at Alternative radio.

"Long Way Down" is certainly a catchy song, but you may have also been drawn to the ominous motif that follows the chorus, which sounds a lot like the James Bond theme. While DeLong didn't mean to reference 007 specifically in that moment, he was looking for something dramatic to fit the song.

"I've always kinda loved those sort of epic, almost cinematic sort of chord changes in pop songs, rock songs, there's something almost spooky about it," he says. "But yeah, it was no intention to make it sound like James Bond, it just kinda came out that way. Everyone's always like, 'Yeah, you should try to write the next James Bond theme,' and it's like, well, you know, if that came along I'm sure I would."

The album's second single was "Don't Wait Up," which is a much peppier, more upbeat song than its predecessor.

"The album kinda covers a lot of ground between things that are really poppy and things that are really weird, but it's all pretty high energy, 'Long Way Down' being maybe one of the slowest songs on the album," DeLong says. "So I wanted something that sort of represented the other half of the album to be out there to kinda not give people a false impressions of what they'd be getting into when they bought it."

Even with a different sound, "Don't Wait Up" is looking to match the success of "Long Way Down," -- the track currently sits in the top-20 at Alternative radio. While both singles have had success at Alternative radio, DeLong is nominally an electronic artist. However, he played in several rock bands before starting this project, which he feels influences what he does today, even if it is surrounded by electronics.

"I think I kind of write songs like they're pop-rock songs or something like that, and then have the electronic production around them and choose different dance styles as kind of like, I guess, a vessel for the tune," DeLong tells ABC Radio. "But yeah, I mean even on this record, there's a lot more electric guitar and stuff like that." 

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