Formerly known as The Sunday Sadness, the French band created by Kirby has continued to evolve its music and surprise its fans. With the release of their second album, End of Time, which marks the beginning of their collaboration with the Fearless Records label, TSS offers us a particularly dark vision of our world, with 13 tracks that are more metal than ever, but without forgetting their pop roots...
What is the question you have been asked most often and are tired of answering?
John: Why TSS? (Laughs)
Before that, let's talk about your latest news, which is the release of your new album, End Of Time. What end of time is the title of the album referring to?
John: Regarding the name of the album, End of Time, all the songs on the album are about the end of something. Whether it's the end of a relationship, the end of life... ‘End of Time’ was a nice way to illustrate the overall theme of the album.
We have a pretty pessimistic view of the world
And if you let the listener come up with their own interpretation, what's yours?
John: I think we have a pretty pessimistic view of the world and that we're at the end of an era and heading for our downfall in a general sense: ‘End of Time’ pretty much sums up this lost generation that doesn't have much hope because I think we're heading towards the end of humanity...
Are you telling me that you're not just pessimistic and sad on Sundays, but every day of the week?
TSS: (Laughs)!
The musical changes were so extreme that it was necessary to start over with a new name
Going back to your first question, you changed your name from The Sunday Sadness to TSS. Weren't you afraid of losing some of the audience you had built up with your original name? How did you make that choice and why did you opt for TSS, which is more neutral?
John: It may have been confusing for a lot of people, but the name change also accompanied our change in artistic direction, both musically and visually. But yes, we did lose some people along the way by changing our style and changing our name.
Hugo: But it was worth it.
John: It was worth it. We had to rebuild our fanbase several times.
Matthieu ‘Kirby’: The musical shifts were so extreme that in a way, it was necessary to start over with a new name. But anyway, the name includes the old one, and people make the connection pretty quickly. And besides, it's still our Instagram tag, and it's also the name of our first EP, so if people look at our discography, they can make the connection pretty easily...
You mentioned the change in style from one album to another, but these changes can even be found within the same album, like your latest one. In other words, it's clear that you communicate at the pace of ‘singles’ whose content may be different from other tracks released elsewhere. In these circumstances, how attached are you to the album format and, more generally, why release an album these days?
John: It happened a bit late in the day, in the sense that we had already started releasing single after single: that was our rhythm. Then we met the people at Fearless Records – the label we work with today – who were keen for us to release an album. So we had to sort through what we wanted to keep for the album from what had been released beforehand. We also know that the current pace for an artist is somewhat imposed by social media: we have to have a certain presence. But in general, we think an album is a good way to close an era and present a finished project from A to Z with meaning...
In that respect, the artwork of this new album is very cold and very beautiful too. It shows two hands coming together, one seems soft and the other powerful. Isn't that ultimately a representation of your music?
Kirby: Absolutely. In fact, our previous album was a purely pop and synthwave album: the artwork represented the four members of the band in this soft aesthetic.
Today, it's still the same aesthetic with a slightly dark, starry background. And this hand with a black medieval glove with spikes gripping the soft hand clearly represents our new musical style, which takes the old with it.
Despite everything, this cover seems paradoxical to us because it doesn't suggest the end of something and the pessimistic theme you mentioned, but rather the beginning of a new era, particularly in music, as you mentioned. Why this paradox?
John: We have absolutely no intention of stopping there! This image of the black horseman grabbing the innocent hand represents something positive for us. It's, in quotation marks, the advent of metal for TSS, but it can also represent the violence that takes over the rest. It's a transition, but not necessarily one of hope.
We hate doing the same thing twice, so we feel a bit obliged to experiment
Your music is very original. How do you manage to combine originality and power while remaining direct and accessible?
John: I think we always keep the best of what we've done before, in this case pop with everything that makes a pop song: the structure, the fact that it's accessible to everyone. For this album, we found a new glue, which is nu metal, something that has always been in our hearts and that we can explore today.
In fact, we hate doing the same thing twice, so we feel a bit compelled to experiment and find new styles to add to the project. But yes, we want to keep those structures and catchy choruses.
Kirby: Actually, we've kept some pop production habits in the sound, which we're now adapting to metal.
Your songs feature lyrics in French and English. Is this a real difference and a strong point in the world of metal, which mostly offers lyrics in English?
John: Strangely enough, the French are the most resistant to the idea of French lyrics in metal songs. Internationally, however, it seems to be quite well received. And I think that's what makes us strong today: pushing the French language and being proud of it!
No one is a prophet in their own country...
Hugo: I think we have a chance in France.
John: I'm not giving up on it. I think that like all French bands before us, they prove themselves internationally and after a while, the French public has to face the facts. There are signs that can't be ignored, like the success of Landmvrks...
In which country or countries or continents is the TSS formula working best today?
Kirby: In the United States, by far.
John: Germany and England are also doing well... And now we're starting to tackle the Japanese market with a ‘featuring’ that has helped us get in.
In this respect, we find that your approach is similar to that of Japanese visual kei bands who, like you, seem to dare to do anything (we're thinking of Dir En Gray in particular). Is this one of your inspirations?
Kirby: I've been listening to it since primary school: I had an older brother who got into it. When I was young, I used to read blogs, one in particular. I stopped listening to it around 2016-2017, but recently – while writing ‘End of Time’, in fact – I got back into it. But yes, it's true that it's been with me since I was a child, definitely.
We really wanted to create something unique, to be fresh and stand out
With this metal side and pop influence, it feels like you're trying to bring something new to the table...
John: That's our intention! We really wanted to create something unique, to be fresh and stand out a bit from the scene.
And this new sound seems to come through with the addition of urban influences, like on the track “Dead”. Aren't you worried that these urban influences will confuse die-hard metal fans, just as your metal riffs might put off fans of urban music?
John: It's not a goal, but it's close (smiles).
Hugo: Pop bothers metalheads more than metal bothers pop listeners. We manage to get people who don't listen to metal to like it. But conversely, it's hard to bring metalheads back to what we do.
In that vein, you recently opened for Asking Alexandria. How was the reception?
John: (Smiles) At the time, we were doing more emocore, so it was fine. After that, it was our very first concert, so it was hard to win people over at our first show.
Kirby: More recently, we played with Motionless in White and the audience response was really positive...
Hugo: ...even though we weren't as metal as we are today.
Kirby: But I think it's a good way to get our name out there, playing with metal bands that have a similar aesthetic to Motionless in White and are already accepted by the scene.
We pay a lot of attention to the image we project.
And when it comes to aesthetics, how important is imagery in TSS?
John: It's a big part of TSS. We pay a lot of attention to the image we project. We want to put the image front and centre.
We can see that here, in your videos... but how are you going to translate that onto stage, knowing that it's a challenge in itself, that the audience will be expecting a lot based on what they've seen, and that you want to give them a performance that, if not exactly the same, is faithful to the image you want to convey?
John: First of all, we have stage ‘costumes’ that are a bit unusual, and we have lighting that enhances everything and makes us a bit mysterious...
Kirby: We have lighting that almost takes over the rest of the show: it's extremely elaborate.
And you manage to set it up even when you're not headlining?
Hugo: We can adapt to any stage.
Kirby: In February, we toured Europe with an American band called Set It Off: they gave us carte blanche, with no restrictions. And we adapt. But right now we're thinking about the stage design and so on, for when we play as headliners...
And when are these headline gigs coming up?
John: We're doing our first headline tours in Europe in September/October. We're working on the stage design and the visual aspect of the live show.
How do you feel about this headline tour? Is it a culmination, a milestone?
John: It's part of our development.
Hugo: They're milestones.
Kirby: We played our first headline concert outside France a month ago. It was in Cologne, Germany. It was in a beautiful venue, and it was sold out. I really felt like we had taken a first step.
They're stories we tell, not real life experiences
We mentioned that the album's theme is generally pessimistic, but who specifically is the song “So Long My Friend” about?
John: We like to leave it open to interpretation. But even if the songs are often inspired by what we're going through, most of them are stories we tell, not real life. This song, in particular, was about someone on their deathbed, talking to someone for the last time.
Following on from our discussion about your vision, how would you answer that question? Is “End of Time” a concept album?
John: Everything is a bit relationship-focused, and that's what links the songs together, whether they're about romantic relationships, friendships, toxic relationships, etc. It's often about the relationship between two people.
Even if it's not a concept album, what does the final scene of “Ending Scene” evoke? Is it an ending that opens up to something else?
John: “Ending Scene” is the penultimate song, “So Long My Friend” closes the album. These two songs have a special flavour on the album because “Ending Scene” is the most violent and “So Long My Friend” is the softest. We really wanted to end the album with a slightly intriguing contrast that leaves a different taste from the rest of the album.
Do you think this album will allow you to reach a new level?
Hugo: Yes.
John: We certainly hope so.
The album has already achieved its goal!
Have you had any initial feedback that would reinforce this idea?
John: A lot of the singles have already been released and have clearly blown up our fanbase. So for us, the album has already achieved its goal!
Hugo: It's also our first album with Fearless Records.
John: It's also our first metal album. As for the tracks on the album that haven't been released as singles, the feedback we've had from journalists we've met has been positive, and overall we've received compliments about the album. So yes, it's possible that a lot of people will like it...
We know that a European headline tour is on the cards, but do you have any other plans for the future?
John: Our main goal is to prepare for a tour in the US. That's really what we'd like to do first because most of our fans are there.
And we're thinking about the next era of TSS, i.e. the aesthetic we're going to choose, the sounds we want to incorporate.
And then we have a French tour coming up early next year.
We hope the album will allow us to tour more and make a bigger name for ourselves on the scene in general.
We started the interview with a question you've been asked too many times. On the contrary, what question would you like me to ask you or what question would you dream of answering?
John: Um...
Kirby: Nothing comes to mind...
You seem to be drawing a blank... How about this: when we next meet, for the next promotional campaign... when are you planning to release a new album?
John: The album comes out on 27 June. But I don't know when we'll start releasing singles from the next album...
But for you, an album release is every two or three years?
Hugo: Two years.
John: I think we can easily live off one album for two years.
Hugo: If we do deluxe versions, if we release singles...
John: We don't have a definitive plan yet.
Kirby: But I feel like we need two years to do something we're really happy with...
Hugo: And in the meantime, we have to keep the first album alive. As soon as the second one comes out, the first one stops getting media attention.
So I'll see you in two years and we'll start our interview with the question you would have liked me to ask you and your answer...
TSS: (Laughter)!
Thank you
Thank you
And thank you to ThibautK for his contribution...
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