Signals Midwest have been one of the bands credited for helping carry the torch for the emo revival in the 2010s and even before. The Cleveland, Ohio band have been together since 2008, churning out alluring, engaging indie/alternative rock and painting remarkable audio novels of life touring across America. Frontman Maxwell ‘Max’ Stern, often waxes poetic on love, friendship, relationships, and everything in-between, which carries through once more on Layovers—a collection of B-sides, rarities, and demos out July 25 on their ever-familiar label, Lauren Records.
Stern sat down with New Noise Magazine to detail the thought process behind the record, the overall themes, and how the band have changed since the pandemic and their most recent music.
Hi Max, so getting to this off the cuff, what was the thought process behind this album? Why this direction after 2022’s DENT?
Honestly, we just thought it’d be fun. It’s more of an archival project than a new record, and I love that stuff—when bands put out collection records, sort of as a scrapbook, or a way to trace their history. We’ve put out a lot of songs over the years that were released on labels that don’t exist anymore, or were on split seven-inches with bands that have broken up, or didn’t make it onto records for timing constraints, so it was nice to revisit it all here and mix some new things in.
We’d had the idea for a while, so it was cool to give it all some new life. We got to really dig into the artwork, which I love doing, and find a place for some alternate versions of songs. Luke Henery from the Australian band, Violent Soho, is a really talented photographer, and he shot the cover photo. We’ve hung out a few times just being on tour in each others’ hometowns and have kept in touch a bit over the years, so it was nice to involve someone who we met through our travels. I hit him up and asked if he had any recent shots he liked, and the first thing he sent me was the airplane collage. Our band logo is a bi-plane, and we all have it tattooed. It felt cosmic and perfect.
To that point, what does Layovers mean?
It goes back to the airplane thing. The bi-plane has been our logo since 2011 when Latitudes and Longitudes came out. And aviation/travel are consistent themes in our music and art. So I thought, for a “collections record,” which is sort of focused on the in-between moments of our band’s existence … What would that translate to aviation-wise? I thought about flight patterns and connecting flights, and I liked the word “layover” just being in a random city on the way to get where you need to go. It seemed to fit. Also, the artwork is literally like 20 versions of the same photo “laid over” each other, so I like that there’s a visual element, too.
Some fans would have wanted a new LP or EP, but nostalgics won’t mind the older songs off the splits, which would bring in some of the uninitiated. Was it tough deciding what made the cut? If anything should be reworked more, etc.?
We definitely had more than we could include on one record. It came down to a level of quality and recording fidelity in some instances. Part of me wanted to put, like, a song from the first demo we ever made on it, but it was done in a basement with an iPhone in 2008 which wouldn’t really translate well to vinyl. So there was a certain quality bar there.
Audiotree was super cool and ended up giving us the “Alchemy Hour” track to rework for the vinyl version, but since that was already out digitally from our 2019 session, we decided to put the demo on streaming. That was recorded over a decade ago in my parents’ basement. It’s cool to A/B those versions and see what changed from the initial demoing process to the final product. We learned so much in the process of making that record (At This Age, 2016).
One of the standout tracks here on Layovers is “Two Magnets.” You did a great solo version prior in 2024, but this new version is great, too. You went from a choral folk vibe to something more “rock” here. What was the process with upgrading this, and how did you and the band arrive at a “comfy” final version? Is it tough trying to honor what came before?
Thanks! It’s funny; that was actually recorded a few months BEFORE the solo version! When I was writing it, I felt like it could really go either way in terms of key and treatment. So the solo version is in G, and the Signals version is kicked up to B flat to push my voice more. And Steve’s (Gibson, vocals and drums) high harmonies really help to support the chorus.
Usually, when a song appears, I kind of know which project it’s for, but this one felt really strong in both potential arrangements. I workshopped it for a while but couldn’t decide, so I just chased it twice. I’m really happy with where both versions ended up. I sort of look at them like two sides of the same coin. It’s an interesting exercise: stripping the bones of a song down to just a vocal and a chord progression, and then building it back up with two entirely different bands. I feel like each version stands on its own. There’s something nice about a song called “Two Magnets” having two different versions that are such antitheses of each other!
On that same note of duality, with something like “Alchemy Hour,” what’s the band’s energy when on a live recording for something such as Audiotree versus, say, a live show. I noticed this Audiotree version has some different sonic beats which aren’t there at Signals’ live shows. Is it that the band feels freer in the studio to freestyle more, and that maybe you don’t wanna remix it too much live?
I think we feel a little bit less inhibited at a live session like that. It’s never gonna be perfect. We’re not that kind of band. But the Audiotree session was a big deal for us, and it still remains one of the things that I’m most proud of having accomplished. It’s a great snapshot of where our band was at the time. We do tend to improvise and evolve songs a little bit—with guitar leads and drum fills in particular. When you’ve played a song a few hundred times, I think the muscle memory just naturally starts to tweak and curve things a little bit.
Speaking of curving and reinterpreting, how does the band also go about picking its cover songs? Is it just what you guys like or who you’re gonna be touring with? Surely, many Signals’ fans would love a future covers album to be honest. The Pohgoh cover is solid, for example. Is there any chance of a full cover record of bands you all love from Fest and such. Fest fans would surely dig.
We all grew up loving the BYO splits (BYO Split Series). There is also the Hot Water Music (HWM)/Alkaline Trio one (from 2022) where they cover each other. Trio does “Rooftops,” and HWM does “Bleeder.” I think bands covering each other’s’ songs is a high honor. So for the Worship This! and Pohgoh covers (“Astronaut” and “Blood Of The Sun” respectively), we wanted to do something in that spirit, whereas with the Wild Pink one, we just love that band and that song they had the time.
The Pohgoh version of our song (“Your New Old Apartment”) is absolutely stunning and the fact that they recorded it with J. Robbins (Signals’ collaborator and producer) is just icing on the cake. Susie’s (Ulrey, lead vocalist of Pohgoh) vocals gives me chills every time I hear it. I don’t think we’ll do a full cover record, though. These are generally one-offs for split seven-inches, just for fun.
As you mention fun, how excited are you all for Fest? And will we see quite a bit from Layovers played? Even if it’s in acoustic Max Stern stuff or secret shows.
We’ll do a few of the tunes, probably “Two Magnets” and “Wait For Hours,” since those feel the best right now. Might bring back another old one, but we generally have a “bangers only” policy these days, especially at Fest, which is something of a second home. In that setting, it’s more fun to play songs that people know the best and keep the energy high. We skipped it last year for the first time in 11 years, so we’re psyched to get back!
Curious also to know how it has been post-COVID writing and recording? I last interviewed you for New Noise Magazine on Signals’ 2019 album, Pin, so it’s essentially six years since! What sort of growth have you gone through as a writer and a musician? As well as the team, given how dire and mentally taxing the pandemic was.
I’m immensely proud of where our band is at, and particularly of what we’ve been able to accomplish post-shutdown. When we put out DENT, there was a noticeable increase in people coming out to shows and the kind of opportunities that we were getting contacted about. I think that’s largely just due to persistence on our end, in doing the band for almost two decades and not breaking up. We’ve taken in so much inspiration and experience alongside each other, and as a result, have learned how to write better songs, be more discerning during recording sessions, and improve our inter-band communication.
I also think our group mental health overall is much better than it was in 2020. I don’t know anyone who was doing “well” at that time. But Jeff (Russell, guitar) and I text about therapy and breathing exercises and meditation and sleep hygiene, and I guarantee you we were not talking about that shit a decade ago in the van.
Sounds like you’re very proud—and rightfully so—of all the progress made. Now, this might be a testy question, but what is everyone’s favorite track on Layovers and why. Also, what inspires you to re-record music? Is it a personal thing? A band thing? Is there conflict regarding track choices?
We actually included our favorite songs in the liner notes, so I’ll save ‘em for that as to not spoil it! But I do want to be clear: these are not re-recordings. We tracked a couple new songs, remixed some stuff, and remastered everything, but each song is still a snapshot of who/where/what our band was at the time, spanning across a decade or two. I hunted down so many old mixes and files buried on hard drives that hadn’t been plugged in for a decade. It’s cool to look back on it all again, like a scrapbook or something. We wanted to do it as an archival project and as a way of saying thanks for the people who have been riding with us for 10, 12, or 15 years.
Understood! Will there be more albums like this with demos, rarities, and B-sides? I definitely think such collections are more than novelty items for loyal fans.
If we make it another 17 years, probably!
Lastly, when can we expect more new Signals or solo music from Max Stern?
Right now, we’re focused on new music. We’ve got about half a new album written and roughly demoed five or fix songs at this point. But that just sorta takes however long it takes, and one of the benefits of doing this for so long is knowing that you can’t force it. It’s tricky with the geography, being in different cities, all working full-time, and life taking us in other directions outside of music. But we love each other; we’re proud of what we’re making, and when we’re together, it feels like home!
Layovers is out Friday, and you can preorder it from Lauren Records. Follow Signals Midwest on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
Photo Credit: Jake Cunningham
