With the year coming to a head, we’ve got one eye on the future and as always we are on the lookout for emerging talent. So with that being said, we’d like to introduce you to Safeguard.
Hailing from the historic city of York, the up-and-coming quintet have been honing their brand of emotive pop-punk for the best part of two years. While their first two EP’s firmly treaded on coat-tails of pop-punk bands such as Neck Deep, WSTR, and Knuckle Puck, their new single embraces a more grown up and sentimental approach.
Entitled ‘Severance’, the track is a reflective number as vocalist Declan Gough realises a former relationship wasn’t as good as he remembers. It also sees Safeguard work with producer Bob Cooper (Catch Fire, Itoldyouiwouldeatyou, Nervus).
Ahead of its full release this Monday (17th December), we’re premiering the video for ‘Severance’. We also grabbed a quick word with Declan to discuss the track, working with Bob Cooper and their plans for 2019!
AH: Today we’re premiering the video for your new single – ‘Severance’. In comparison to your old material, this is considerably a maturer effort. What spurred on this new approach?
Declan: We always feel that with every release, we want to find different ways to mature our sound and show some progression. We never want to stick with exactly the same formula as the one before, however always making sure to keeping to what Safeguard is about, so fans of both our old and new sound can enjoy it.
AH: As for the track itself, what is it about?
Declan: ‘Severance’ is about a feeling of looking back over a relationship and noticing everything wasn’t as it seemed, and how easy it is to turn a blind eye to the negative parts you never saw before.
AH: ‘Severance’ sees you working with producer Bob Cooper. What was the motive behind working with him and what did he bring to Safeguard’s sound?
Declan: We knew about Bob through some friends of ours who have worked with him previously and they had nothing but good things to say about him. We then saw that he had worked on some incredible records and with him being based very close to where we’re all from, we thought it’d be the perfect fit, and it was!
He’s such a chill and fun guy to work with and he really knows how to get the best out of every single member. I know for me personally, it’s probably the strongest my vocals have ever been on a Safeguard track and I thoroughly believe Bob was a big reason for that. His musical knowledge is truly outstanding, he wouldn’t stop until we found the right amp and drum sound, the exact right guitar and pedals to best compliment the song. It was nothing like we’d ever worked with before. We can’t thank him enough for his dedication to the track, and we think it really shines through.
AH: With the year coming to an end, what’s in store for Safeguard in 2019?
Declan: We have a tour early next year that we’re yet to announce which we’re so excited for. We’re going out with some really good friends of ours, so make sure you stay up to date with our socials to get more news on that. We have nothing too set in stone after that, but we’ll definitely be making sure 2019 is a busy one!
‘Severance’ by Safeguard is released on Monday, 17th December.
Safeguard links: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp
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