Blood makes noise

Autoheart are back—and they’re bringing their biggest, boldest chapter yet. Following a sold-out U.S. tour and the release of their new single “Sad Divide,” the London-based alt-pop trio are hitting the road for The Heartlands Tour, a 38-city journey across North America and the UK. At its center is Heartlands, their forthcoming fourth album: a sweeping, emotionally-charged homage to queer identity, musical heroes, and life on the road. We caught up with the band to talk about the stories behind the songs, the making of the album, and what fans can expect from this cinematic new era. Buckle up—it’s Autoheart, unfiltered.

Q: In your opinion, what are the essential qualities that make a “good songwriter”? 

To be vague, who knows what makes a good songwriter. It's such a subjective thing. There are also so many ways a song can end up and the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts. 

 

Q: What is the basis for writing attention-grabbing music in this day and age? 

I think you know it when you hear it - people often try to say they know the secret but the biggest songs often hit you somewhere totally unexpected. 

 

Q: Can you pinpoint some specific songs and songwriters that changed the way you write music? 

As a band we share several of the same influences, R.E.M, Fleetwood Mac, Eurythmics, as well as artists that have uniquely shaped the way we write and approach music. As a pianist, discovering Rufus Wainwright made my entire world perspective shift. "Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk" spoke to everything that was going on in my life at that specific point, influencing me to write music that built a world, through instrumentation and style. 

Q: Q: Do you find it hard to be inspired by your peers? Can you name any new artists you find inspiring? 

I would not say inspired however some songs may spark fresh ideas. I have been listening to Moonchild Sanelly, Saho De Sagazan and Divorce a fair bit since we finished the album. All very different from each other (see playlist). We also occasionally reference artists from the 70/80s/90s to try and communicate our production ideas to each other. On the latest album you can hear that we have worn our influences on our sleeves. 

 
Q: For your new album, what inspired the lyrical content, album title, and overall vibe? 

'Sad Divide' was the first track we wrote, knowing instantly that it would be the song that defined the album's lyrical themes. This album is about moments and places that have shaped us— 'Heartlands' became the title, the album's whole universe and everything that inhabits it. One of our forthcoming singles was written whilst driving on our tour bus through the swamplands of Mississippi, so it feels connected to the people and landscape that we saw whilst. 

 

Q: Do you find that you ruminate over writing songs and hold on to them for a long time before including them on a record? Or do you prefer to write them, release them, and be done with them? Do you ever re-visit old material to do a re-write or once it’s done it’s done? 

We have tracks that come out of the blue and might be written in hours, whereas others might take months of stripping down and reworking until they are their best versions.  

We have become more and more obsessive in perfecting and crafting a song. We always know quickly what works and what does not. Often ideas never get thrown away, there is gold in the lyrics or melody somewhere. Jody is excellent at keeping a track of all his older ideas and whenever we are stuck for a section of a song, something may find a home which previously did not fit. 

 
Q: Were there any lessons you learned in the writing and recording process for your current release that you will take with you into your next project? 

So many lessons learned this time around. Thankfully we have worked with some amazingly patient and talented people over the past year, so if we can keep them in the Autoheart family for future releases we will be very happy.