Loosely classified as emo/punk, Sydney rockers Clay J Gladstone presented their latest single “Sorry” to the world earlier this week via HEAVY in a move that I have to admit made me question the sanity of the band. Not that there’s anything wrong with the track – it’s actually a belter – but how it would be accepted by our readership was potentially another subject entirely.
Within 30 seconds of taking the call with vocalist Clay I realised that the possibility of rejection wasn’t so much a threat as a challenge, but “Sorry” defied the metal gods and was universally applauded by a public that can also be fickle and unforgiving.
“To be honest I was looking at some of the recent releases and wondered where we would fit in,” he laughed. “It’s been great. What works, works I guess! I was speaking to a mate and we were talking about all these different music groups and there’s one called Punk Collective and we were talking about posting in there to see if we would get heckled. It would be good practice (laughs).”
With the element of fun being somewhat drained in music after the previous twelve months it is refreshing to see a band – particularly one new on the scene – throw away the rulebook and allow music to dictate opinion rather than expectation.
“I had another song written which was completely different and a bit of a slower track with the same chord progression and I can’t remember why we changed it but the guys weren’t vibing it too much so we mixed it around a bit and sped it up and turned it into what it is. A lot of our songs – I have got about 100 songs written about the same thing (laughs) – but typically dealing with anxiety in some form. “Sorry” is about, you know, how you have the tendency to apologise about things when you probably don’t mean it but it’s an anxious reaction. That’s the concept behind the song. It’s kind of turned into a bit of an anthem but I didn’t realise people were gonna enjoy it as much as they are.”
In the full interview Clay talks more about the single and the film clip, rear-naked choker holds, future music, starting a band in isolation and working through it, the unlikely origins of the band and more.
Watch “Sorry” below:
