Meet The New America, comprised of Cam, Zac, Tom and Ali. These four aim to pollinate your ears with an honest reflection of how we see the world and psyched out fuzz tunes. Their latest offering "Going to the Races (Dressed like a Racist)" was released 30th of October.
Please give us a little intro about your band.
The New America is hivemind of scuzzy heartfelt noise rock based in Bristol, UK with a sound that’s equidistant from Interpol, Mission of Burma, and Shame; The New America will pollinate your ears with an honest reflection of how we see the world and psyched out fuzz tunes.
We started back in 2018 but really hit our stride last year with a new member and a fluster of new releases and gigs, an average of 10 a day back in the tail end of 2019.
'The New America' - How did you come up with your band name?
The New America was a two part deal, were massive fans of Mission of Burma so we wanted to chuck a country name in it. We also wanted to have it opened ended, The New America means everything and nothing. It’s both deep and bold whilst also meaning nothing at all.
Give us one fact that no one knows about you.
We opened for Cannibal Corpse at Margaret Thatcher's funeral - Na but seriously , err 50% of the band has tinnitus. WEAR HEARING PROTECTION PEOPLE!!
You're not originally from Bristol - What makes the place special for you?
Cams from Southampton, Zacs from America (Michigan), Tom’s from Derby and Ali’s from Cambridge.
We like to say we’ve naturalised Bristolians, all lived here nearly 5 years. We love Bristol because nobody seems disingenuous and it’s like the center of veganism in the U.K., plus it’s easily the best city for music in the U.K., so many beautiful bands.
What inspires you? / Do you have any hobbies that you turn to to rejuvenate your creativity?
We’re all musical sponges, we absorb all we can find. We’ve got a lot of inspirations currently we’re all into Afrobeat (bit of Fela Kuti).
Cam's a big fan of JRock bands currently like Bloodthirsty Butchers and Eastern Youth alongside some weirder spooky 80's stuff like Bauhaus , Chameleons and The Sound.
Zac's into bands like Tropic Fuck Storm, Sons of Kemet, Stella Donnelly, Tom’s a Beatles man alongside Death Grips and some jungle. Ali’s been diving deep into Interpol recently so that’s coming out a lot in our writing.
Lyically it’s stuff we’re seeing in our everyday lives and translating into music!
The dreaded subject – Covid – what have you been up to?? You did a few live streams and raised money for charity “World Food Program” - how come you choose that one?
We’ve been busy writing , producing and mostly looking out the window like a dog missing the outside.
Wechose the World Food Program because COVID may decimate some countries' good production. It’s very much overlooked and not talked about enough.
Let's talk about the new single - “Going to the Races (Dressed like a Racist)” - esp. with Bristol being in the spotlight with the toppling of the Coulston statue – please elaborate a bit about the story behind that song and why you need to feel it was important for you to write a song about it?
The idea for this song started when Cam was watching the news of people dressed up to the nines at Good Wood Races absolutely beating the shit out of each other like possessed apes.
Then on the walk to a pub a friend of ours mentioned how people go to horse racing all dressed up but still return to the animalistic football casual behaviour of gunning for each other’s blood.
It was written before the BLM movement kicked into high gear, but when that happened it really gave the song a new light and meaning. We wanted to show how no matter what outfit someone hides behind that racism is skin deep and always seeps through.
What's the best/worst advice you ever received?
"Don’t get stabbed in the face!" by a man on Stokes Croft who was recently stabbed in the face.
The worst advice was getting told to listen to 100 Gecs because we’re now chemically addicted.
Is there a place you dream of performing and why?
For us it’s really about energy in the room, connecting with our audience and having a cathartic experience. That said we’d love to play a Spoons and complete destroy that shithole.
Other than that, we’ve been gagging to play outside of Bristol, anywhere will do! Once Covid is over our sights are aimed on Brighton, London, Manchester and Birmingham
What's next? What are your plans for 2021?
Kick down doors, smash in windows and actually play some live music.
We’ve got the next few tracks recorded for release next year and lots in the writing pipeline.
But we’re mostly looking forward to hanging out with our mates again and listening to some of the best bands this city has to offer. We crave for the next time we see Football FC at The Crofters rights, Sapphire Blues at The Ruin and Belishas at The Louie.