THE BACKFIRES BAND

By Izzie Chausse

The Backfires Q&A - Gov Ball Day 1

After a rainout kept them from taking the stage at Governors Ball last year, The Backfires returned to Flushing Meadows this weekend with a fresh perspective. The transatlantic indie-rock band is gearing up for the release of their new album, fresh off the launch of their latest single, "Super 8," and preparing to hit the road across the U.S. with Dogstar in August.

Following their Day 1 set, Shaky Cam caught up with the band to talk about the year that changed everything, from new music and touring plans to the importance of physical media in an increasingly digital world.

Q: What is the difference about The Backfires now compared to the band that was supposed to perform a year ago?

Alex Gomez (Lead Vocals): “So much has changed the past year. We've got a new record that we've been working on. We just put out a brand new song last week called ‘Super 8.’ A year ago, Dylan [Sprio] was brand new to the band and the four of us were touring our first album, ‘This is Not an Exit,’ but this new album is the first time the four of us all really wrote the music together, so that was really exciting get to play those songs together and be back here. I think, too, that we got all the nerves out last year a little bit.”

Q: Do you pull out any special stops for a festival audience that may not know you at all yet, or would you say it's very much business as usual?

Matt Walter (Bass): “I think we try to play uppers for this set. I would probably say we treat it like it’s 75% people who don't know you, versus our headlining show, where you can play more intimate B-sides or fan favorites. I think we played all four singles from our first record and two singles from the new record, and our most streamed song. It is kind of just bangers and highlights.”

Q: What's the biggest way the upcoming record differs from your previous work?

Harry Ruprecht (Guitar): “This is the first record we've set out to actually make as an album the whole way through. For our first record, we made an EP and then we got signed to new management, and they really heavily encouraged us to make it into a record. We then sort of morphed it into a record, and it was almost a collection of the best songs we had at that time. And then with this record, we went into it with the mindset of, ‘we're gonna make an album.’ Dylan had just joined the band. We also wrote the majority of it in a different way, where we would do a jam in our rehearsal room and make these structures of songs and record them all and then go back and sort of craft each song at a time, and so it was very organic, with an intentional story and theme the whole way through as well.”

Q: How would you describe the theme the whole way through?

Alex: “The album is really this exploration of this idea of, ‘is it real, is it fake,’ and that's the idea of Super Eight, the song we just put out. I would say the record is this story of this journey that takes place over three days, where you go on this train ride, and as a solution to modern dating, you can get on a train where you're matched up to your soulmate, and at the end of it, you get married or maybe you stay on the train forever. Who's to say? Is any of it actually happening? Is it a dream? Is it real?

The idea of the album is sort of questioning this world, but it's also very much an existential experience. There's this experience of the train, there's this idea of a relationship, but it's also this experience of being in your 20s and you're figuring yourself out, and you’re figuring out who you are. It’s like, how could you tell me if I am actually awake right now or if I am in a dream, right? I have to decide for myself, and so I think it's sort of that idea of, is anything really happening at all? Is this all a simulation?”

Q: How did the idea about burning and mailing physical CDs to fans come about?

Alex: “We had been going through this whole analog process of making this album, and we're recording on tape the way that rock bands recorded for decades, until you could record with computers. I think with that mindset, and being a rock band in 2026, it's inherently nostalgic. It's inherently old school. The idea is, with this old school approach and with recording on tape and  being analog, it's sort of this decision to be more raw and more authentic in a way. We burned over 1000 CDs and we sent them out. It took a lot of fucking hours and time to do it, but it's like, we're gonna share a couple of new songs, and this is a physical song that you can have now as a fan of ours. If Spotify decides they don't want to put our music out, or if they go away or Apple goes away, you're not gonna lose them. The song is yours. Have it.

It’s funny, someone messaged us and was like, ‘Oh, my friend missed the sign up. Can he still get one [CD]?’ I was like, ‘No, but burn him a copy.’

Q: What are you most excited about for your upcoming tour with Dog Park later this summer?

Alex: “I’ve never been to Detroit before, and one of my cousins grew up in Detroit, so he's gonna come to the show and show us where he grew up, which I'm excited about. It's funny because we've honestly toured the US a lot at this point in the last couple of years, and there's only a couple cities that we've never played. Detroit's one of them, so that'll be cool.”

Rapid Fire

Q: Describe the upcoming album in three words.

Matt: “Really fucking cool.”

Dylan: “Rock & roll.”

Q: Movie soundtrack you wish one of your songs was featured on?

Alex: “Sky High.”

Harry: “James Bond.”

Q: Artist you’re most excited to see this weekend?

Alex: “Wet Leg.”

Dylan: “Baby Keem. Geese for sure.”

Harry: “Lorde and Radio Free Alice”

Catch The Backfires later this summer on their North American tour supporting Dogstar.