New Jersey pop-punk band Sücker Punch reinvent themselves after early 2021 EP Mensch and deliver energetic, memorable, new single "Hope Like Hell"
There is a profound and creative development process that comes with changing your band name. What does that mean moving forward musically? What does that mean for our sound? While it's a lot to unpack mentally for your image musically and physically, sometimes a change can inspire something you never thought you could tap into from your earliest stages of creating music.
“Writing this song was therapeutic and personal for us. Talking and writing about these themes is never an easy thing to do. Our approach comes from a deeply personal place. Talking about it helps us cope. A lot of us are at the very least familiar with the feeling of not wanting to exist anymore. We hold on in hopes of a better tomorrow.”
For New Jersey pop-punk darlings Sucker Punch (formerly known as Nude Shoes), a name change was what they needed to reflect their new infectious, high-octane sound and direction. While this presents an auroral and optimistic future for Sucker Punch, their new single, "Hope Like Hell," delivers more than new beginnings. Focusing on depression and how it impacts our daily lives, Sucker Punch bares it all on their new track.
Welcome to Into The Void, or should I say welcome back, haha, and thank you for supporting my new project. What started Suckerpunch? I understand that Suckerpunch was under another name before this? What inspired the change?
Absolutely! Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us. Before we were Sucker Punch, we were known as Nude Shoes. Essentially, the band decided to rebrand and rename due to a change in sound and direction. We started as a solo project, so as we grew in numbers a lot more influences came into the picture. Along with a few lineup changes, we felt it would be best to change and push forward with a new sound that bridges the gap between pop-punk and the early 2000s emocore era.
What are your musical influences? Since this band is going somewhat in a different direction, how are you placing those influences into your latest single "Hope Like Hell?"
We take influence from The Story So Far, Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, and Thrice. “Hope Like Hell” has the driving energy of TSSF and TBS, combined with the post-hardcore riffing of Thrice and Coheed.
What was the creative process like for this single this time around compared to your last EP Mensch back in early 2021? There was almost this solemn, denuded energy on your last EP release, but there is a more upbeat, catchy, emo pop-punk soundscape this time around?
The creative process was really collaborative for this song. Everyone in the band had an important role to play, both in overall sound and structure. We laid the foundation with the guitars first, then our drummer laid down some midi drums to get an idea of the kind of energy we wanted to have, and then we laid down vocal melodies and lyrics. We made many creative decisions together that felt organic and representative of the sound we are going for. A lot of the creative decisions were made on the fly in the studio, which is always exciting to make at the moment. Since this was the first single we were debuting under a new name, we wanted to showcase something both powerful and catchy while being true to our influences.
Can we talk about the lyrical content of "Hope Like Hell?" Even though it's more upbeat instrumentally, some heavy themes are dealing with depression and what that does to you regularly. What made you guys want to talk about this musically?
Writing this song was therapeutic and personal for us. Talking and writing about these themes is never an easy thing to do. Our approach comes from a deeply personal place. Talking about it helps us cope. A lot of us are at the very least familiar with the feeling of not wanting to exist anymore. We hold on in hopes of a better tomorrow.
What have you guys taken from this single personally, being that so much has changed for you guys this year?
This single was the biggest collaborative effort we’ve had to date. It has a lot of input from every single one of us, and it’s a testament to what we’re capable of as writers and musicians. It is a step in the right direction for a better future as a band and we’re all very excited to share the bigger picture with everyone.
What is next for you guys? I feel this single is just the beginning of what's to come.
We are really excited to start playing shows and to start fostering friendships with other bands in the scene. We have a bunch more music that is to be released, and we can’t wait to get it out there. Spring 2022 is gonna be a blast.
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