Interview: Ten Eighty Trees

Photo by Adam Kennedy

Ten Eighty Trees are a Newcastle alt‑rock trio dealing in big riffs and grungey energy, returning with Bittersweet Coming of Age – a new EP pulling together four recent singles into a bold, hook‑driven statement packed with impassioned vocals and bruising rhythms that lurch from the speakers and embed themselves in your psyche, replaying in your head long after it finishes. 

We caught up with the band to find out more…

What did you want Bittersweet Coming of Age to say about where Ten Eighty Trees are right now?
The title Bittersweet Coming of Age says a lot about the journey the band has been on over the past two years or so. There’s been a lot of positive change, but also some very nasty growing pains that this band has had to go through in order to get to where we are now. There was a fair bit of ill feeling that I had to get off my chest lyrically on this set of tracks. Whilst that’s all part of the cathartic process, there is still a tinge of sadness in thinking, “How has it come to this?” I think that’s where the “bittersweet” part comes from.

I think the “coming of age” part of the title comes from the fact that, against all odds, this band has survived. It’s been a bumpy ride, but we’re still here and thriving. I think that’s what we’re trying to say: we survived.

It’s been three years between EPs. How have you evolved in that time and how does this release differ from previous releases?
I feel like there should have been another EP between Bittersweet Coming of Age and our previous release, Maybe I Like The Misery. However, due to some personnel changes and the financial constraints of being a grassroots-level band, that ended up taking the form of five singles instead of a full body of work. Whereas Little Sparks and Brand New Skin could have been on MILTM, Distractics, Bare Minimum and Stay at Home definitely could have been joined by another one or two songs that unfortunately never saw the light of day, forming our Ten Eighty Emo phase.

However, those songs instead form a bit of a bridge to our current work on Bittersweet Coming of Age. Showcasing a more groove-heavy and riff-based sound, this is definitely the most angsty and pissed-off Ten Eighty Trees has ever sounded.

You wear your influences proudly, but still sound distinct. Which artists shaped this EP the most?
I think, with some personnel changes over the past few years, this was always going to have an impact on the band’s influences. Songs like Don’t Quit and Bittersweet Coming of Age have an intensity to them that I think comes from early-2000s influences like Audioslave, Every Time I Die, early Biffy Clyro and definitely some John Otto-style Limp Bizkit drumming.

Broken (Goodbye) continues in that vein, paying homage to some of Deftones’ more gentle moments, coupled with some fuzzed-out, Smashing Pumpkins-indebted guitar riffing.

The Family Secret is probably the biggest outlier in terms of influences. Whereas the previous three tracks have a very alternative rock/nu metal energy to them, this one wouldn’t sound out of place on a Reading & Leeds Festival line-up circa 2006. Turbocharged punk riffs in the style of The Datsuns and The Hives are all over the DNA of The Family Secret, but we were sure to finish it off with a brutal half-speed guitar riff at the end, just to remind people they’re definitely listening to The Trees.

Big, towering choruses are a huge part of your identity. What makes a chorus land for you?
I don’t think there is any set-in-stone magic formula for writing a killer chorus. It’s more that if it feels right and you can’t stop it ringing around your head, you’re probably on to a winner.

Looking back and critiquing the hooks and choruses on this EP, there are definitely themes and techniques I’ve used that you could say make up the Ten Eighty sound. There’s a suitable amount of space between the vocal phrases in each chorus, some pretty tasty harmonies, and just the right amount of repetition to make each track memorable while still leaving you wanting more. I think the interplay between the guitar riffs and the lead vocal also lends itself to the epic feel we aim to create. As long as it’s an earworm that excites you enough to hit repeat, you can’t really go wrong.

You describe the EP as a reminder of why rock music still has the power to move people. Why do you think listeners need that reminder today, and how do you feel about the current state of rock as a whole?
To be honest, I think rock music is in a really healthy place right now. It might not be troubling the charts the way it used to, but I think that is partly due to the sheer saturation of just how much music there is out there these days. It feels like there are more rock bands than ever making genuinely phenomenal music.

It’s also true that it feels harder than ever to make music work in the current financial climate, and that’s a whole conversation in itself. But in terms of the music that is making it to the stage, CD and streaming services, I feel like rock is healthier and more vibrant than ever.

On a local scale, our rock scene is a credit to this region, and I think ourselves, along with a number of other bands in the North East, are quite old-school in that we really just want to write catchy tunes with killer riffs, all tied together with an ample amount of energy to give people a huge endorphin rush. Our lyrical subjects can get a little personal and a bit dark, but for the most part I think our music gives people a vital cathartic release. I think that’s something people very much need these days.

What’s next for Ten Eighty Trees?
We have our very own curated festival in Gateshead’s Railway Quarter next month called Treevolution. Taking place on 15th August, we’ve pulled together 18 of the region’s finest alternative bands and artists, plus a couple from further afield as well. Tickets are on sale now, and we couldn’t be more excited.

We’ll also be going on tour this autumn across the UK, culminating in a sub-headline slot at Veritas Festival at Newcastle’s Anarchy Brewery on 7th November.