The evolution of LA punks Object of Affection

Object of Affection appear in our 2023 summer issue, which you can buy here.

Object of Affection deal in truths. The duo of Madison Woodward and Colin Knight are true to the influences they wear on their sleeves; to the idea of being in a band; to themselves, particularly for Knight. 

The natural coming together of the pair is a simple story. Working with each other at the studio they run in Orange County called Paradise, Woodward says the mission statement for Object of Affection boils down to: “How can we write a pop song through the scope of this sound?” With Woodward’s background including post-hardcore groups like Fury and Lock, while Knight’s is all studio, the pair began tinkering with ideas Woodward had floating around. This time offered them both a chance to speak to something they individually harbored.

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“Over the last six or seven years, I focused a lot of my attention on audio engineering, tracking, recording, production and all that,” Knight says. “I was itching to have a band again because the last band I was in started back in 2014/2015. So the band to me was a way to express myself just because I had been working on other people’s music for so long.”

Knight’s heart lies in the studio. “That’s one of my favorite things to do, but I also needed that creative outlet,” he nods. “I just love hanging out with my boys, too. Going on tour was a blast. I want to do way more of that, so the band to me is an essential, therapeutic thing.”

Woodward’s approach to Object of Affection was a little more tentative. “I’ve been playing music for a long time. I was fortunate enough to tour, probably nonstop, for almost four or five years. I didn’t know if I wanted to start a new band after that,” he admits. “But this band, and its dynamics and the creative fulfillment I get from its songwriting, makes me want to keep at it, and I’m really excited about it.”

The pair are influenced by turn-of-the-century indie, the pop-effacing goth of Depeche Mode and hardcore punk, primarily. “It’s not solely restricted to just a couple of bands. There’s a whole litany of influences there that we shared,” Knight explains. With a rich tapestry running throughout their debut album, Field of Appearances is a patchwork quilt of these landmarks. From Joy Division’s studiousness (“Empty Eyes”) to synth-pop glory (“Laying Claim,” “Run Back”) and a collision of Interpol with the ramshackle cool of the Strokes (“Half Life”), it’s all celebrated without pastiche.

Woodward initially penned the songs with Knight on drums and him on guitar. It wasn’t until a karaoke session that this core changed. “Wait, he’s got some pipes!” Woodward chuckles, recalling a performance of what the duo believe to have been Miley Cyrus’ anthem “Party In The U.S.A.” “So it quickly changed to, ‘Oh, you should try singing on these tracks’.” And it’s Knight’s low-register, Ian Curtis-meets-Paul Banks vocals that studiously tied the project together.

As the songs grew and developed between the pair, the need for a band came into play. Drummer Nick Nadel came first (“Easily the best drummer I’ve ever played with,” Woodward gushes). Then, needing another guitarist, Lock’s Kris Kirk (KK) joined.

Eventually requiring a bassist, they wound up recruiting Death Bells’ Remy Veselis. But it was here that the dynamic shifted slightly. “My buddy put me in touch with him,” Woodward remembers. “I was like, ‘Hey man, we need a bass player. Here are the songs. I feel like it’s right up your alley.’ I think I’d met him at a party, and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m down, but I don’t have a bass. But I’ll play the guitar.’” Knight interjects, laughing: “I think he said he left his bass in Australia?” With Woodward shifting to bass, Object of Affection had their lineup — briefly, anyway. 

With Veselis heading back home to Australia, this once again left them with a gap. Garrett La Bonte stepped into his role until Veselis’ return, but not wanting to abandon him, they suddenly had a three-guitar lineup. After a while, KK had to leave the group (“But he is very much still a big part of the band,” Woodward confirms. “He did all the art direction and some of the layout for the LP”), a fortunate circumstance since an array of guitars didn’t quite fit the intricate bill they were hoping for (“It was almost a wall of sound — it was a little too gnarly, but it looked cool,” Woodward chuckles). With La Bonte moving to bass, the lineup was finally cemented. But soon the pandemic hit. It was at this initial time that the band’s self-titled debut EP — literally their demos — surfaced. Garnering a positive reaction, they hunkered down and carved out what would become Field of Appearances.

The pair recall the distanced sessions where each member would be in a different part of the studio. “Once we were in this bubble and we felt comfortable, we basically were recording every day and got into a great groove,” Woodward enthuses.

Given the pair’s background, for the most part, it was a self-sufficient experience. It was only when it came time to mix that they called in Phil Odom (Portrayal of Guilt). “[He] came in and engineered it and took some load off our plate so we could concentrate on the songs.” 

For Knight’s first foray into both songwriting and fronting a band, there’s a remarkable confidence. Aided by Woodward, Knight’s lyrical output dealt with a weighty list of subjects. “The passage of time, and how we perceive it and feel it in different ways,” he begins. “Some of the lyrical content brushes on feeling, from my end, a little bit lost or hopeless about things. Not to get too depressing or anything!” He smiles. “Some of it is feel good. But a lot of it is basically a critique of myself and how I feel I could have done things differently over time. Maybe things would have been better for me now, if that makes any sense. So sometimes it comes out a little bit dour or depressing, I suppose.”

The truth of his life and the world around him, for Knight, was a natural source of inspiration. Though he did need some time to adjust. “I was grappling with what I wanted to say [and hoped] that it wouldn’t be too flowery, but [it’s] also something that when someone hears it, they can relate to it.” The fine line between dense and direct is skirted throughout, but in true post-punk, indie fashion, there are moments to hook onto, even when he admits “it is a bit of a struggle coming up with the right things to say.”

But for all the angst at what to say, and what eventually came out, he sees it as nothing but positive, cathartic even. After all, digging around inside to serve your inner truth can only be a freeing thing. “It was a good learning experience, and for our next release, I have even more ideas now, and it’ll come even a little bit easier,” Knight says.

Having played shows supporting Ceremony, Fiddlehead, Gulch and Dazy — and an initial full-blown touring stint supporting Glitterer — the metamorphosis from the part-time project into Object of Affection continued growing stronger. But since the core of the band is Woodward and Knight, with the rest coming in to create that live dimension, did the sound take on a new life while on the road?

“It’s not as deliberate as the record. We wanted to give it that live feel while still maintaining the energy of the record,” Knight says. “Because we have so much musical history together, the live experience for us is pretty fluid. We can all read each other and feel the songs in a way that makes it feel powerful and energetic.”

The future for Object of Affection is a tricky one. Given the band’s status as a project that Woodward calls “an incredible outlet,” it is essentially a bunch of mates, from mildly similar but for the most part differing walks of life, getting together and bringing the core vision to life. “I’m so thankful that the rest of the guys in the band are close friends that I’ve had for a decade-plus,” he says. “I just feel so busy these days. But it’s something that makes me want to carve out time for it. Even when I don’t have much time, I want to make sure that I’m giving it respect. I’m really proud of it.”

Whatever form Object of Affection wind up taking, one thing is for certain: It could sound entirely different than their current iteration. This is a project whose core consists of studio nerds, with an arsenal of influences and ambition to boot. “I’m curious about the evolution of the sound because that was our first tour,” Woodward says. “What happens after we have a few under our belt?” His ideas already have begun to run wild, but there’s still no real focus on them yet. “We’re a well-oiled machine. We could take the songs that I write and produce something more unique or maybe even more stripped down. I don’t know — we’ll see,” he smirks.