When you are a young band, both in existence and in actual age, certain things are to be expected. One such expectation is that your sound, for better or worse, is the embodiment of bands and artists that have inspired your creative side. Such is not a crime—it is what you do with these influences that make or break you.
Spokane, Washington’s The Globes are no exception, but they definitely have mastered the latter part of that rule: when listening to their debut album, Future Self, one is reminded of a host of bands; many from the mid-to-late 1990s, who mixed powerful atmospherics with a tempered understanding of how the quiet/loud/quiet formula works. Comparisons have certainly been made to Sunny Day Real Estate, Radiohead, and The Appleseed Cast, and for good reason; Future Self could and should find a comfortable home with fans of those groups.
It’s to The Globes’ credit, though, that they can sound inspired by the past, while not being found guilty of imitating the past. Add to that the irony of the band’s debut album, Future Self. “It’s cool that you say that,” says guitarist and vocalist Eric Walters, “because that’s been the impression we’ve been getting from a lot of people who have heard the record, and I think that’s totally cool. It’s funny, that wasn’t our intention when we were writing our songs, we spent a year or so writing and then when we had enough we put it together, we were just writing our songs. It’s wild, we get compared to Hum or Sunny Day Real Estate, a lot of 90s era bands that we like but not direct influences that we consider. It’s funny how that happens, it was a happy accident.”
Still, given their work with legendary Northwestern producer John Goodmanson, it’s easy to see that connection. “Working with Goodmanson was great—it is always a great experience; he worked with us on our debut EP, Sinter Songs, and we wanted to work with him again. He’s recorded so many bands and artists that we like, I feel as if the connection between the band and his mind really helped add to our songs. Perhaps that’s where that element comes in—his experiences and history mixing with our songs, to create this style.”
But wouldn’t a band find bothersome, all of this talk of being heavily inspired by the past? “Not really, no,” Walters reassures me. “The thing that bothers me sometimes is when we’re kind of labeled as a guitar band. I mean, we have some great guitar parts on the record, and when we play live it’s definitely loud, but we have a great rhythm section too, Marcus (Ourada, drums) and Sean (McCotter, bass). Kyle (Musselwhite) and I write the songs, but when we bring them to the band it’s very democratic—they are very much involved, too. When people say, ‘Oh, this is a guitar rock band,’ it’s funny, because that’s not what we were going for. It’s interesting to hear people’s perspective of the band. It’s often very different from what we intended or what we hear. It’s really cool that people can hear different things. I am just happy people get the chance to hear what we’ve made, and I hope Future Self connects with them.”
