His Own Beat: The Drums' Jonny Pierce interviewed

Depending on how you look at it, heartache can either be a curse or a blessing. That certainly rings true for Jonny Pierce, frontman of NYC indie-pop outfit The Drums. In 2010 the band’s self-titled debut, with its irreverent hit Let’s Go Surfing, marked them as one of indie-pop’s most promising breakout talents. But stylistic disagreements and in-fighting have plagued The Drums, and in the three years between their 2014 release Encyclopedia and latest record, Abysmal Thoughts, Pierce has experienced significant upheaval on both a professional and personal level.

“This entire process, the last three years making the album and just trying to maintain my personal life, has been very colorful,” Pierce says frankly, as we settle in for a conversation via a phone call to New York. “During the recording process I went through a break-up of a relationship that was so important and dear to me. It just fell apart before my eyes, and that was really difficult. Then a month later, my music partner, bandmate and lifelong best friend sent me an email on a random Tuesday saying that he needed to leave the band,” he divulges.

The exit of longstanding band member Jacob Graham marked a critical juncture for the band, who have functioned as a duo since fellow founding member Connor Hanwick departed in 2013 (fourth member, guitarist Adam Kessler, left in 2010 following the release of their debut album). Suddenly on his own and the sole remaining component of The Drums, it would have been understandable if Pierce had simply walked away from the project. Yet as he explains, coming so close to breaking point provided him with some of his greatest inspiration to date.

“It was scary for about thirty seconds,” he laughs, “thinking that I have to make an album on my own, and then I just thought, well, I’m just going to do it. I just decided to do it, and I never felt like I couldn’t. Abysmal Thoughts, with this new dynamic of just being the sole member of the band, it sort of by default infused new energy and new life into the process,” he affirms.

The Drums have always possessed a knack for the pairing of upbeat surf-pop riffs with Morrissey-esque ruminations on heartbreak, death and despair. That same aesthetic applies to Abysmal Thoughts, but this time round, Pierce is taking a different kind of outlook. “Before this album, I had pretty much always written about alternately, being left, or being abandoned, or somebody breaking my heart. Ultimately, I was pointing fingers, you know? It was very woe is me and this is the first album where I feel like I’m taking some responsibility for my own actions, and I’m asking myself a lot of questions.”

Rather than crafting a traditional break-up record, Pierce says Abysmal Thoughts is about breaking up with his old self. “It’s a break-up album, but it’s saying goodbye to the old me. It’s really an album of introspection,” he tells us. He also chooses to take an optimistic view of the hardships that surrounded the record. “It’s the artist’s curse, right? When things are going well, and you’re feeling great, it’s really hard to write a good song that’s genuine and pure and really earnest. It’s like you need a shitty life to make great art,” he concludes with a laugh.

Having written all the songs on the new album, as well as playing all the instruments, Pierce says he relished the opportunity to experiment with The Drums’ signature sound. “It’s going to sound silly to people reading,” he laughs, “but I’ve always wanted to use things like cowbells, and woodblocks and weird percussive elements, and saxophone. There were just certain elements that… weren’t [formerly] allowed.

“Those things add up over the years so now that I’m able to do whatever I want, I don’t have to ask anyone else for permission. I can just put it out there. Sonically it’s different, and lyrically I’m able to talk about things... I’m able to talk about sex finally, that’s really exciting! I couldn’t do that before – Jacob always wanted everything to be kind of innocent and sweet.”

Clearly, the upside of fronting what is now a one-man band is that it allows Pierce to reach the greater level of intimacy he's been striving for. “When you’re representing other people, it’s really hard to get personal. I grew up with the Bible, so I’ve had enough [of that] for a lifetime,” he laughs. “I’m kind of over the whole whimsical thing, and I’m really into just being much more direct.”

At the core of Abysmal Thoughts is this honesty. The album sees Pierce at his most vulnerable ('I didn’t need another push towards the edge,' he sings on opening track Mirror) and exploring some intensely intimate territory. Did he have any reservations about pouring so much of his private life into the album, we ask?

“I really appreciate the question,” he responds, “and here’s why. Whenever I feel like I’m getting too personal, or I’m opening up too much, I always get kind of scientific about everything. I mean, look, we all came from single-cell organisms, and we’re all going to die and turn into dust… so who cares!” he dissolves into laughter.

Of course, despite his carefree demeanour, there's a serious side to Abysmal Thoughts and a deeper motivation behind Pierce's candid songwriting. Switching to a more serious tone, he continues: “What I want most out of life is a human connection with other people. People don’t know how to go about it, and what I’ve found in my life is that it’s really about making myself vulnerable. Everyone is under such pressure to come across as having it all together!” he exclaims. “Nobody is Instagramming that they’re depressed and alone and sitting in a dark room. I just like [the idea of] becoming vulnerable and admitting you don’t have it all together. That’s how you’re going to be closer to people, that’s how you’re going to make a human connection.”

Crucially for Pierce, this vulnerability has proved cathartic not only for him personally, but also for many listeners struggling with their own insecurities. “I can’t tell you how many kids write me, or DM [direct message] me, just talking about how they felt suicidal. You can’t imagine the amount of kids that are going through such shit, feeling really alone. Whether they’re afraid to come out of the closet or whether they just feel like an outsider – I can relate to that stuff, so there’s a connection there that keeps me moving.”

While the album’s title is a self-referential, semi-ironic nod towards Pierce’s own headspace, the term could well be applied to the chaos of the world at large. What, we ask him as the conversation draws to a close, would he say is the antidote to these kind of abysmal thoughts? “Everyone is being a protester and an activist, which is important, it’s vital. They’ll go out on the streets and hold a sign, or they’ll rant on Facebook against the regime – but I think people are really forgetting to explore themselves, on a really deep, personal level.

"That’s my advice,” he adds thoughtfully. “If you can fix yourself then you can fix all sorts of things. But if you’re broken on the inside, how are you supposed to make much change in the world? So, that is what I leave you with.” With a note of hope in his voice that sounds far removed from any abysmal thoughts, Pierce shows us all that there’s strength to be found amongst the sadness.