Name 3 Songs: Speaking of aging and making music. You recently turned 30 and there’s a certain clarity that comes with hitting these age milestones. But in going through your discography, at the beginning of Grayscale, there was a lot of anger in your music that has dissipated as you’ve gone older and as your music has changed. Is because your relationship with songwriting specifically has changed or do you think that this is a part of getting older and understanding your emotions? 

Collin Walsh: That’s a really good question. I think especially on the music we’re writing now, like for instance, “Mum II,” while it might not be as “angry,” I think it’s as much or more emotional than it ever has been. 

I think it just depends on what the song calls for and what type of record we want to write. I’d say “Not Afraid to Die” and “Mum II”  the two songs we’ve put out so far from the eventual album that’s coming – I would say it’s the most rock, most guitar-driven record we’ve ever done. So I don’t know if it’s necessarily angrier, but there’s definitely the angsty stuff. 

I really like getting older. I like the wisdom that comes with getting older. It’s so funny because you don’t know anything when you’re in your early 20s. Like you literally don’t know. Like you’re an idiot. But then, but then like, then you get to late 20s and 30s and you’re like, man, I still don’t know anything. And when I was 22, I really didn’t know anything. But you just kind of realize that more. But there’s something beautiful about getting older and like wisdom and being able to be appreciative of the little things. 

And yeah, we have so many musical influences. We’ve always seen ourselves as just a rock band. And I think that can vary from, you know, Umbra had a lot of… not like theatrical, but sort of very performative. It had choirs and strings and piano everywhere. And what we’re writing now is much more kind of… It’s almost this full circle thing. It is just leaning much more into the rock band part of us. And it’s more like a really cool kind of mature way where it’s not as punk rock, it’s just a rock band. It’s the same kind of thread running through it all, but it is like a more grown up version and more emotional just in maybe a different way.

I completely understand what you mean. And I feel like I could hear it in the music as well. I think it’s that deeper understanding of what emotions are, because I feel like when you’re younger, everything feels so black and white. And as you get older, you’re like, OK, anger has layers.

Yeah, totally.  I’ve had to spend so much time switching through lockdown. I really read a lot of Buddhism, and really learned the importance of being present. How important it is just to be present and like and  I think it takes a long time to be able to diagnose emotions that you have. In some ways it does get a little harder because you have more tools to handle diagnosing the emotions that you have as you get older, but there’s so much more in life and there’s so many more things you think about and pressure and responsibility.

I think how that translates to music is interesting, but I don’t think it’s any better or worse. I just think it’s kind of different and it’s, it’s just like an evolved version of itself.