Feelings
Label: Share It Music
Catalog #: 76001
Since their inception, Bloods have maintained their place as one of the Australia’s most endearing bands. Whether it’s through their highly infectious, undeniably fun punk-pop-meets-riot-grrrl tunes or their live shows, Bloods have consistently been celebrated by critics and fans alike.
Feelings sees Bloods' songs evolve from garage-punk fun to fully realized pop-punk anthems. The exceptional songwriting on Feelings is emblematic of a band that has grown together and learned to embraced their collective love of pop hooks and wall-of-sound distortion. Pushing themselves further than ever before, Feelings was written over a tumultuous eighteen-month period in which lead singer / guitarist MC was processing the end of a ten year relationship, which inevitably crept into so many of the songs that make up the record.
MC: “It felt like such a huge feat to get this album done. We faced so many challenges along the way, including writers block and running out of money. I went through a pretty debilitating break-up and Sweetie moved to Melbourne. Sometimes it felt like this album would never be finished! I think so many of these things ended up influencing what shaped Feelings. There are some deeply personal songs on this record, something that is very new to Bloods. When we listened to the finished album, I said to Dirk ‘there are so many feelings on this record, we should call it ‘Feelings.’ So we did”
Taking on a much broader palette of influences ranging from shoe-gaze to 90s indie-dance, Feelings was recorded with producer and friend Liam Judson (Bliss Release by Cloud Control / Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever) in the game room of Liam’s parents’ house in New South Wale’s Blue Mountains. The record sees Bloods embracing guitars like never before, which lead to the band enlisting a new addition and fourth Bloods-member, Mike Morgan.
MC: “I’d keep hearing all these little extra guitar parts when I was writing and recording. I wanted to record everything without thinking about how I’d replicate the parts live, just approach it openly and freely, which is really different to how we did our last record. After we finished tracking the album, we loved how layered everything was and decided to add an extra member to the band, so that we could replicate what’s on the album [when playing] live. Dirk had been playing in a band with Mike and the rest is history.”
Mixed by producer Shane Stoneback (Sleigh Bells / Fucked Up / Cults) with additional mixing and production done by the band’s new guitarist Mike, singles "Bring My Walls Down," "Bug Eyes," and "Feelings" have already received critical acclaim from KEXP, triple j, Rolling Stone, Blunt Magazine, and Consequence of Sound.
Bloods signed with Share It Music in 2018, a US-based record label. Headed up by Sub Pop Records' Cayle Sharratt, Share It Music is operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, splitting proceeds between artists, their chosen charity, and the label. Bloods have chosen to support the Australian-based Indigenous Literacy Foundation for this album campaign.
As a band that continues to evolve, Feelings proves Bloods have come a very long way since learning to play their instruments to start the band.