Shelf Lives’ ‘You Okay?’ EP: An Exclusive Interview on Their Latest Release

Following the release of their latest You Okay? EP, I had the privilege of interviewing the band Shelf Lives. In this exclusive conversation, we’ll dive into their creative process and discover the inspirations behind their music.

Credit: Shelf Lives

1. Can you tell us more about your EP, You Okay? What inspired the title, and what can listeners expect from it?

Well, the title is from a lyric in ‘All Grown Up.’ At the end of the song, we kind of shout out, “You okay?” It also is a question, I’m told, that I ask a lot. I think it rounds up the EP really well. It’s just like all the shit we have to deal with … and we bite the bullet a lot, I think, as a society. … After all of that, it’s like, “Are you okay?” Yeah, it’s such a simple but loaded question. It can be. And also, I think it’s that thing that you ask a lot of people, and most people just say, “Yeah, I’m good.” Because they think internally, Do you really want to know?

2. You both describe the EP as “one big, fun mental breakdown” that encapsulates the chaos of present-day society. Could you elaborate on the themes and messages explored in the EP?

It is definitely one big, fun mental breakdown – ‘fun’ being because we’re fun and we make fun music, but ‘mental breakdown’ because what we’re innately … talking about can be deep. Let’s take one song, for example, … ‘PVC Real Estate,’ which is a song that is quite sunny, vibey, and fun. But what it’s about is, you know, having heroin and crack addiction on the streets of LA. [You] wouldn’t really know that, but it kind of encapsulates that present-day society’s chaos. Yeah, and how people process what’s going on around them – like this beautiful city (LA), this fun, bright, and sunny city, but at the same time, … this destruction.

3. The EP features post-punk tracks with screeching guitars and pulsating drum beats. How did you approach the musical composition and production for this project?

I mean, it’s quite simple, really. We very much make a beat or come up with a riff on the guitar. Sometimes that can just be from jamming or that can just be from programming a beat first. And then once we have the guitar riff and the beat, we start writing a hook, and then everything kind of folds from there. A lot of our influence [on] making stuff comes a lot from feeling. But yeah, it’s quite simple. Sometimes you just gotta work smart, not hard. … And then once you kind of get that creative burst of energy down and the idea, you can just start to work at the little nitty-gritty bits. But it flows.

4. ‘You Okay?’ offers a blistering commentary on consumerism. What specific aspects of consumerism did you find most compelling or troubling to address through your music?

I don’t think ‘You Okay?’ is about consumerism, but ‘Off the Rails‘ specifically kind of is, and just how people kind of deal with that. How we’re so drawn to consumerism, but it neither solves nor addresses the problem when you fall into it. So, the materialism and the wanting to belong and everything is so fast now. And we have so much coming forward to us from social media and advertising. It’s like at an ultimate high. And all we want to do is belong and be a part of something. And this is age-old. We think that these things are going to make us happier, but we know it doesn’t. And we still do it, even though we know it doesn’t,  because … we are so far along this process. There is no way that you don’t know that it’s … not going to help you. … Literally every rich person has everything they ever want materialistically. Every one of them says, “Yeah,  it doesn’t work.” There [are] books written on this. This is not old news, but we just don’t care. If anything, we ramped it up times 12, and we find that funny. That’s why we wrote a song about it – how we are just kind of happy being in that mess.

5. Your music is described as rowdy and evocative. What musical influences have played a role in shaping Shelf Lives’ style?

Just anything that’s quite chaotic in terms of any kind of genre, really. If anything we hear kind of perks our ears and gives us some sort of feeling, then we’ll be influenced by it. And it could be anything. It could be a character in a movie, a comedian, [or even] someone you see on the street. Anything really can influence the feeling that we want to try and encapsulate in a song. But the musical influences – it’s tough, really, because I just feel like there [are] so many. It’s definitely an amalgamation of a lot of stuff. I wouldn’t say we’ve drawn from one or two things, … but we’ve definitely drawn from Peaches, and we’ve definitely drawn from some sonic things from a band called Giller Band. But then at the same time, we sound nothing like that. There’s definitely some attitude drawn from a band called Sleigh Bells, but then we didn’t really have that in mind. All these things kind of crop up afterward as well. We just really go by feeling. It can be really random songs as well. It could be like a really random underground hip-hop song.  Some songs sound more like hip-hop, [whereas] others are way more rock punk. We haven’t really necessarily been directly influenced by a band like Death Grips, but there’s something that gives us a feeling that we like and we want to influence us. Yeah, Death Grips is a good one.

6. How does your new EP differ from your previous release, Yes, Offence?

I think it’s more topical in general. I think it’s more of a commentary on society. Yes Offense, even though we did touch upon that, it was maybe a bit more about …  almost, like, personal feelings. Don’t take shit too seriously. Party or don’t party. And when I don’t want to party,  don’t stop asking me questions about it type of thing. Or like, if I want to be left alone,  it’s not that big of a deal. … I think also Yes, Offense was [the] first thing we ever made. We hadn’t made anything else. There were no other ideas. All those were the first bunch of songs we ever made together – literally, all of them. So, it’s very much like a quick puke of songs, I’d say. Yeah, it was a good introduction to our sound and our style. I think lyrically,  it was exactly what it was. We weren’t taking ourselves seriously – I think we still don’t. And I think that’s maybe what makes it work. Not every musical project needs to be super serious, super intense, and about something deep that you have to pick apart. It’s almost taking that pop aspect of it, that bubble gum pop aspect of it. It’s just fun, cute songs about literally almost nothing. But we’re making it in our style. Electro-punk – I think that’s what Yes, Offence was. And I think You Okay? is a bit more about how we’re addressing certain things that we’ve … encountered lately.

7. Were there any challenges you’ve faced creatively while working on this new EP?

Yeah, I think the process of going into the studio was very different. We worked on SSL and Neve desks. I was definitely brought out of [my] comfort zone with that and had to go at it a bit more alone, I’d say. … On Yes, Offence, we did have some help from a guy called Space. Whereas this one,  yeah, it was very much just engineered by a guy called Shooter Shinoda. And then we were kind of left to make a lot of the decisions on this new one. … That was a challenge.

8. Can you share any memorable experiences or anecdotes from your journey as Shelf Lives so far? Any favorite moments from live performances or studio sessions?

I think something that’s one of my favorite moments is recently selling out our very first headline show in London. Just having people scream your lyrics back at you and jump around … There’s no better feeling. Yeah, and we’re so used to playing other people’s shows, which can be tough. Because they’re not there for you. I mean, they might enjoy your performance, but it’s kind of like hearing a song for the very first time. You’re not going to be like, you know, moshing to it the first time you hear it. But yeah, … that’s probably my favorite moment so far. And any memorable experiences, you know, we’re just going to have to keep those secrets, aren’t we? You’re just going to have to come to a gig and experience it yourself.

9. What can fans and new listeners look forward to in terms of your future projects or endeavors? Are there any exciting collaborations or tours on the horizon?

Well, we have our very first headline tour in the UK happening in February (2024). We are also playing South by Southwest and the new Colossus Festival this year in the States, which I’m so buzzing for – like, unbelievable. As for future projects or endeavors, we have new music coming, but we got to kind of stop for a second and write it. Don’t know what it’s going to sound like. … But I mean,  it seems like even from Yes, Offence to You Okay?,  there’s definitely a natural artistic progression. But yeah, no idea what’s going to come out. We have a few ideas, but … I can’t really say right now. … You’re going to have to stay tuned.

10. Lastly, in the context of your EP and your music in general, what message or emotion do you hope your audience takes away after listening to your songs?

… Literally whatever they want. We even have kind of an issue with explaining what songs are about because we can only tell you kind of where we’re coming from. And also, I mean, if you ask me tomorrow, I’ll probably say something different, to be completely honest. But we want the audience to kind of listen to it and take whatever they want from it – because you will. I mean, we’ve all lived different lives. So, it’s like when two people have witnessed a car crash, one sees it one way and the other one sees it the other way. … There [are] always various sides to a story. This is kind of the same type of thing. I mean, one emotion, though, that I do hope they kind of feel – regardless of what context they take – is that I hope they feel a sort of release. That’s the best word I can think [of] for it.

We had a blast talking to Shelf Lives about their new EP. It’s available now across streaming platforms – check it out below. We know you’ll enjoy it just as much as we are.