Stream new EP and read interview with local hardcore band Naive Sense ahead of their final show ever
We checked in with Natalie and Tommy from the great local hardcore band Naive Sense ahead of the release show for their new self-titled EP. The release show will also (sadly) serve as the band’s final show, capping off a short but exciting and successful run by the group. We asked about why the group is ending, what is next and what they hope people will remember about their band. Find the conversation below, and you can stream their new music at the bottom of this post. More details and rsvp to their show tomorrow (Sat, 5/13) at the Triple Rock HERE.
Reviler: Starting off with the most pressing questions: why is the band ending their run?
Natalie: Why not? It was just time. I’d rather we finished still liking each other and making music we were proud of than watch it all fizzle out. Some times you just have to know when to let things go.
P.S. kill your bands more often. It’s ok. Let it go.
Tommy: To put it simply, it just felt like the right time. We all still get along so there’s no bad blood. It ran its course and we accomplished a lot of cool things, now members want to try try other stuff.
Reviler: What are you most proud of that Naive Sense has achieved? Anything that feels unfulfilled?
Tommy: I’m glad we had a successful, impactful band on our own terms. A lot of bands make moral or artistic compromises for opportunities to record or get in front of people and we never did that. We wrote any kind of song we wanted and played amazing events. We made a lot of friends. People have reached out to us saying how the shows/community/music helped them. That’s meaningful to me. Couldn’t ask for much more.
Natalie: Not too long ago a few people told me that going to our shows made them feel like they belonged. Yeah we wrote some cool songs. But knowing that we made a difference in some people’s lives is what really counts to me.
As far as feelings of being unfulfilled, I’m always going to wonder what other songs we would have written. I know that I had a million ideas floating around and we could have kept releasing stuff. I’m also going to wonder what direction things would have taken had we played out of town more often. I feel like we had a solid base everywhere. People would message me all the time asking if we would come to their city. I feel like there is always going to be a lot of untapped potential behind Naive Sense. Maybe one day the stars will align and we’ll pick it back upto see what we how far we can go. But for right now I feel just letting this be a jolt of energy for Minneapolis.
Reviler: When people look back in five or ten years at the burst of energy that was Naive Sense, what do you hope they’ll think of or remember?
Tommy: I hope people remember us as a confrontational force, a group that forced them to re-evaluate their worldview and/or a group that gave them a place to belong. I also hope we have encouraged people to be brave musically and try different things.
Natalie: I just hope that people remember we were a band.
Reviler: How did the final EP come to be? Did you know you were breaking up as a band when you were recording it?
Natalie: We had already been writing for another release. These were the songs that were finished when we decided to be done. But we still wanted to get them out there as part of saying goodbye to this band. It was really strange writing and recording these knowing that this was the last time we would be in the studio together. And I think that feeling made this our strongest batch of songs. Everyone really brought their best to the table.
When we first started this band, I was in a very dark place and every song reflected that. I was freshly sober, dealing with a lot of resentment, and felt like the world had been taking one continuous giant shit on me for years. Now I’m in a really great spot in life and I wanted these songs to reflect the space I’m in and how that relates to the shitty spot our world is in. While Art Failures was about grappling with sobriety and Body Trauma was about navigating the world as a trans woman, this one was facing the world around me with a strong sense of who I am and where I’m going.
Tommy: Yeah, we knew it was getting to be about that time but we’d written a batch of songs everyone was digging. Since there was no drama, we agreed to record a final EP and throw a going away party with our friends. The last ep is a little more loose and light hearted than some of our other material (to some extent), as the silly song titles may indicate. Because we knew it was the last thing going into the sessions, we decided to just have a lot of fun, call all our friends, etc.
Reviler: What is next for members of the band? Any new projects that are already in the works?
Tommy: I know Natalie is already mopping the floors with suckers in Contentious, a dark and brutal hardcore band. She is a fountain of creative energy so it wouldn’t surprise me to see her in multiple projects soon.
Jeff is playing in MURF who are an obnoxious and fun party band, and still in Ex Nuns who are a great noise-rock outfit.
Noah regularly plays with local crooner/heartstrings tugger Matt Latteral. He’s also looking to form an all-Jewish band with some buds, which is sweet; kind of a giant middle finger to persecution of minority faiths happening in the country right now.
I’m doing a paranoid, obsolete-technology themed post punk band called ROBOSAPIEN that’s in the Devo/Siekiera/LCD Soundsystem vein.
Noah and I talk regularly about doing some melodic, noodly, math post-punk thing als Pretty Girls Make Graves but who knows?
Natalie: Noah still has Ripper. Jeff just started a new project called Fucking Cowards that will be doing a residency at Grumpy’s this summer on top of playing in EX Nuns and Murf. Tommy is coming out with a solo project called Robosapien that you should all look out for. And I have a new queercore band called Contentious and whole slew of other small projects. Expect a lot of new music from all of us over the coming year. I think we all want to put out as much music as we possibly can.
Reviler: What should people expect from the final show?
Tommy: There are a fuck-ton of bands so we are doing doors 8pm and music right at 8:30. Basically just got a bunch of bands we love together and are throwing a big party. Typesetter (Chicago) changed up their tour routing just to play! Wretch, Another Heaven, Hive… an all-around diverse and great bill. We are lucky.
Natalie: People should expect to have a good time I guess. A lot of friends are going to be there and it’s more than just our farewell show. Hive is releasing their full length and Typesetter is coming through. There’s a lot happening and it should be fun. I just hope people enjoy themselves.
Reviler: For people who have really liked your bands, are there any other local groups you could recommend for them to check out?
Natalie: New Primals is a really exciting project. Former Worlds is one of the most interesting bands I’ve heard in a while. There’s always something cool happening in this town. But everyone needs to check out those two in particular.
Tommy: Contentious, Former Worlds, Lemonade, Hive, Moodie Black, Speedweed are all band’s that come to mind.
Reviler: Any final thoughts heading into the final Naive Sense show?
Natalie: It’s amazing and humbling that this band really meant something to a lot of people. We never set out to do anything huge. Things just kind of happened and I’m grateful we had this chance.
Tommy: Hope everyone has a good time. Be mindful of everyone’s personal space. I’ll probably be a little emotional/quiet so don’t take it personally if that’s the case: once I take the stage I’ll be in rock mode! Love my bandmates, love the friends I made at shows!
