By Grace Knight, Second Year English
Three years ago, I first saw a Cleoptrick gig and it entirely changed everything I knew concerts to be. With heavy guitar solos and gritty beat drops, the crowd seemed to be buzzing with euphoric electricity.
My childhood imaginings of what a rock band concert would be like materialised into the distorted chords and the introspective lyrics that ricocheted from every wall through the grungy tones.
Returning to tour in the UK with the release of their second LP, I spoke to Cleopatrick’s vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz about the meaning behind its title FAKE MOON, the sonic shift from reactive to reflective and what we can expect from the upcoming shows.
After showing me the remains of a snowstorm from the window of his Ontario apartment over call, we settle into a discussion over respective cups of tea and coffee.
‘I think it’s my favourite part about the record actually, it feels so real’ Luke explains when I question him on the change in musical tone that’s been teased through the three tracks 'BAD GUY', 'HAMMER', and 'PLEASE' that have already been released from the album.
He elaborates on how the time taken out during COVID lockdown had an undeniable impact on their music since they weren’t constantly subject to the high energy of tour. ‘I was putting this band into the box of like we just gotta make Bummer 2 [their first album] or make something heavy that fits in with everything else, but then I realised I was like forcing that in the ideas I was coming up with.’
Although fans were surprised by the shift from songs made up of constant explosivity, the band’s choice to create a more lo-fi vibe they’ve labelled ‘laptop rock’ has resulted in new sound that builds electric tensions and leaves you spiralling through the chunky synths and pixelated guitar chords.
I can’t help but question the punchy title of FAKE MOON for its seemingly ironic meaning and relevance to the upcoming music. Luke explains how there was a period of time when he was interested in how the human mind becomes radicalised and ends up believing in conspiracy theories.
This played into the title as he said: ‘I remember being in an Uber leaving somewhere looking out the window […] and I just remember looking at the moon and thinking it’s not real, how could I ever test if that’s true, everyone sees it but who knows it could be a projection.'
'So, to explore that idea in a funny way, that sentence, those two words together sounded intriguing and as the music came together just felt like yeah that's the identity.’ As we laugh over other strange conspiracies, it comes to light how these ideas really play into the central ideas and emotions explored through the lyricism and sound of the album, the tension between reality and illusion.
Luke goes on to explain how the sound of the album is built up of a tapestry of samples, mixing cassette tapes, laptop samples, iPhone recordings and even audios recovered from when the pair were in college. The texture results in a quilt of sound that is reflected in the visuals for the album. They also play into the bit-crush effect of pixelizations and distortion.
Luke talks about how the feature they use of the guitars to make this square-like, fuzzy effect reminded him of old PlayStation graphics and how that became the perfect visual medium to accompany the album: ‘Using those sorts of visuals and mixing things together like that feels like it's one of those threads that kind of goes through each idea from the music to the overarching theme.’
I can’t help but ask about their experience recording the album and if there are any interesting stories that accompany it. After reading that 'HAMMER' was written in a car park, I was excited to hear the details. Luke tells me how he was dropping his girlfriend at a dance recital that she teaches when inspiration struck.
Pulling out his phone and switching off the aircon, he translated the melody into voice notes all during a heatwave in a high school parking lot. Following that story I had been newly charmed by the band with the vision of rockstars having such wholesome stories of songwriting.
After discussing the music itself I’m eager to get some early insights into the tour and what to expect. Since the band are from Canada, I ask Luke why the band chose the UK for this tour.
‘The first time we go out and play this new set with these new songs and old songs, it’s gotta be in the UK because it's just kinda like where this band has been able to make its home, for whatever reason, that really is the main driver.’
With 234M total streams, 492K monthly listeners on Spotify and us clearly being their favourite nation of fans (wink wink), this is your sign to check out some of their tunes and get yourself some tickets to their Bristol gig on the 19th of March.
Not around? There are plenty of other UK dates available so check out their Instagram for updates @cleopatrickband. Also make sure to watch out for the album’s release on the 14th of March!
Featured Image: @cleopatrickband on InstagramWhat are you expecting from the band's next album?
