Interview: Of Allies talk latest album Are We Better Off

UK rockers Of Allies released their second album, ‘Are We Better Off?’, on 13th December. The angry, introspective new record is the band at their darkest yet, and follows their successful run of singles up to this point which have seen over five million streams worldwide.

‘Are We Better Off?’ follows the Hull rock band’s 2017 debut ‘Night Sky’, which saw support from Rock Sound and Metal Hammer magazines among others. Of Allies have garnered significant worldwide following on streaming platforms, not least Deezer and Spotify, which have helped the band broadcast to a global audience in a singularly modern fashion.

Typifying their modern approach, Of Allies revealed at the close of 2018 their own take on the Phil Collins classic ‘In The Air Tonight’ before teasing Are We Better Off via a series of successful single releases. This included the track ‘Blossoms’ which received support from BBC R1 Rock Show. .
‘Are We Better Off?’ is Of Allies are their best – an undeniably British swagger to their wall-of-sound alternative rock. Elements of Biffy, Deftones, but also Breaking Benjamin and Fightstar combine to create a highly effective brand of catchy, moody rock which suggests at a new form of greatness.

Stream ‘Are We Better Off?’ below!

We managed to catch up with the band before the release date and you can check this out below!

So how pumped are you for the upcoming release of Are We Better Off?

Massively. We literally can’t wait to get the new album out there and see it flourish. We’ve put a lot of work into it and I just hope people love it as much as we do. 

What’s your favourite song off this album?

It’s really hard to pick just one because all of them have had so much time and energy put into them. At the moment I’m really into Big Mouth but it changes from day to day and hopefully our fans will feel the same. 

How have your previously released tracks gone down so far?

Insanely well to be honest. We were blown away by the response to Night Sky. I think it’s at nearly 5 million streams just on Spotify at the moment. People have really taken ownership of it and are always eager to talk about what certain songs mean to them so I don’t think we could’ve asked for more. The singles from Are We Better Off? are continuing that trend so it’s exciting times. 

If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?

I’m really not sure. I have bands I really love but I’m happy making music with my mates at the moment. Of Allies is an amazing band to be in and our fans are awesome too so I’m not really fussed about working with other bands right now. I wouldn’t say no to a collaboration with Deftones though haha. 

Will you be touring at all in 2020?

Absolutely. We’re planning to do the rounds in a big way. 2020 is our year!

What’s the music scene like in Hull at the moment?

Yeah good. We have some really talented bands and some amazing platforms so it’s definitely thriving. People in Hull are super friendly, despite what you may have heard, and it translates with the bands. You rarely get a band of ego maniacs so it makes it a nice scene. 

What have you all got planned for Christmas?

Oh just the usual. Celebrate the man in the sky, put shiny things on plastic trees, wear a shit jumper, eat a mince pie, listen to some Wham. All the good shit.