Husbands
Album: Cuatro
Release Date: 2023
USA
Cuatro, the latest LP from Oklahoma “what-have-you” indie band Husbands, is a smooth blend of indie beach pop and garage rock. Danny Davis has been honing in his sound and style for a decade now, after meeting Wil Norton in college while working on a Godzilla musical—where they realized their shared passion for creating music. It wouldn’t be long before they started writing and recording in their college dorm and, in 2016, they began playing shows in Oklahoma City. [More on Paste Magazine]
Lyrics: Can't Do Anything
Another pint of blood marked for Dracula
So long, so long
Who gives nothing up and takes all it wants
Until the end of us
But you’re the fire starter
You like to make things harder
Yet every dog lovin’ teenager
Knows too well how love can hurt
If you don’t already know,
You never seen it before like I do
So sick of writing you off
So sick of writing you off
If you could see it, you’d believe it
And I’d believe in it too
Stick with me then, there’s always a reason
To do what you want to do
It’s a pointless small thing that means everything to me now
It’s a pointless thing
If you don’t already know,
You’ve never seen it before like I do
So sick of writing you off
So sick of writing you off
Sick of writing you off
Sick of writing you off
Sick of writing you off
Sick of writing you off
I cannot do anything at all
I cannot do anything at all
I cannot do anything at all
I cannot do anything
Tracklist: Cuatro
01. “Super New China”
02. “Face Molt”
03. “Old Town”
04. “Can’t Do Anything”
05. “Used to Surf”
06. “Vangelis”
07. “Crash Pad”
08. “Lost Weekend”
09. “Tascam Blues”
10. “Mazzy”
11. “Sun-dried”
The plan for the next record is to do something chiller. If it happens to sound like Cosmic-Americana or garden indie, then it’s just because the operating word aligns with the spirit of those genres.
Danny on the next Husbands record
Hi, Danny! What’s the current Husbands count? Can you tell us about the most recent Husbands?
The current Husbands count is 4. We’ve had our drummer Berto and synth player Zach with us since the beginning, and our bassist Ethan has been around basically since we started touring in 2022. I’m still writing most of the music, but after Wil left, the other guys have joined in on the process more. When I was off the grid in Costa Rica this summer, the other three guys got together a few times and recorded some jams that hopefully we’ll shape into future Husbands songs. It’s exciting because it doesn’t sound like anything I’d come up with on my own. The challenge is figuring out how to work those jams into Huzz world enough so it sounds still like us but is also a natural step forward. Who knows what’ll happen, but I’m excited about our next record. I’m converting my garage into a more proper studio than the backroom of my house (which is where I’ve recorded the past 10 years), so I’m also stoked to see what sounds we can coax out of that new space.
Your band has always found a balance of humor and depth, and it is still there in Cuatro and in our loop selection from the record, Can’t Do Anything. I know you’ve always been the primary lyric writer but how do you feel about being the only writer now?
Lyrically, things feel the same. Musically, it’s definitely different and something I had to get used to. Wil and I wrote music together for 10 years. Even if I came up with most of an idea for a song, Wil was often huge in honing those ideas into their final form. He’s quick to know what was missing in a song and specialized in interesting ideas that pushed something from good to great. We’d occasionally leaned on Zach and Berto for ideas in the past (for songs like “Neuromancer“, “Garth“, “Ghost Machine“), so it was a natural step to try and fill the space Wil left by turning to those guys for their insight and musical brains. They’re great musicians and we all think alike in terms of what makes a good song. So it’s been challenging and fun and I feel like it’s caused me to grow as a songwriter. Our bassist Ethan has a whole vibe of his own too, so the hope is to meld the best parts of ourselves together for the next record.
What is the back story of Can’t Do Anything? Some frustration some helplessness… I mean I would have guessed it was a humorous referral to Wil’s departure from the band but is it really?
CUATRO (our fourth and latest record) as a whole is basically about two things: Number one is celebrating the fact that I finally quit my 9-to-5 job, moved to Costa Rica, and started doing music full time, and number two is grappling with the loss of a bandmate in the midst of that. As Husbands picked up steam, our team started growing, we started touring, and the time demands increased. I spent years structuring my life so that I’d be able to commit to that and continue full steam ahead. And meanwhile, Wil had a beautiful growing family and a new law job and was starting a music venue in OKC. So that song is kind of just saying “I respect what you’re doing, but I have to keep doing this because I’ve put all my eggs in this basket and it’s a part of my soul and I can’t stop or slow down if you’re going to do something else instead.” Things had been shifting this way for a while, so it wasn’t a sudden or unexpected thing, but it’s still tough to navigate all of that, and that’s what “Can’t Do Anything” is about.
I feel like it is more shoegaze than ever now. Was it always a plan, or what was the story behind it?
I don’t think about genre signifiers as much as having a broader plan of what I want something to generally feel and sound like. The plan with CUATRO was to make a record with big songs only. We’d just played a bunch of bucket list stages and venues for the first time, and I was feeling compelled to write big songs to fill up the sound in those big spaces. Because Husbands is primarily a guitar-based band, the way to make something big for us was to make the guitars huge. I think it sounds more like Weezer’s blue album than shoegaze, but culture has broadened the definition of shoegaze to include music like that, so if you consider Weezer’s blue album to be shoegaze, then yes, something kind of like that was our plan. The plan for the next record is to do something chiller. If it happens to sound like Cosmic-Americana or garden indie, then it’s just because the operating word aligns with the spirit of those genres.
Danny Davis
You’ll be touring the USA with Cold War Kids next two months. How did that opportunity come about?
We have a killer booking agent who opens a lot of doors for us. He pitched us for the tour and we got it. Simple as that. We’re stoked.
It is an exciting pairing without a doubt. How do you see your music interacting with their sound and audience on tour?
I think the kind of audience that can appreciate CWK will appreciate the music and show we have to offer. So I’m optimistic it’s going to be a good time for everybody.
Your infectious “Can’t Do Anything” is our loop selection as I already mentioned. Before we close, I’d like to ask you if there are any songs you’ve been looping lately.
I listen to a version of Shenandoah by the Choir of Kings College every Sunday and it makes me feel sad and alive and present and inspired. Also I’ve been listening to Being Dead‘s newest record “EELS”, which is absolutely incredible. Being Dead is my favorite band right now and I am so glad they toured the whole country with us.
