Head North debut new Little Elephant Sessions, share the story behind ‘The Last Living Man Alive’

[Photo by: Eli Ritter]

After self-releasing their debut full-length, The Last Living Man Alive Ever In The History Of The World, earlier this month, Buffalo, NY-based rockers Head North are premiering their new Little Elephant sessions—and sharing the story behind the new record—with Alternative Press.

For new listeners, The Last Living Man Alive Ever In The History Of The World is an indie rock record oozing with Americana influences and a splash of synth, with lyrics that carry a narrative that’s just as intricate as the record’s title—touching on the band’s trajectory, turmoils, personal growth and the growing pains that go along with it.

But for fans of the band, this is a “new” Head North. Rewind to 2015: The pop-punkers had released Bloodlines, a pure pop-punk EP, and a split with Microwave.

“We were starry eyed kids that had all these dreams,” drummer Ben Lieber says. The band were at a point of realization: They were churning out a product, but they had lost the meaning behind why they were creating music in the first place. 

“We had momentum, kids were digging it and it was all bread and butter on the surface. But we started to feel, towards the end of it, like we were fitting a mold just to be on those tours and be involved in that scene,” Lieber explains.

“At the end of our last fall tour that year [2015], we realized how there’s so much ungenuine music, so much that’s just made to turn a profit, and we had a huge realization that we did not want to be any part of that. We didn’t just want to be a money churning machine, and we felt ourselves starting to go that way, so we decided to stop it before it happened.”

“The First One”:

So at the end of 2015, Head North decided to take time off the road to work on music, with the plan to keep moving forward in spring 2016. It was set to be a time of self-discovery, a time to figure themselves out. “We felt like we weren’t being genuine or true to ourselves, but even more, we really didn’t know what that was yet. We didn’t really know how to be ourselves, and coupling with that, it came time for us to start thinking about a full-length record. When you’re at that point and you also don’t know who you are or what you want it to sound like, it makes for a difficult situation.”

They took time to establish personal lives outside the band, something they hadn't had much time to do since their start.“We went straight out of high school into full-time DIY touring, and then into professional touring, and I feel like we just never got the growing experience that most people got: the whole go to college, establish really good friends, move into your first place,” Lieber explains. 

And their time off led them to approach this record in a new way, taking the time to write and develop their ideas before coming together to produce something that they were truly proud of. Writing went from being a job to a creative venture that took the band to a place they hadn’t fully explored before.

“There are so many different things going on, so many weird parts that are so abstract to ‘original’ Head North.”

“We really trusted each other and realized that was a big step forward for the band, and I think you can hear that on the record. There are so many different things going on, so many weird parts that are so abstract to ‘original’ Head North, and it had to come from somewhere else,” Lieber explains. “There’s no way that we would have done something like this had we just standed in a room and jammed. It would have turned out to be another punk rock EP.”

The band recorded a new song, “God (Bring It Back),” at Barbershop Studios in New Jersey with Brett Romnes (I Am The Avalanche). They released the track, and fans loved it. So they self-funded their debut effort.

Summer 2016. The hype was supposed to pick back up, with a new record and all. Except that didn't happen.

Head North spent the rest of 2016 shopping The Last Living Man Alive to labels, and after pursuing “outlet after outlet and avenue after avenue,” the band decided that the only way they could keep moving ahead is by self-releasing and pushing forward.

Summer 2017. That’s exactly what they did.

“The only way for this band to progress from this point was to put new music out. There was no way we were going to get any other opportunities as a band unless we put the record out and started gaining momentum again. To us, the only option was to do it ourselves,” Lieber explains. 

“What are we preaching this for if we aren’t actually doing it?”

“A huge point of the record is the turmoil of the band; how it fell apart for awhile and how we needed to take matters into our own hands. What are we preaching this for if we aren’t actually doing it? I feel like from then on out, we were so empowered and decided fuck it, we are our own bosses and we’re not going to wait around.”

“Fallow”:

Head North announced the self-release of their new record at the beginning of May, without any expectations. “On one hand, we had core fans that would wait as long as they needed to for us to figure ourselves out before releasing new music,” Lieber explains. “But on the other hand, the record is so much different from everything that we’ve done as a band up until this point. Even though I had this new image of the band in my head, to everyone else, we were still Bloodlines. We were still a pop-punk band, and I was really unsure how it was going to be received. But honestly, it’s been incredible. It just makes us want to keep pushing this and keep working hard.”

With the band's new record comes a sound that’s distinctly their own—and Head North only want to continue to push their written and creative boundaries looking ahead.

“We just want to keep making cool shit, and we want to keep pushing the envelope,” Lieber explains. “The ‘Pulse’ music video was weird as fuck, and that song was the most left field thing we could have ever done as a band. That is so cool to me because it only makes me wonder how much farther we can push it in the future. I’m just really excited to see the cool shit that we make.”

“Sort Of Medicine” / “By Presidential Decree”:

The Last Living Man Alive Ever In The History Of The World is available to order here, and Head North are teaming up with the Little Elephant team for a vinyl release of their new record, a collaboration that has been a dream for the band. “Without Little Elephant, there would have been no other way for us to do vinyl,” Lieber explains. “They’re just good people working hard and doing it themselves, and it’s such a beautiful relationship that I would have never expected, but I’m so glad we do.”

Vinyl records are available to order now, and Head North's newest Little Elephant session is also available here.

Head North will be headed out on a summer run with Gates and Vasudeva. Check out the full list of cities and dates below, and tickets are available here.

Dates:
June 15: Philadelphia, PA
June 16: Chameleon Club, Lancaster, PA
June 17: Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
June 18: Monty Hall, Jersey City, NJ
June 20: Songbyrd, Washington, DC
June 21: Double Happiness, Columbus, OH
June 22: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN
June 23: Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL
June 24:  Flint Local 432, Flint, MI
June 26: Mahall's, Lakewood, OH
June 27: Mr. Roboto Project, Pittsburgh, PA
June 28: Studio at Waiting Room, Buffalo, NY
June 29: House of Targ, Ottawa, Canada
June 30: Sneaky Dee's, Toronto, Canada Tickets  RSVP
July 1: The Middle East (Upstairs), Cambridge, MA

What are your thoughts on Head North’s Little Elephant session and debut full-length? Let us know in the comments below!