by emma schoors
photo by hudson mcneese
New York-based Cry Baby wants to be your guilt-free favorite boy band. “A common sentiment we all share is being unashamed of what we’re into, regardless of its relevance today,” vocalist Alex Carlson says. “I think it's fun to be polarizing in that sense.”
Saccharine yet moody like FOUR era One Direction, with a glitchy, surreal backdrop like Beabadoobee, the five-piece have been slinging genre-defying material since their South Carolina conception. This isn’t the first iteration of the band, with Carlson joining last year after their previous singer left — a call-to-action via social media from bassist Joey Haines was what helped assemble the current lineup.
“Joey’s IG post looking for a singer was just a hail mary attempt to keep this dream they all had going. I’m not sure any of them had much confidence that would amount to anything,” Carlson says. Still, he took a leap of faith and met up with Haines: “I can only liken that experience to a first date where you’re hoping the other person is having as good a time as you are.” He was, the pieces clicked, and Cry Baby was reborn.
“Hollister” was the demo that brought the new lineup together. With a similar electropop synergy to The 1975’s “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” and a driving, minimalistic drum track, the song calls on Carlson’s hypnotic vocals and the existing sonic kinship between founding members. Their newest single, “One Thing,” similarly propels the band forward in all its careworn beauty. The track follows the demise of a relationship, and the unease that precedes it. “We got to dial in these really fun, glitchy, distorted electric riffs, and in the second verse there’s a country-esque lead line I got to play which is so fun to do live,” guitarist Carter Long says. “[It] brings the inevitable South Carolina influence into our sound, however subtly.”
Cry Baby’s genius lies not just in their spearheading of unabashed bedroom pop, but in their use of social media to further the reach of each single. “We don’t want to change the system. We want in,” Carlson joked in a recent Instagram video. As laden with sarcasm as it is, it speaks to their willingness to seek exposure in an era where care is mistaken for desperation. By expending energy on the things that matter — fan interaction, creation, and heart-on-sleeve lyricism — they’ve laid a foundation that’s sure to steady them in the New York alternative scene for years to come.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Cry Baby to discuss “One Thing,” the specifics of their DIY bedroom studio setup, and the story behind their “wistful, nostalgic sound that is really bright on the surface, but is informed by a lot of sadness and struggle,” as Carlson eloquently puts it.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! Before we get into your latest release and forthcoming plans, we’d love to get a feel for how the band got together. How did you all initially meet, and have you always been based in Brooklyn?
Alex: “Yeah thank you for having us, we love Unclear. Joey and I had some mutual friends and I knew him outside the music world for about a year, existing more in the periphery of each other's lives I guess. I knew he produced music and that had always interested me a bit, so when he put up an IG story about looking for a singer, I jumped at the opportunity. Everyone outside myself moved to the city from Charleston, SC where they were in a previous iteration of the band, but soon after moving here their time as a band together was thrown into question because their singer left.
Joey’s IG post looking for a singer was just a hail mary attempt to keep this dream they all had going, I’m not sure any of them had much confidence that would amount to anything. But as fate would have it, I reached out and met up with Joey to talk music, and at every turn it felt we had all these niche interests in common. Some artist names we were throwing around were James Ivy, Third Eye Blind, and joan. It became pretty obvious we had a lot of reference points in common, some of which were pretty specific, so I think that helped Joey feel comfortable enough to show me some instrumental demos he was working on. The first one he threw on was what ended up becoming our first single, ‘Hollister,’ which was love at first listen for me. I can only liken that experience to a first date where you’re hoping the other person is having as good a time as you are. Turns out they were.”
Cry Baby is very much a DIY band, as the music is written and recorded out of a bedroom studio. Give us a rundown of your setup. What equipment, amps, pedals, and software do you typically use? Nerdiest answer possible, please.
Joey: “Yes, we’ve always been a bedroom operation. People literally sitting on the bed with guitars. But, I’ve always used just a handful of really quality pieces of equipment. Instead of owning a bunch of stuff that you half use, better to have just a few things that are perfect. I work in Logic with a Universal Audio Apollo, a Taylor Grand Auditorium acoustic (the best acoustic I’ve ever played that my mom got for me so I could play in our church band growing up) and Fender American Telecaster/Jazz bass. Our mic is a super nice Telefunken, plug-ins do all the rest! I honestly love working on the computer because you can record something so ‘normal’ and completely transform it by sifting through plug-in presets. I’m always chopping up and layer breakbeats also to give a hybrid acoustic/digital drum feel. Some of my fav plug-ins on the debut EP have been Izotope Stutter Edit 2, Guitar Rig 6, Soundtoys Decapitator and CLA plug-ins.”
Do all of you listen to the same genres of music, or are there varying tastes within the group?
Carter: “There are pretty huge variations in taste which make us the band that we are. I think most of us are quite open minded musically and listen to a lot of different stuff, but we’re definitely drawn to different things.”
Alex: “I think vibes are important to distinguish what we’re each drawn to musically. Speaking for the others here, but I think Carter, Matt, and I are drawn to sadder emotional music, while Josh and Joey lean on the more upbeat end of the spectrum. That's a big generalization of course, but a common sentiment we all share is being unashamed of what we’re into regardless of its relevance today. Honestly for myself, I’m proud of my guilty pleasure tastes like Bieber. I find the unabashed pop thing to be refreshing. I’d like to be on the borderline of a guilty pleasure band for people, I think it's fun to be polarizing in that sense.”
If your band were described as the lovechild of two existing bands, which would they be and why?
Alex: “Ah, tough one to answer. I’d say a one night stand between Third Eye Blind and Beabadoobee. I guess we have some elements that remind people of that pop rock era that Third Eye Blind dominated, sort of a wistful nostalgic sound that is really bright on the surface but is informed by a lot of sadness and struggle. Beabadoobee feels like a band that embodies that today, really glitzy and cute on the outside but a lot of emotional depth in the art. That’s certainly something we’re striving for and I suppose everyone should look up to their parents.”
Talk to us about your brand new single, “One Thing.” Joey described it as one of his favorite Cry Baby songs to date — what are some sonic elements you got to incorporate this time around that you hadn’t in previous singles?
Carter: “‘One Thing’ has a little more of a rock edge than the first two singles. We got to dial in these really fun, glitchy, distorted electric riffs, and in the second verse there’s a country-esque lead line I got to play which is so fun to do live and brings the inevitable South Carolina influence into our sound, however subtly.”
The accompanying video by Fiona Kane doubles down on the restless, uncertain feeling that permeates the track. Was there a set vision going into it, or was it more of a spontaneous filming process?
Alex: “I’m happy to hear that comes across in the video. It was all very spontaneous. We just knew we loved Fiona’s previous work and trusted her vision. We had some small ideas at the beginning, but Fiona threw out the possibility of having access to a convertible to shoot in while driving around the city which piqued our interest. Long story short, Fiona had connected with this legendary guy, George L Senior Jr., who has a huge convertible collection via TikTok. He was kind enough to drive us around the city for an afternoon while Fiona filmed Bea Enrico and myself being so over each other, Bea is a friend and she immediately came to mind as someone I wanted to shoot with, because she plays apathetic so well.
The other elements like the moving sculptures were courtesy of kinetic artist Walter Rossi, Fiona’s incorporation of his pieces are what made the video special to me. It reminds me of the cover of the I Spy books. I love it. Fiona is amazing at what she does.”
photo by hudson mcneese
You’re becoming a staple in the New York alternative rock scene. Who are some local acts you’d recommend to our readers?
Alex: “So many to include, but I’ll keep it to a few that have been big reference points for us. The Life, DBA James, Middle Part, and James Ivy. It’s an exciting budding scene to be a part of, I feel like bands are back in a big way in NYC.”
What are some band milestones you’re hoping to reach this coming year? Are there any plans for an EP or album in the foreseeable future?
Joey: “I think this year we wanted to put out a lot more music, starting with our debut EP. We are of course into turning out singles like we’ve been doing, it’s going to feel really good to have the whole collection out. These were the first songs we wrote as a group so they are very special to us. We also are super into the idea of collaborating with other artists we love, something we haven’t gotten to do a lot in the past so we are definitely trying to make some cool things happen in 2024. Lastly, we want to tour and reach as many cities as we can. Support touring is always one of the things at the top of our list, our inbox is always open Matty Healy.”