Here at KZSC, we were fortunate enough to interview Nick Bassett. Nick plays the bass for the band Nothing, which has their second album, “Tired of Tomorrow”, out today on Relapse Records. In this interview between Nick Bassett and KZSC DJ Brand X, they talk about the band’s latest album, the band’s sound and their upcoming US tour with Wrong and Culture Abuse.
Brand X: So I’m here with Nick Bassett from Nothing and they have a new album out now called “Tired of Tomorrow” and I’m really excited for this album. I’ve been a big fan since “Downward Years to Come” and saw them live twice in two different states. I’m really excited to see them again play Slim’s SF and pick up a copy of this album. Welcome, Nick, to KZSC!
Nick Bassett: Thanks for having me.
BX: So one thing I’m noticing with “Tired of Tomorrow” right off the bat is that there’s a lot more room for the music to breathe. It’s not as dense as your previous album, “Guilty of Everything” and I’m wondering if that was a conscious decision while recording this record?
NB: Well, when we try to write for this stuff, we tend to do it with a little bit of aggression but not to lose the main goal of what we tried with this thing. We worked with Will Yip at Studio 4 and he’s also got a very nice studio. I think the production went up a lot on this record as well. We just felt more comfortable writing stuff this time I think.
BX: Is that more of a point with the band getting more and more familiar with itself or the critical acclaim the band is receiving, especially since “Guilty of Everything”?
NB: I don’t that had much to do with the writing of the record at all. Obviously it’s a good thing for sure. It really helped from recording from one place to the next. But I don’t think it had an impact at all for the songwriting of the record or anything like that.
BX: I know for this record’s release, you’re playing a show in London. I’m wondering why specifically when everything about this record, including the cover, is Philadelphia based?
NB: Actually the record cover was shot in Brooklyn.
BX: Oh, that was in Brooklyn? Shit, my bad!
NB: Yeah, but we’re big fans of a lot of the British music from all the shoegaze stuff to all the britpop stuff.
BX: It comes out in your influences for this record a lot.
NB: Yeah, for us, it was kind of cool. We watch videos of Oasis and these bands playing Rough Trade on their release date and this is sort of a nod to that.
BX: For this upcoming US tour for the record, it seems fairly short and you’re doing this tour with Wrong. I know you’ve toured with Ceremony and Tony Molina in the past, but I think Wrong is the most contrasting with the kind of music your playing. I’m wondering if that’s a conscious decision or if you’re bringing more musical diversity to your live shows?
NB: We’ve always tried to keep our tours very eclectic whether it’s an indie band, hardcore band, or punk band. I honestly think Ceremony was the biggest step away from anything we’ve done. Wrong has got a Helmet vibe to it; very 90s. I think this new record is just a stone’s throw away from that. With the bands, nobody wants to see the same band three times over on a tour so I like to keep things interesting a bit.
BX: One thing I’m interested in with the promotion following this record is the wider audience it’s getting. There’s a lot of hype for this album. Not only is there the standard SPIN, Pitchfork, or AV Club reviews. You’re getting Rolling Stone reviews and NPR which is a big step up.
NB: Well, Guilty of Everything streamed on NPR as well. They’ve been a fan since the last record at least. Everything is more calculated this time around. It was a very thought provoking ordeal talking about getting this record off the ground. We want to give it some more special attention.
BX: Well, I think this album definitely did receive a lot of special attention. There’s a lot more work it seems with everything on this record. It seems a lot more of a complete album, and not just track for track. It really tells a complete story.
NB: It’s definitely very important for me when I’m putting together a record. I’m definitely very conscious of not only trying song sound interesting, but I’m very into the idea of the record following a story; an LP you want to listen to from beginning to end. We’re not making an LP where you hop in, listen to a couple of tracks, and get it off your record player or whatever. We always try to make the record flow from beginning to end.
BX: That’s definitely something that comes off more on “Tired of Tomorrow than your previous works. You really hit the nail on the head really on this.
NB: About time *chuckles*
BX: Especially considering “Downward Years to Come” and “Guilty of Everything”, I was mainly listening to those for tracks like “Dig”, “Bent Nail”, or their respective title tracks. This one, front to back, I love every track.
NB: Thanks so much. I’m glad we finally figured it out.
BX: Now something I know I’m wondering, as well as many of the fans, is whether or not you’re gonna be doing special edition reissues and represses of “Tired of Tomorrow” as it gets more and more past it’s release date like you did with “Guilty”?
NB: Without a doubt, there’s seven different variants of this record already.
BX: *silently ‘yes’ to myself*
NB: The pre-sales of this record have been phenomenal. We’ve got seven or eight thousand physical pre-orders for this album. So yeah, we like to fuck around. We like switching shit up and making things interesting and not just switching the vinyl color. I’ve always been a fan of changing the vinyl cover and making things interesting to own.
BX: Anyways, that’s pretty much it from me. Thanks so much Nick for doing this interview.
NB: No prob, glad to do it.