Let's start here: when did you realise you had an album on your hands??

We always knew we'd do an album. But it took definite shape around that summer period of 2024. After Montauk but before The Noise released. 

Lithium sounds like it pulls from multiple eras of music, but emotionally it's very much its own thing. What were you guys personally working through when writing it?

Quite frankly, all of us were going through pure hell trying to record and write this album. I probably switched interests and moved on to something else at least 100 times during the making of Lithium. At so many points, we were all quite burned out and over it. That scream in “On Roofs” is probably just me genuinely ready to lose it. It reached a point where all I could really do is scream.

Regarding the album title "Lithium" itself, some think Nirvana, others think mood stabilizers, some might even think of batteries. For you guys, what does that word capture?

Maybe a state of suspended motion or limbo of some sort. We'd rather leave it up for interpretation.

Why did “Save Yourself” have to be the opener? It really kicks the door in, emotionally and sonically.

It’s probably one of the oldest songs we'd recorded, that and “Telescopium.” We always knew it would be the intro.

Songs like “Telescopium” and “Full Send” sound like they come from entirely different planets. What held this album together, despite the tone shifts??

Pure determination, really. We're overly ambitious and wanted to capture everything we felt was needed.

Where did a title like “Little Man Erased From Nowhere” even come from?

Moodboards and online rabbit holes. It’s a bit of a tongue-twister song title. And we felt that was also needed.

There’s this theme of delay, detour, and patience throughout the album. Almost as if it was like you were running out of time.

This album has been delayed and postponed more times than I can count. So that’s quite ironic considering we had zero patience by the end. There is a massive sense of escapism and detour in the album for sure.

How much of Lithium was intentional vs. instinctual?

The lyrics, tone, and mood all kind of created itself without us really thinking about it. The tracklisting and order of the album though is very controlled and intentional

What kept you going when it got too hard and started to feel like a chore?

I don't think we really know. But somebody had to do it. And if not us, then who?

You’ve mentioned Stanley Donwood's artwork influence in your visuals. What’s the relationship between your visuals and your sound?

I'd say for us they really go hand in hand. They're all equally important and connected. We pay a lot of attention to the detail of things like that.

For someone listening to Lithium, what's the best song for them to hear first? And what's the worst?

We spent a lot of time on the tracklisting for a reason. So naturally, we'd say the best to start with is “Save Yourself.” And the worst to start with would be “Exit Out.”

Any songs you guys almost scrapped?

“Dust and Ash” was really shaky at one point, so we were definitely considering our options with that one. “Telescopium” was originally a B-side on the “Montauk” single before we realised how good it was.

Are you guys afraid the album might be misunderstood?

Honestly, not really. We've been so immersed and in our heads with this album, we haven't even really recognised any outside "noise".