Toronto multi-frontmen four-piece Goodbye Honolulu have released another track from their recently announced, self-titled debut album, which is set for release 01 October via Stray Dog Records. ‘You and Me’ is a song about human connection, as vocalist, guitarist and bassist Jacob Switzer says: “Sometimes you find that person, and you know that your lives will always be connected. People might tell you that it will never last, someone will always want to tell you exactly what you “need” to do, but if all you ever wanted was someone to get haunted with, and if all you ever needed was someone to get heated with, this just might be the thing that lasts forever.”
‘You and Me’ shows a decidedly different side to the band from their last single ‘Over and Over’, a track with a strong 70’s disco undercurrent weaving into the band’s garage rock sensibilities. This variety of sound is a signature of the multi-faceted outfit’s approach to making music, which comes from a truly collaborative writing process. Goodbye Honolulu don’t have one frontman; Goodbye Honolulu have four individual songwriters and three frontmen who each bring a different quality and sound to the band. Combining their passion for 60’s garage rock, 80’s new wave, punk & electronic music, Goodbye Honolulu have created a collection of songs that never stick to one sound.
‘Goodbye Honolulu’ blurs the lines between power-pop, country, hip hop, lo-fi and more. Working with seasoned producers Ben Cook (Fucked Up, No Warning, Young Guv) and Tony Price (US Girls, Slim Twig, Ice Cream, Michael Rault), the album leads the band down an entirely new path creatively and sonically.
During the recording process the band dealt with many weird happenings, which is no surprise as the record was recorded in an abandoned movie theatre turned recording studio in the east end of Toronto, where the band lived and recorded for 11 days. A visit by the spirit of a woman and a dog during one of their overnight stays inspired both the album’s choice of cover art as well as many songs and lyrics on the record. The lyrics for ‘You and Me’ certainly reflect the idea of being haunted.
Goodbye Honolulu met in high school (well actually Max and Emmett met on Halloween in 2nd Grade when they both turned up at school dressed as James Bond). During their teens they played in each other’s musical projects and even started their own label (that boasted a roster of 14 Toronto bands in its heyday). These formative years saw the Goodbye Honolulu members busy playing in bars, curating their own concerts and festivals, honing their live skills and self-releasing multiple albums a year on Bandcamp.
The band cut their teeth playing rowdy and sweaty rooms across Canada and the USA, touring with bands such as Hinds, Kate Nash, The Beaches, Luna Li and more.