If you’re looking for a new band to take over your playlists, look no further than Arrows in Action! Their latest album, I Think I’ve Been Here Before, is the perfect gateway into their musical world, so this is the ideal time to jump in! We were lucky enough to get to chat with Arrows in Action all about their newest album, past music, live shows, and so much more!
Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, how would you describe your sound to someone who is tuning in for the first time? We’re an alternative pop-rock band! We’re a blend of everything we love, and we love a huge array of music.
I Think I’ve Been Here Before is less than a month away. What emotions are you guys feeling leading up to the release of this record? We’re feeling a mix of relief, excitement, and catharsis with the release of this album! We can’t wait for people to hear it all in its intentional order.
Out of the eleven songs on the record, only two are unreleased. What goes into the decision of what to release and what to hold back? We wanted to make sure to save the conclusion of the album for the day of release. We were very intentional with the track order on this record, and we wanted our fans to experience the album in its entirety together.
‘Hello Sunlight!’ is the oldest track on the record, having been released in May of last year. When this song came out, did you know it was part of a bigger project, or did that come with time? Though it was released far ahead of the album, ‘Hello Sunlight!’ is the track that started the writing process and was instrumental in guiding us towards the sounds that would make up Side A.
You’ve released this album in two parts, with Side A coming out earlier this year. How do you group the songs and figure out which song belongs on which side? In both subject matter and sonics, we accidentally curated two distinct vibes while writing this album. It could be the simplest thing, like the placement of a minor chord that guided a song toward side B, and in many cases, it was the lyrical perspective that placed the song.
With a new album comes the hope of live music! While crafting the album, which song off this album were you most looking forward to bringing to life on stage? Victor: ‘Cheekbones,’ Jesse: ‘Empty Canvas,’ Matt: ‘Empty Canvas.’
Your debut album, Be More, came out four years ago! When you look at the artists who released that record, and the artists who are about to release this record, what do you see as the biggest area of growth? Our biggest area of growth has been how much we collaborate! With years of touring and writing together, we know each other better than ever before, and we know how to expand on each other’s ideas.
Once again, thank you so much for chatting with us! Before we let you go, what is one thing on the Arrows in Action bucket list as we close out 2025? A bucket list item we completed this year was headlining in Europe and the UK! A bucket list item we have that is yet unchecked is performing at Red Rocks in Colorado. Thanks for having us!
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite song off of I Think I’ve Been Here Before by Arrows in Action? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!
If you’re having a conversation about the hardest-working and most talented people in the industry, Abigail Barlow simply has to be in that conversation! From making some of our favorite pop music, including her newest track, ‘Strike Out,’ to crafting the soundtrack for Moana 2, there is truly nothing Abigail can’t do! We simply had to pick her brain and get all the details about everything she is up to!
Hi Abigail! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us! To start us off, how would you describe the music you’re making to someone who is tuning in for the first time? Absurdly fun, flirty, fierce, and unserious!
We have not been able to turn off ‘Please Me!’ What was the inspiration behind this song and the visuals behind it displayed in the lyric video? Aw, I’m glad you love it! ‘Please Me’ started as a verse and chorus I posted to TikTok in 2020 about nothing and no one in particular. Until this past year, the idea was sitting on a shelf. That is until I met a handsome stranger in NYC… We went on a date in the city, and the next day, I was baking sweets in his kitchen. Classic 50s housewife behavior! I tried to emulate that energy in the visuals for this song, as it’s secretly a fantasy of mine to time travel.
One thing about ‘Please Me’ that immediately stuck out to us is that it sounded like you had taken all the best parts of tried and true pop music and combined them all into one song. When crafting the track, were you always planning for the track to be fun, upbeat, and reminiscent of the early 2000s pop songs? Honestly, the production of this song started with me using any producer girl trick I had to make the demo sound somewhat fun and listenable. It wasn’t until I collaborated with Michael Dunaief that the production really came to life in that bubblegum 2000s way.
We know you spend a lot of time creating with a partner as Barlow & Bear, so with that in mind, what do you find is the biggest advantage to working solo on your music, and on the same note, the biggest advantage to working with Emily on Barlow & Bear projects? Being part of a collaboration is so incredibly sacred to my life these days. It grounds me, enlightens me, and fulfills me in ways working alone just doesn’t compare to. In the same breath, it’s so important that both of us have balance with personal endeavors. It keeps our partnership healthy and ever-evolving, together and separately.
Moana 2 is officially a go! What is it like jumping in on the soundtrack to a sequel of such a treasured movie? Literally a DREAM. I can’t even put into words how honored I am to be a part of the world of Moana. She is my girl, and I can’t wait for everyone else to experience the masterpiece we’ve been working on for two years!
Something that we can’t just glide over is that you have a Grammy! As a musician, we know what a huge accomplishment that is. What can you tell us about finding out you’d won? We were at the ceremony, and it was surreal. Walking onstage and actually giving the speech we prepared *just in case* was an out-of-body experience. Best moment of my life so far!
Songwriting is a huge part of you as an artist. When you’re writing a track, how do you know if it’s something you are going to work on for your catalog or offer to another artist? Honestly, I’m not married to anything I write because I write a LOT of songs. A cut is a cut! If a big pop star wants it, I have no qualms with giving it away. My songs are like my children. I just want them to be heard. And loved. :’)
We have to ask, with The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical soundtrack and the soon-to-be Moana 2soundtrack in your back pocket, if you could go back in time and put ‘Please Me’ on any soundtrack, which one would it be? LOL! I think it could be in some 2000s rom-com getting-ready montage for sure.
‘Strike Out’ is the newest track! The song is a full-on pop dream. Where did the inspiration for the track come from? ‘Strike Out’ is my bi-girl anthem. It’s inspired by my yearning for love and how I’m in search of it literally everywhere, from a club in Santa Monica to a bar in Hollywood.
‘Strike Out’ follows ‘Please Me,’ do you think there is an invisible string connecting these two tracks? Definitely! If ‘Please Me‘ is the fantasy of being a wife and mother, ‘Strike Out’ is my reality as a 25-year-old girl just doing her BEST to find love. Either way, I’m just having fun being a songwriter. It’s never too serious. 😉
The cover art for ‘Strike Out’ dawns on the infamous Barbie font. If you could have had this track play during a scene in the Barbie movie, what scene would that have been? I love this Q! I guess when they start deprogramming all the Barbies from the Kendom. Honestly one of my fav parts of the movie.
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We like to end these interviews by asking what is on the horizon. What can fans look forward to as we venture into the last half of 2024? I’m doing my darndest to release *one more pop song* before the release of Moana 2 in theaters on November 27th! After that, who knows? A tour? An album? I guess you’ll have to follow me to find out 😉
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite Abigail Barlow release between ‘Please Me’ and ‘Strike Out?’ Let us know by commenting down below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
It’s no secret at this point, we are huge Greysons Chance fans, and have been for years, so this is a pretty huge moment for us! We got to pick Greyson’s brain about his latest releases, and about what’s next, as well as about his relationship with his fans and about displaying vulnerability in his music. We are still processing getting to have this conversation! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Hi Greyson! Thank so you much for taking the time to talk with us today! To start us off, how would you describe who you are as an artist to someone who is just tuning in for the first time?
Oh that’s rather hard isn’t it? Ever so often I have to tell my story in full, starting from the YouTube video to where I am now; and the whole thing really does read out like a movie. It’s a bizarre story. But if someone is truly tuning in for the first time, I would say my career started with me singing at the piano. And now 14-years-later, I’m still singing at the piano.
‘Rearview Mirror’ marked the start of this next musical journey you’re on, what was it about ‘Rearview Mirror’ that made you want it to be the first introduction to this new era?
There was something very classic about ‘Rearview Mirror’ that made me want to make it the lead. I am always chasing that feeling of nostalgia everyday I go into the studio, to make things that feel bigger than me and to make things that will stand the test of time. From the jump, ‘Rearview Mirror’ felt that way, and I didn’t second-guess it.
‘Haymaker’ is the track following ‘Rearview Mirror’ and you’ve said the track was born out of a place of conflict within your family, what was it like to be able to work that out through music? Was writing the healing process, or had that already come and writing was the result of the healing?
I’ve gone through a lot in my life, but nothing quite stings like the emotions of family conflict, and for three years, I watched my family crumble before my own eyes. It was awful. Writing was certainly the healing process for me, and it’s been that way since I started writing songs. I told my cowriter Sam Harris the day we wrote ‘Haymaker’ that a thousand pounds were lifted off of my shoulders once those words hit the page.
You’ve always been very personal with your music, with your songs chaptering parts of your life. Can you pinpoint something that you were hesitant to put to music, but ended up in a song that you released and got to see it resonate with people?
I was very hesitant to release ‘Haymaker,’ because it is my real life. I haven’t really spoken to my brother in a few years, so ‘Haymaker’ is this an encapsulation of everything I would say to him if I had the chance. So for these lyrics to be the first words he hears from me? Yeah, that shit’s raw, it’s ugly, it’s nuanced, but it’s necessary. Good art comes from vulnerability, I’ve always believed that.
Palladium was the last record, what is something that you learned during that album rollout/creative process that you’ve taken with you into creating the next project?
I learned through Palladium that I am an album artist, and I always will be. I want to world build, I want my music and my visuals to paint a scene for the listener, to bring them to a place that feels disconnected from their own reality. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that the world needs to be complex, it just needs to be purposeful.
You’ve been in the industry for a long time, and because of that, you’ve had fans that have been around for a decade+ going to shows and supporting the music, what has having the support that’s allowed for breaks (like going to college and stepping away from music) while aways sticking around meant?
When I tell you I am the luckiest artist, you have no idea. My fans know my life, they know what I’ve been through, they know that I’ve suffered a lot, both mentally and physically since I was kid … they keep me upright. Think of someone you’ve known for 14-years of your life? That’s the type of relationship I have with my fans. I don’t feel a pressure to make music for them, if anything I feel a pressure to be healthy and happy for them, because I know that is what they want for me more than anything. My relationship with them is the coolest thing I get to experience in my life.
We know that crafting any form of art takes a village and it is often easier to thank the other people involved and harder to pat yourself on the back, but what is something you’ve been really proud of yourself for during the process of crafting ’Rearview Mirror’/’Haymaker?’
I am proud of myself for pushing forward and continuing on no matter the adversity I’ve gone through. Music is a cutthroat industry, and it’s full of rejection. But the older I get, the more I realize the power in just surviving, waking up everyday and focusing in on the silver lining. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, and that feels like a huge accomplishment.
When you look back at your discography is there a song for you that you have recently felt reconnected to? Maybe a track that you hadn’t revisited in a while and realized it still hits as hard as when you made it?
Boots, a song I released as a stand alone single around four years ago. “I’ve been western before all of these punks,” hits way hard in 2024. Don’t get me started on these fake cowboys out here right now.
Once again thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! Before we let you go, what can fans expect as we finish out 2024? What’s on the horizon?
I’ve been working on this record for the past year and a half, and ‘Rearview Mirror’ and ‘Haymaker’ are just the first two songs; I’m ready to show everyone the full world. So I guess to answer your question … more music, and a lot of shows. That’s what is on my horizon.
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite track out of the two recent tracks Greyson Chance has released? Let us know by commenting down below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
It’s time for you to get to know Speelburg! In the latest of THP’s exclusive interviews, we chat with Speelburg, fresh off the release of his sophomore album, Silver Medal Slump. Speelburg is a multi-disciplinary artist who can do it all – make witty “weird pop,” direct music videos for your faves, and give you great movie recommendations. We simply have to stan!
His latest project, Silver Medal Slump, is the second album under the name Speelburg. Each song was slowly-but-surely released over the course of a year, and the album’s arc unpacks the nature of second place. Centering your ‘dreaded second album’ around the idea of second place is so witty, and that’s just Speelburg all over, TBH.
We were so excited to talk with Speelburg about Silver Medal Slump, his namesake, and so much more, in this exclusive interview. So we won’t keep you waiting any longer!
Image Source: Alex Boundy, via Sideways Media
Speelburg x THP Exclusive Interview
Congratulations on Silver Medal Slump! You released the songs over a long period of time, but how does it feel to have the whole body of work out there in the world now? What’s the response been like? Thanks! Yeah, the response has been great! It’s so nice to have the whole thing out there living in the world as a 10 song, 32 min unit. People have been super nice about it — I guess it would be pretty weird if they went out of their way to DM me and dunk on it, but luckily that hasn’t happened yet. Like, yeah, the whole thing came out over the course of a year, because honestly, that felt like the best way to do it for this record. The first one took a lot longer to complete and get out there so I really wanted to try the complete opposite of that. Take 10 songs, and as each one is finished, try and get it out there as quick as possible. You still have an eye on the eventual goal of the album as a whole, but it makes you write and commit a lot quicker.
You released music videos for so many of the tracks, and we love how they represent different facets of both the album and of you. What made you decide to go with this Silver Medal theme? Well, I like having an overall theme and aesthetic for the an album, even if it only ever makes sense to me. At some point while I was writing this album I started really getting into the idea of runners up, second place winners, sequels etc… and like, looking at a lot of sophomoric efforts and what it meant to put out a second album. In a lot of ways it’s a second album about making a second album, not necessarily in some huge Charlie Kauffman way. But not not either.
And how did you decide the order that you released the tracks? Was it as-and-when each song was ready to be heard? Yes and no. At first, I had a few finished songs and was like, “Well, if I start releasing the first single now, I’ll have to commit to releasing the whole album by this date.” So you look at the few finished songs and choose the first single, then you release the next one and you’re kind of doing it in a way that makes sense to you, and then you look at the list of 7 or 8 nearly finished songs and go “alright now I got a good view of what I need to get done.” As stressful as it was in the end, the process was a whole lot funner than sitting on a finished record for a year or more.
Your debut album, Porsche, came out in 2020. Did you feel any pressure to live up to the expectations that were set following the success of it? Though we’ll admit there’s a certain irony to this question given the concept of Silver Medal Slump! Well sure. Yeah, like you point out, there’s definitely some pressure but to be honest, there was a lot less on this one, mainly because I kept telling myself the debut needs to be out by this time, under these perfect conditions, and it needs to say this about me and blah blah blah. This is not to say this one has no intention, it totally knows what it’s trying to say. it’s just, it felt like when I finally had the first one out, I had suddenly paved an endless runway for myself. “I’ve done the first album, now I can just keep making more and none of them ever have to be the debut Speelburg album.” Does that make sense?
Totally! You freed yourself by getting that first one out. Exactly! It was probably mostly self-imposed pressure, and this is not to say each new album isn’t going to come with it’s own set of rules and anxieties, but it feels like having your first one out, people can really join along the way as you evolve and grow as a writer and producer.
You’ve referred to your work as “weird pop” before. How would you define that? I think it’s just a way to tell people I make pop that isn’t the first thing they think of when someone says pop. I think they think of something like Dua Lipa. But like, I’m going to the same well as them so there’s not that much distinction. Everyone’s doing everything these days and releasing it all as singles. Making singles is fun. You really get to experiment with all kinds of genres. At the end of the day, if it has your voice, or even just your name, people are down to listen.
It’s been said that you have a Wes Anderson-esque sense of humor in your music, which we totally agree with. So we have to ask: what’s your favorite Wes Anderson film? Oh that’s nice! Thanks. He’s rad. The thing I really like about directing that’s similar to music is that you’re constantly learning new things. You start a thing and then slowly it becomes another career and along the way you try and copy some shots, you try and come up with your own. Same with music genres. You hear a thing you love and you want to figure out how it’s made and how to make your own version of it. It’s really hard to pick a favorite, but I will say the one I really love that doesn’t seem to get as much love is The Darjeeling Limited. I’ve seen it dozens of times, and it’s just one of those movies that came along at a perfect time. Something about brothers fighting and talking over each other, the amazing Indian setting and a killer soundtrack. I just love it so much.
And dare we ask what your favorite Spielberg film is?! Catch Me If You Can. No, wait. Hook. I’m gonna say Hook. Just because, if you watch the featurette behind the scenes video, it really shows you everything that went into making the world seem so real. Hook rules.
You clearly have so much passion and talent in film-making, with your work for The National amongst others. How does your work in this space impact your music and vice versa? At this point I’d say they’re pretty knotted together. For my own personal work anyway, you can’t really have one without the other. I think about a lot of these songs visually, so video and music pretty much go hand in hand. But I really dig the commercial work. Anytime you get stuck on a song, you just say yes to a directing job and it just puts that track on ice for a couple weeks. You come back to music in such an excited way, and can figure out pretty quickly how to fix it. And people like The National and John Legend and their teams have been such great collaborators. You get a surprising amount of creative freedom which means you can experiment on such a larger scale. And again, you take a lot of those lessons in collaboration, speed and execution back to the music side. Like, I got to work on this video for the National that mixed video and animation and the turnaround was pretty quick, but the whole thing was so fun and I’ve ended up using a few of those tricks on other visual stuff for Speelburg, so it all kind of feeds into each other.
Are there any particular music artists out there that you’d love to direct in the future? Oh man, so so many. I’d really love to do some videos for Girl Ultra. She’s so so cool. I think I could do some pretty great stuff for Remi Wolf and Beck too…You know I’d really like to try to do more with choreography too. I directed this small video and ended up just shouting out dance moves behind the camera to these twoactors, and they were great, and the whole thing just came together, but I’m by no means a choreographer. I would just love to work with someone great who knows what they’re doing and take care of the rest. Then beyond that anyone from like Toro Y Moi, LCD, Phoenix, Tame Impala to like, The Weeknd and Ariana Grande would be such a dream. Really want to do as much of that stuff as I can over the next year while I finish up the next record so who knows!
We love that you split your time between LA and London (two of our fave cities), too! How do each of these places inspire you? Does the energy they have impact you in different ways? Oh totally! There’s some cool stuff coming out of the UK, and honestly feels completely different from what comes out of LA, and bringing weirder, more interesting references to your writing, especially in collaborations, is always better. The UK is always thriving when it comes to electronic music, and it’s developed a really great art rock scene in recent years with labels like Speedy Wunderground being a great way in for new acts. LA’s got the sun and it’s got the money and the studios but it’s also got some great gnarliness to it and that divide makes for great and interesting art. There’s also a really great community there, other transplants, like-minded musicians, a whole great scene that’s constantly evolving. I love them both. I’m happy in whatever place keeps me hearing new and interesting music and meeting new and interesting people.
We’re still basking in Silver Medal Slump, but we have to ask: What’s up next for you? Well, we’ll see if it can be done, but right now I’m starting to see the next record start coming to life. It might not have all the squishy organs yet, but the shell is forming. As for the commercial work, that’s a little harder to talk about before it’s all signed off, but I really feel like I’m only getting better with each project, and pretty stoked to share all of it. And beyond that, I’m super excited to get back on the road and tour the album. We’ll be doing some dates at the end of the summer and into the fall and I can’t wait to see what works! Records and commercial work aside, playing live is my favorite thing. I feel like I spoke a lot in this interview. Hopefully, it’s not too boring. I tried really hard to get really good at making this album as concise as it could. I’m not sure I can say the same about this interview.
Definitely not too much! Thanks so much to Speelburg for chatting with us for this interview!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or tell us over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
