Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Some Days Are Darker

Some Days Are Darker - TV-MA (language, nudity, gore, smoking)

Recorded at Legendary Rancho De La Luna Studios with Dave Catching from QOTSA. Some Days Are Darker toured with Germany’s Pink Turns Blue for the first leg of the north American tour until the end of the month.

Interview with Some Days Are Darker

1. How did recording at Rancho De La Luna shape the sound of your new album?

In so many ways, it’s almost too much to put into words. The setting itself is other-worldly; there must be some kind of residual magic in the air from all of the interesting people who have passed through and all of the amazing sessions that have been done there. It was also the first time Chris, Robbie and I have been in the studio together at the same time. To do that for seven days with John Russo engineering was a real luxury for us. We were able to completely lose ourselves in the creative without any concern for the technical.

2. What was it like working with Dave Catching in the studio?

Dave is such a kind soul and an absolute encyclopedia of tone. His enthusiasm for what we were doing was contagious. Like a feedback loop of experimentation and positivism. Every time I turned around he was handing me another guitar or plugging me into another amp. It’s the most productive I’ve ever been in an environment with absolutely no stress.

3. Can fans expect a different direction compared to your previous releases?

We have this “widening the guardrails” theory within the band which is that, we don’t want to make the same album every time—we want to stay true to the core of what is Some Days Are Darker—but with each album we introduce new elements that expand our offering. I think that’s true from the first 7” to the LP to TV-MA. And LP II will expand that even more.

4. Which track on the new album are you most excited for people to hear live?

The opening song, Your Darkest Secret. It’s definitely the heaviest song we’ve done so far and I think it will be a great set opener. At the same time, there’s a piano ballad that I’m debating doing live as well. That’s the crux of Some Days Are Darker right there.

5. How did the collaboration with Pink Turns Blue for the tour come about?

Pink Turns Blue only tour the US once per album cycle so we were fortunate to land this tour with them. They learned about us from having opened from some of their counterparts like Chameleons and Vision Video. They’re a very hard working, DIY band and they share the same world-view as us in terms of performing and serving an audience. We hope to do more with them in 2026.

6. What’s your strategy for translating the album’s studio atmosphere to a live setting?

Fortunately for us, the core of this album was recorded live off the floor with all of us in the same room doing guitars, bass, and drums. I think that comes across in the mix. A big part of the atmosphere will come from how we perform and present it, which I’m very excited about. Beyond that, again, I just need to turn off the technical side of my brain each night and let go.

7. Were there any unexpected moments during recording that influenced the album?

There’s a song called Unbroken that we tracked at the end of one of our twelve hour days. I remember coming into the control room and no one said a word. It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I asked if we should call it a night since the song had completely fucking bummed everyone out, and Robbie said, “if you’re not already bummed out, you’re in the wrong band.” That became our mantra for the rest of the week. The next day we tore the song apart and rebuilt into something so much better than what I had imagined on the demo. It’s one of the songs I’m most excited for people to hear.

8. How does New York City inspire your goth rock aesthetic?

Is there any city more goth than the city that never sleeps? NYC is so incredibly multi-faceted. Some of my greatest influences have lived and worked here. Leonard Cohen. Ramones. Jeff Buckley. Type O Negative. Interpol. Far too many to name. Most of all it’s the diversity of the city. It’s just like shows we play. Sharing the stage with all of the different kinds of bands that fit under the goth umbrella. From dark wave to metal. And the crowds are just as diverse and accepting. New York is a place where you can be whoever you want. I think that unapologetic liberation of the self is the essence of goth, punk, and DIY.

9. How do you balance dark themes with engaging hooks in your music?

Every Some Days Are Darker song is based on a gut feeling. I identify a specific feeling that I have from a moment or an incident — a love, a loss, a longing — and I use that to guide the song. That’s where the balance between the lyric and the melody comes from. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to sing through your pain. Especially if someone else sings with you.

10. What do you hope fans take away from this tour and the upcoming album?

My goal with Some Days Are Darker has always been to create a world that a listener can escape to. The upcoming album expands on that idea and takes it further than we have before. I really hope to share that with the people who find something in it for themselves.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Some Days Are Darker on the Pigeon Spins Playlist