Q&A: Post Animal on Finding Freedom And Fantasy Within Friendship On ‘IRON’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IZZY PETRAGLIA ☆
Photography Credit: Pooneh Ghana
A REVITALIZING RETURN TO THEIR ROOTS — and the perfect medley between friendship and fantasy is IRON–the new album from Post Animal. The members Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes, Wesley Toledo, and Matt Williams reintroduce Joe Keery into the mix, marking IRON as the first Post Animal album with all six original members in nearly a decade–tying up loose ends from their full-length debut, When I Think Of You In A Castle. It remains true to what makes a notable Post Animal record, an example of genre-defying work that comes from the comfort within one another.
Post Animal continues to demonstrate how they navigate individual personalities who do not place their identity in each other, but as extensions that bring out the best in one another. IRON depicts the group rediscovering what brought them together in the first place, and how that rediscovery has solidified their bond with each other as friends and creatives. LUNA was able to catch up with Jake Hirshland ahead of IRON’s release, diving into the strength and rejuvenation of working together again as a six-piece.
LUNA: I love the new album. I heard the advance and it's so good, I'm really into the whole Renaissance, Middle Ages sort of thing you guys are doing. I literally just went to a Ren faire for the first time, so this was perfectly timed.
HIRSHLAND: How did you dress? Were you in a LARPing cosplay?
LUNA: I worked with what I had, I felt underdressed, but everyone was in full costume and makeup. It was awesome.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, some people really throw down.
LUNA: I feel like you guys should do a nice little Ren faire appearance one day.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah do a show at one…that’d be pretty sick.
LUNA: I actually found an old “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit where Matt talked about being intrigued by fantasy, the Middle Ages and working that into writing your music. I wanted to know, what is it about that era that resonated with you guys creatively?
HIRSHLAND: That's a really good question. I definitely think that’s just something that we all connect over, a shared interest in fantasy and those kinds of stories. I'm a pretty big fantasy fan myself. It’s a nice language for us to use when we're, you know, being silly and being friends. It’s something we end up referring to a lot. When we were thinking about this record, trying to sum it up in imagery and think about what might make sense for it, it felt like a very natural visual language to refer to our friendship.
There's also something really fun, lighthearted and silly about it–but something serious about it at the same time, which is kind of cool. It's one of those things that's got both things happening at once. You're literally in wartime garb, but it's also so silly. How many things are both of those things at once?
LUNA: That’s the perfect way to sum up my experience at the Ren faire.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, it's kind of brutal, but lighthearted and very funny. and fun. That's the kind of tightrope we're trying to walk for sure. It's just what we end up making.
LUNA: It's interesting, I feel like you don't see a lot of people tap into that era anymore. Seeing you guys use that imagery is really refreshing. Even in the endings of songs like Pie in the Sky, the guitar takes you back to that time, almost as if you were there. Obviously, none of us really know what that's like, but we can imagine!
In that same Reddit thread, I also remember reading about how one of the big dreams you guys wrote out five years ago was that you want to write a soundtrack for a movie or a show. If this album was the soundtrack for any movie or show that's already out, what do you think it would be?
HIRSHLAND: Oh, that is such a good question. What show or movie? I feel like it would be–well, how about this? I'll give you an exclusive. There is a not-yet-publicly-named, not-yet-completely-written, Post Animal feature-length film that has been in the works in the back of our minds for a long time now. You can be the exclusive to know about its existence!
LUNA: Oh my god, I get to be the bearer of great news!
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, it would be the soundtrack for that forthcoming movie. I don't know if I could think of one that already exists, but we got something brewing.
LUNA: That's awesome. I can probably distribute the news by saying “Hear ye, hear ye” to go with the Middle Ages theme! And while we're on the topic of any dreams or goals you guys have had over the last five years, what else would you say has been added to that list, if anything? That could go for you individually or as a band.
HIRSHLAND: The big goal for me, I can't really speak for everyone, but this album is us getting more comprehensive with everything that we're doing and creating a more comprehensive universe, which is something that I've always really wanted to do. As you build up a project, I feel like if that's one of your goals, it just takes time to get there. I want to go even further with my creativity and creating universes. I think we've definitely done that, and we've endeavored to do that over our whole time together as a band.
A big goal would be to do more multimedia. Making a movie, making a book, doing that kind of stuff. It's in what we were fans of, as music fans, before we were in a band. We have always loved stuff like that. It would be a big goal for me to be like, “Oh, this stuff is all tying together now.” We're circling back to topics that we started talking about. We're redefining them and making everything make sense, tying up all the threads.
LUNA: World-building within music is honestly one of my favorite things to see. Especially as your career keeps growing and you’re seeing everything connect. And there's something so special when you go beyond just the music into more multimedia projects. There's so many ways to create around the music you're putting out. I'm excited to see that happen, especially with the movie you guys are working on.
HIRSHLAND: Oh yeah, that's gonna be–we'll see. We got a lot of work to do with that one. But it's all part of the process, gotta dream big!
LUNA: Exactly! You've talked about how this record is redefining a lot of the stuff you guys have explored previously, you’re tying up the loose ends, and you’ve mentioned it feeling like a revitalization of your friendship and the band–especially with Joe [Keery] coming back into the mix. I think one of the best feelings in the world is to take time away from something and come back to it feeling completely reinspired. So given that, what would you say that re-inspiration looked like in the studio or throughout the writing process? How did it contribute to shaping the record overall?
HIRSHLAND: We've been kind of describing this record to each other and to people who’ve asked us as a friendship record to us. It's not a concept album about our friendship or anything like that. But it is about our collective friendships and all the things that friends go through together and share with each other. It's explored through the lens of friends who were pretty much inseparable, and then we're artists together, and then took time away from doing that as a complete group that are now returning to it. That was all stuff that we were actively thinking and talking about during the process.
So I think in a way, it's us trying to tie up the threads from our last full-length album that we made as a six-piece, When I Think Of You In A Castle. It’s a spiritual follow-up to that album in a way, exploring music together after time has passed and seeing what happens when you add some time to that mix.
LUNA: Totally. It's really cool to see the connections from previous work until now. I love seeing shows, music, and movies that touch on something mentioned in the past. How I Met Your Mother is my favorite example of that.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, this album has literal callbacks to When I Think Of You In A Castle and it has some elements I hope people can discover for themselves. I won’t go too deeply into it. But there is stuff layered in this record that is intentionally meant to tell more of the story of what we worked on before. It's cool to have the ability and experience to circle back to ideas seven or eight years later. I don't think everyone gets a chance to do that with a group of friends who make stuff together like this.
LUNA: 100%. And when you guys write, do you write songs individually, sing them yourself and then bring it all together when you’re making a record?
HIRSHLAND: We vary the process a lot from song to song. Some songs are like that. Almost nothing on this record was like that. For vocal melodies and lyrics, we worked really hand-in-hand for almost the whole record to come up with those things. We even wrote a lot of the instrumentals together in-person during our writing and recording sessions. It was kind of the first time we've been so collaborative. I mean, we always collaborate, but there are songs on this record that came from the ground up with absolutely nothing written, which is pretty unusual for us to do. There have only been a few songs like that in the past, but we have a bunch of them on this record. So it feels pretty good to be able to collaborate like that.
LUNA: I was wondering because even with your other work, when you may have written individually, every project has had so many different stylistic shifts but still feels extremely cohesive. Do you believe the unified sound of all of your different tastes coming together to create this one cohesive thing reflects the strength within your friendship?
HIRSHLAND: Yes, I think it definitely does. I think it reflects the trust that we give each other, and how that trust allows us to trust each other's creativity. It pays off in music that we all collectively like. That is the fuel that sustains us continuing to work together. I definitely think it is tied in with our friendship and the trust that comes out of our friendship.
LUNA: It shows even just with everything you're telling me, that overall theme of IRON being a friendship album. It feels like your friendship is stronger than ever, at least from an outside perspective.
HIRSHLAND: That’s good, that’s what I like to hear.
LUNA: I've kind of read a bit about the meaning of the band name and how you've talked about it evolving over time. You originally cited it as a reflection of human life and consciousness. When you think of that meaning now, what sort of specific feelings, images or experiences come to mind when you hear that?
HIRSHLAND: It's weird, the band name really–I don't know what the right word is for it. I'm thinking in terms of Photoshop right now where it’s almost flattened or rasterized? I don’t know the specific word but it almost means nothing to me–in a good way. It’s its own thing, when I think of it, I don’t think of a particular thing. It’s just the name of the band. I don’t usually put it into words, that’s kind of my vibe.
LUNA: Totally, as I was doing research I sort of picked up on that but figured I’d ask in case there was a sort of distinct opinion or feeling you associate with the name. I love looking at interviews and seeing the way the answer to a question you were asked five or so years ago can change when you re-visit it.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah definitely. As a creator of things, I feel a push and pull with the idea or importance of the meaning of things. I don't always think it's better for something you’re making to have meaning. Sometimes things just feel right in and of themselves. That can apply to names of things, visuals, lyrics, or the actual instrumental of a song. The instrumental of a song is the best example of that. Usually they don't mean anything, yet they can feel so right and be so perfect. You can fall in love with them and find your own meaning in them. But usually when the musicians I know are coming up with a chord progression, it has no meaning. So I kind of feel that way about our name. It feels the way it should for me, at the moment.
LUNA: It's interesting, what you’re saying about the meaning we give to different things. I'm going to use music as an example just with everything we’re talking about, but I feel like a lot of people get caught up in trying to understand the meaning behind every song when sometimes it could just be a song that’s just good or fun and enjoyed simply for what it is. There doesn't have to be a deeper layer every time.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, for sure. It is case by case, I guess.
LUNA: I think a lot of people are starting to open themselves up more to not needing to psychoanalyze every single thing. I think it's fun sometimes when someone is intently leaving behind things for you to pick up on. But sometimes things can just be what they are.
HIRSHLAND: Yeah, definitely. It's kind of a fun and mysterious part about music. I think that there are times when things are deeply layered and there are Easter eggs hiding.
LUNA: Kind of like what you mentioned with the connections in this album to your older albums.
HIRSHLAND: Like that stuff's definitely there, then there's also other stuff that has a different purpose for me. It's all intentional. I definitely believe that intentional choices are important to me, but everything has different purposes for being there.
LUNA: For sure. You mentioned the Euro tour starts tomorrow, you've been touring with Djo for a while, then you're going on a headline tour later this year. While it's natural on tour to feel an element of homesickness, how do you personally create a sense of home while you're on the road?
HIRSHLAND: I feel like I got my little things, you know, my little routines that I try to maintain out there. You get some good sleep and you're building time to go–I don't know, I can't even lie, this tour it’s been so amazing to be with all of my best friends. I do feel a little bit like I'm bringing my home with me on this one. It's definitely not a bummer.
LUNA: I was sad to miss the Toronto show while I was travelling, I talked to someone at my work and mentioned our interview and they were so hyped during your set they bought tickets right then and there for your headline show in November.
HIRSHLAND: That's great to hear. I'm glad that people are enjoying it. We're definitely enjoying it, which I hope translates to other people enjoying it. We're stoked to come back to Toronto too. It's gonna be fun.
LUNA: With that being said, have there been any spots you’ve felt especially connected to on tour, or have there been any spots that are harder to connect to?
HIRSHLAND: Sometimes it’s really in and out when you’re on tour. When it’s like that, it’s harder to connect. I definitely wouldn't put it onto a particular place for being hard to connect to, per se. Sometimes your schedule is just so fleeting and you don't really get a good experience of the place. It's just top of mind, but with Toronto, being from Chicago it almost feels like a sister city.
LUNA: Yeah for sure, I've only been to Chicago once when I was 18, but they’re definitely similar.
HIRSHLAND: For sure. I love that. I always really loved coming to New York, now I live in New York. That was an example of coming somewhere on tour and I was like, “Wow, I love it here. I really want to spend some time here at some point.” Then it ended up happening. It probably was partially because I just had such a good experience being here. I'm really looking forward to going to Europe and returning to Paris. There's also some spots on the Europe tour that I've never been to personally. I’m stoked to go to Stockholm and Oslo–just some of these places that have been on the list forever.
LUNA: That’s gonna be awesome. I can't imagine being on tour and going through all these cities so fast, knocking places off your bucket list. It's so cool.
I do have one last question to wrap things up. Given everything we’ve spoken about today, your experience and the band’s experience with creative revitalization, and this being a true friendship album–what advice do you have for anyone in the creative industry that seeks to reconnect with their passion?
HIRSHLAND: That's a good question. If reconnect is the keyword there, like it's something that you want to come back to, or maybe you want to make some changes to how you approach it and everything, I would just say take some pressure off yourself. Try to engage with the parts of the thing that you love. Don't try to bring a lot of baggage with you about how it's going to work, where it's gonna go, and who's gonna pay attention to it. Just try to focus on the parts of the thing that you love.
Ultimately, I think that kind of pressure can get in the way of actually doing stuff that you feel good about. That’s definitely been the case for me in my life. I just feel good about it no matter what happens, which is such a freeing feeling. That freeing feeling is gonna put some wind in your sails. I think that would be my best advice.
