Music Q&A with Arms Like Roses
Photo courtesy of Arms Like Roses
Arms Like Roses are a band out of New Haven, Connecticut. Influenced by 90s emo in the vein of Rainer Maria, The Appleseed Cast, and The Get Up Kids, the band recently released their first full-length, Blooming, which was produced by Chris Teti of The World Is A Beautiful Place! In this Q&A, Arms Like Roses talked about the album, what musician they would interview if they could, and more! Blooming is available for purchases HERE.
Congratulations on the release of Blooming! What does the album mean to you?
Estelle (vocals): It’s a very personal album that talks about reflecting on the past trauma in your life, being able to accept and move on from that, and seeing the beauty that comes from that effort to better yourself.
Tom (drums): This album and this band as a whole was my only creative outlet after a bad experience with a past band that almost made me want to quit music. Having the finished product and something to be proud of did a lot for me, so this album was a safe space to make music with friends for me.
Adam (guitar): As a musician, this album is a pretty sizable step forward for me. Having worked on a lot of stuff in the background that never even saw the light of day, it’s a big deal to me to not only listen to something and say ‘I wrote that’, but to be able to present a whole cohesive project and say I contributed to it. It says a lot about seeing something through to me.
Nina (bass): The title is Blooming and that’s pretty apt. I think of it as the beginning of who we are as a band on the threshold of what we’re about to be. It’s the beginning of an era for us, and the beginning of a new era for me because I’ve never played this type of music or played bass in a band in this capacity and I feel like it’s a realization of where I was supposed to be musically.
Xela (guitar): It means finally releasing something that I can show to my friends without having to apologize or make a joke out of it.
What’s your favorite song off Blooming?
Estelle: “Portrait of a Happy Family”. That song is technically the follow-up to another song I wrote years ago and released under my own name. I love how dynamic it is, the buildup to the big ending, and how it shows the changes in my emotions over time through the musical changes in the song. That was completely intentional. Everything I write is overly emotional.
Tom: “Dear Clementine,”. I like this song because it’s the pop punk banger and also I really like my vocal parts in it. It reminds me most of the early 2000s bands that I love.
Adam: “The Separation Between Fact and Feeling”. That was the first song I listened to when I got asked to be in the band and the parts that I ended up laying down on the album came out so naturally that I can’t help but be proud of it. It’s also just fun to play. A solid rager of a song.
Nina: “Flowers For Our Fathers”. Regardless of the fact that this is the least interesting song to play for me, this is the song I like to listen to most because it feels like an epic, if you will. It creates a full narrative arc, and the overlapping vocals at the end make for an extremely cathartic ending to the album. It’s also just a really well-written song.
Xela: “The Boy in the Woods”. When we first wrote it I thought it was incomplete and I was prepared to throw it away. Estelle fought me to keep it, and I ended up feeling like a parent that didn’t want a pet and then became obsessed with the pet.
Blooming was produced by Chris Teti of TWIABP. What was it about his work that made you want to ask him to produce?
Estelle: When Tom brought up that we could potentially work with Chris, I was blown away not only because we’re the same age and into a lot of the same music, but also because TWIABP became this band that connected a lot of people in the Connecticut scene specifically. It really felt like an honor.
Tom: Chris has been a friend of mine for a long time, so it kind of felt like a no brainer. Especially in the Connecticut area, I don’t think there’s anyone capable of making a better sounding emo album.
Adam: I think the conclusion to record with Chris had already been made by the time I joined the band, but much like Estelle said it just felt like a true honor to work with him and get a look under the hood at how a record is made. I also heard he had a cool cat and wanted to meet him.
Nina: I’d been a fan of TWIABP since I was in high school so why wouldn’t I?
Xela: I heard he was vegan so I wanted to meet him. Also I heard he had a spooky house.
If you had a chance to interview any of your musical heroes, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Estelle: I would wanna interview Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. The fact that she was part of a mostly all-male scene doing what she did is fantastic to me. I think that having bad ass role models in music that were not only guys meant a lot to me growing up and inspired me to do whatever the fuck I wanna do with my life (which is music).
Tom: The obvious answer would probably be Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie because they are my favorite band, but I honestly think I’d get too nervous to talk to him. I think I’d actually pick Weird Al because he got me into music initially, is a genius, and seems like a really nice guy.
Adam: I think Jeremy Bolm or Nick Steinhardt from Touché Amoré. I’ve grown into being a huge Touché stalwart and I really connect with their music in a way I deeply appreciate. I would love to get to pick the brains of the people behind it. HOWEVER - I’d like to give an honorary mention to Utah Phillips because he made some of the first music I ever remember hearing and I’d love to talk with an old lefty rabble rouser.
Nina: Probably Frances Quinlan from Hop Along because I think she writes music that’s so different from anything else currently going on and structurally very interesting while still being sonically nice to hear. It’s music for people who make music and like music. I also think her voice is dynamically different and has a different timbre than almost anything I’ve ever heard. I wanna pick her brain both as a vocalist and a songwriter.
Xela: Steve from Blues Clues because he saw fame and a lifelong legacy but decided to do what he’d rather do instead and make music that no one cared about. That resonated with me in high school and college. Also Jack Stauber - we wouldn’t get anything done but we’d probably talk for 5 hours about pancakes and space. Even though I don’t like talking about space.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
Estelle: For me, forcing myself to just get up and do one little thing, even taking a walk around the block, will lead to something bigger. I’m also a big advocate for eating yummy food (ramen), watching my favorite shows, listening to music that helps calm me down, or writing in my journal before I go to sleep. Usually I find out my day was better than I thought.
Tom: When I’m not feeling good frankly it usually borders on impossible to change, but listening to Cum Town and watching old Simpsons episodes usually makes me feel alright at least temporarily.
Adam: I usually try to hold space for myself in small ways. By that I mean just taking a pause and taking inventory of what is directly in front of me, reminding myself of what is immediately in my control and worrying about the rest when it comes to it. Keeping myself in the present as best I can.
Nina: I’m on so much lexapro I don’t even understand this question.
Xela: I’m not on lexapro and I still don’t understand the question.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Estelle: Do whatever makes you happy in life. No matter what point you’re at, or what age you are because your happiness is what matters.
Tom: Check out the other band I recently joined, Sinking, as well as En Masse and Godseyes who we just did a little weekender with.
Adam: Listen for something specific you’ve never listened for before on your favorite album. I promise you won’t regret it.
Nina: Don’t believe everything you see in video games.
Xela: Please say hi to us on tour. We need more friends.