As they head towards their highest chart position to date, As December Falls vocalist Bethany Curtis guides us through the making of their new album ‘Join The Club’.
On the meaning behind the title of the record itself, she said “We called this album ‘Join The Club’ because we wanted to create this unity between us and our fans, that we are all in this sad kids club together. As we are completely independent, we want our fans to know how much they mean to us and create this solidarity between us and them to make sure they know we are in this ride together.”
‘Join The Club’
“This song is an old school ADF style bop. It’s bouncy and fun, to let you know instantly that you’re listening to an ADF album. This song is a nod to the last album, with the main hook of the chorus being ‘I’m still sad and that’s okay’. With our last album, it was a lot about struggling but wallowing in that misery where as ‘Join The Club’ is a much more joyful approach of taking it step by step to getting better. It’s also a song about camaraderie, we’re all in this together.”
‘Honey’
“This song was written about someone very close to me, after lots of things happening in their life all at once, it was very clear they were putting on a brave face, acting like everything was okay, and even sometimes acting out. It got to the point where I just wanted to scream and shake them and tell them they can talk to me. I know that not everything is okay and I think you need help! Even if it’s as simple as having a friend to listen to you.”
‘Carousel’
“‘Carousel’ was inspired by watching two people who I loved individually but were just terrible for each other as a couple. I was standing on the outside watching them go round and round on this carousel of misery where they’d fight, break up and then get back together again. It almost felt like they were in love with fighting and making up more than they were with each other.”
‘Mayday’
“I wrote ‘Mayday’ coming out of lockdown, I had gotten so used to being inside my house without seeing friends or doing anything outside that, when life started getting back to normal, I really struggled to function like I used to. It’s almost about Stockholm Syndrome, getting used to a bad situation and really having to push yourself to fight through it.”
‘Go Away’
‘”Go Away’ is quite a personal song to me. At the time I was writing it, someone close to me was going through a divorce and they were having a rough time. They were being gaslighted by their ex-partner and I wrote the song from their point of view about how once the dust has settled they felt a lot more like themselves and the anxiety started to drift away. The choice to separate ended up being the best thing that they could have done for their mental health.”
‘I Can’t Sleep’
“This is a written about what it says on the tin, I went through month or so where I was suffering from insomnia, and all I could do was think about the most random shit, like I wonder what that person I met when I was 8 is doing now, and wondering if they’re sat that thinking about what I’m doing? I kept reading online ways to get to sleep, and that’s how the middle 8 came in to play with the chamomile tea, counting sheep, ZZZ’s, and writing down your thoughts.
It took a long time and many different re-writes to get this one sounding how we wanted it too, but we got there. It’s definitely a track that I feel stands out sound wise on the album, it’s unique to ADF, but I think it fits in right at home with all the other tracks on the album and supports our future heavier sound.”
‘Little By Little’
“I wrote ‘Little By Little’ about finally getting to a breaking point of needing to reach out for help. Sometimes it’s easy to feel helpless because you don’t want to appear weak and situations just get worse and worse around you. It’s about saying it’s okay to not be able to do life on your own and that friends and loved ones are always there to support you if you can just reach out.”
‘Home’
“Throughout this band I’ve always worked a full time job until I just couldn’t get the time off work to tour anymore so I was forced to quit. I wrote Home when I was still working and I hated every second of being in a dead-end job when I just wanted to be on stage, connecting with people and sharing incredible experiences through music. I wrote it from the point of view that the stage and music is home to me and I just can’t live without it.”
‘Alive’
“‘Alive’ is about the demons inside your head, when you’re depressed everything seems ten times worse than it probably is if you could just look at it objectively. I wrote it about going through the darkness and finally finding the light on the other side and starting to feel alive again.”
‘Leave’
“Having to work full time jobs, keeping up relationships, never having a break/holiday/time to ourselves, missing families birthdays! All of this getting on top of you can give you a sad boy attitude. This band is supposed to be the thing we love, and it is. BUT – it’s hard and sometimes I don’t think people see any of the rest of it, they see us on stage and think, wow these guys are living the life, when actually we are all struggling to pay bills, sleeping in vans, and living day to day and hoping we can make it work. This song is about that feeling, but also our fight song to say, we can’t turn back now, we need to power through!!! DON’T JUST GET UP AND LEAVE!!!”
‘Tear It Out’
“This one is about when you’re so in love you just can’t feel anything else! You just long for that other person and can’t think about anything else. The song references going out, staying up late, and just generally that burning love feeling that everyone longs for. I had to write at least one happy/ soppy song!”
‘Join The Club’ is out now via ADF Records.
