Dear Cincinnati - Sound In The Signals Interview

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dear Cincinnati. We discussed their new EP ‘don’t come home’, collaborating with Derek from TRSH, a favorite aspect from the EP, artwork, and more. Check it out below. 

First, thanks for the interview.

Thanks for having us! This is a really cool format lol.

You recently released your new EP ‘don’t come home’. What was the writing and recording process like for it?

This is the record we can confidently say we’ve been meaning to make. It’s us. I think this is something people are gonna be able to sit with and be like “yeah, this is definitely dear cincinnati.” I (David) remember when we started working on it. It was actually on tour with Halftime show. I’m sitting in Bryce’s, the lead singer, house and I had just been dumped the day before. We were all tired, excited to be out of the car and Troy and I just started writing. “Back in the basement, just like I never left” is a reference to Bryce’s basement. Right before we really sat down and put heavy work into the record we transitioned to a new guitar player. He (Jake) really shaped this record. His guitar parts are definitely highlights of the record for me. 

Derek from TRSH did some production work on the EP as well as some guest vocals. What was it like working with him?

Derek is a good homie. Love the guy to death. The work he put into this EP is absolutely amazing. He’s one of the nicest guys in this genre and was really stoked to work on this. We wrote “your planet is marked for death, is this chill?” in the studio with him and his guitar work and verse are absolutely outstanding. 

I really like the song “Wanna Party?”. Can you tell me about writing that song and more about the inspiration for it?

Speaking of Halftime Show, a lot of this record was fueled by that tour. “Wanna Party?” was no different. I (David) sat down one day and looked through all of my pictures from the last year. Every stupid photo I’ve taken of Troy sleeping. Every cute couples picture I took with an ex. All the photos from the show. It made me realize I don’t remember any of it and that makes me really sad. Maybe I drink too much, or just have a really shot memory but I just can’t remember. Then it just made me think “do pictures really even matter if they’re not gonna help me remember everything that’s happened?”.

This one is really special to me too because it’s the first one that Troy and I decided he’s gonna sing on with me. That Taking Back Sunday type vocal relationship is something everyone in the band is really stoked to have and I’m happy to be doing it with one of my best friends. Musically I feel like it’s our most solid. The riff in the intro is something Hudson, our other guitarist, just started playing around with at practice and it all clicked right there. We just know that was gonna be a special song. Jake adding his parts over it really expanded the entire sound of the song. 

Do you have a favorite lyrical or musical moment from the EP? Why? 

I think a lot of this record means a lot to us but, something that stands out is all the gang vocals we did. It just feels so good to be there with your friends making music together. 

I really like the cover art. Where did you get that image from? Why did you choose it for this set of songs?

We were on tour in Gainesville, Florida when we saw that wall art. Troy was the one who had the idea to make that the cover. What’s on the record is all Troy’s editing and work so, kudos to all the work he put into it. I think it fits the theme of the record. He wants off the wall. He wants to get away from what, at least I chose to believe, is home. Away from everything that bothers you. 

Do you have plans for a physical release such as vinyl, cassettes, or CDs? How important is having physical merch or media to your band? 

Physical media is VASTLY important to all of us. We all have records or CDs or cassettes. Not only is it an amazing way to support the artists but, it’s something really special to have. We currently have CDs for our first release “and i can’t let go” and plan on making CDs and cassettes for “don’t come home.” 

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you want like to add?

thank you for having us! this was really fun! 

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Bluesky