Introducing Australian all-female alt-pop band TETHER, comprised of Molly Case (Vocals/Guitar), Caitlin Norris (Drums), Codie Sundstrom (Synth/Vocals), and Amy Muir (Bass). The Perth-based four-piece just shared the self-directed music video of their stellar, kick-ass debut single entitled 'The Knife'. With influences such as PVRIS, Now, Now, Silversun Pickups, Wolf Alice, Paramore, and Billie Eilish they deliver a brooding blend of alt-pop, rock, and shoegaze creating a sound that is all their own and sure to leave you hypnotized and wanting more. I got a chance to learn a bit more about the girls when I was given the opportunity to interview them
MHB: Can you introduce yourselves?
Caitlin: I’m Caitlin and I play drums.
Codie: I’m Codie and I sing and do synth things.
Amy: Hello yes, I’m Amy, that’s me! I play a bit of bass. *nervous laugh*
Molly: Hi! Um… I play guitar.
MHB: Where are you from and can you touch a little on the music scene there and what you like most about it?
Codie: We’re from Perth, the most isolated city in Australia! The music scene is small, but there are some very exciting artists emerging at the moment. I think the best part about it is how accessible it is, and how since everyone knows each other, we’re all kinda friends.
MHB: Growing up did you always want to be musicians? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?
Codie: I didn’t, music came really late for me. I remember when I was young I wanted to be a geologist for some reason. And now instead of looking at rocks I play rock music?? Pretty sure I made the right decision.
Amy: Yeah, all my family did the music program in high school, so I wanted to do that. I played clarinet so I could be in the stage bands.
Caitlin: Yes, always. I never wanted to do anything else, and I never thought about having any other job. I didn’t understand why other jobs were even a thing. I just knew I was just going to be Avril Lavigne and do what she was doing.
Molly: I did! I used to video myself miming to songs with my Dad’s electric guitar. We’d watch ourselves, probably miming Avril Lavigne songs actually. Also… I used to play guitar hero and people would say damn you’re really good at this, maybe you should play ACTUAL guitar. So I did.
MHB: How did you all meet and come together? How was Tether formed?
Caitlin: Molly and I met at TAFE - which is like university - where we were both taking a music course. We were in various bands but became super close and continued to make music together and eventually we were asked to join a project where Amy was already attached. We started forming the vision that later became Tether and Amy ended up suggesting this girl she knew as a synth player. That turned out to be Codie, and as soon as she joined she and I personally just clicked - we were the only ones that hadn’t met yet, she and Molly realised they had known each other like 5 years ago (again taking a TAFE course). Molly even recorded some of Codie’s solo stuff back then. So, yeah! Once Codie joined and we all started to spend time together and realised we were all super comfortable and passionate, Tether really started to take shape.
MHB: Who are some of your favorite artists & musical influences?
Codie: Lucianblomkamp, Manchester Orchestra and Now, Now
Molly: Ben Howard, Laura Marling, Wolf Alice
Caitlin: PVRIS, Now Now, Paramore
Amy: Alex Lahey, Montaigne, Billie Eilish.
MHB: Without using any musical terms, how would you describe YOUR sound to a new listener?
Caitlin: Emotional, dramatic, and vulnerable.
Amy: Powerful.
Codie: Unpredictable.
MHB: What would you say makes your music unique?
Caitlin: It’s an experimentation of genres that’s still somehow accessible. It’s a blend that people seem to recognise as ours. I think we tug on people’s emotions and nostalgia for angst without sacrificing any modern production or anything like that.
MHB: Let's talk about your newly released single "The Knife"... What was the inspiration behind it? How did it come together?
Codie: Lyrically, The Knife kind of experiments with your internal struggle, with dualities. It’s when the darker side of you starts to win, and I think it marks a point when our production started getting more creative too.
Caitlin: Musically we wanted to play something faster, a little more menacing. We wanted people to have a reaction. It’s heavy, and we didn’t have anything like that at that point.
MHB: How did the concept for the video which you directed come together? What is it about?
Codie: We were trying to find a warehouse to shoot in, and it was all a bit hard so I suggested just going back to the house we wrote the song in because there’s some really cool scenery there.
Caitlin: We originally shot a rough live video in a garage for The Knife months ago but we scrapped it. From that we already had some concepts in mind, like the rope, but we wanted to get more dramatic by playing different versions of ourselves. We went out with a planned shoot in mind, but some of the unplanned shots actually became the backbone of the video. I think it was good that we shot for 2 days straight, because everyone was just in the zone.
Codie: Yeah, it was great to come out with something a little more cinematic.
MHB: What's on the horizon for you? What can we expect to see from you in the coming months?
Caitlin: More singles, more videos, more more more.
Molly: And more behind the scenes!
MHB: Where do you see this project in a year from now?
All: WELL….
Molly: We’ve put it out into the universe that we’ll be touring, and our EP will be out by then.
Caitlin: We’ll have a bigger community behind us… and we might possibly be on our way to LA? Our co-producer Wolfy is a Los Angeles local, it’d be amazing to collaborate with her in person finally.
MHB: What current artists are you listening to that continue to inspire you and your music?
Codie: I’ve been getting into Bad Bad Hats and Kacey Musgraves a lot lately, loving some alt country.
Caitlin: The Aces are really cool, and they’re the first pop band I’ve gotten into because I don’t usually like happy music, but the guitar and vocal work is crazy. And they’re all female, so that’s always inspiring.
Molly: No matter what new playlist I’m making, there’s always a bit of Now, Now in there, the newest album especially.
Amy: I’m going through another Silversun Pickups phase - everything is so cleverly written. I love music you can listen to again and again and keep finding new things.
MHB: Who are some new artists that you would recommend?
Caitlin: Little May are a small Australian band, and I’m in love with their work. We just saw them live and I feel like more people need to know about them because they’re so special.
Codie: Huntly and Erthlings are both interesting, they’re making electronic pop.
Molly: HATCHIE, she’s so happy and I’m really into it at the moment.
Amy: We played with Gazey the other day, they have some really cool experimental synth stuff going.
MHB: For each one of you, if you were stuck on an island with only one record forever, what would it be?
Caitlin: All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell by PVRIS, but also… I want Threads by Now, Now to wash up on the shore too.
Amy: After Laughter - Paramore, there’s a song in there for everything. I listen to that over and over.
Molly: I Forget Where We Were - Ben Howard
Codie: Endless - Frank Ocean
MHB: At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Molly: CHILLS!
Amy: Yeah I want them to get chills! I hope they feel the emotions we’re trying to convey.
Caitlin: I wanna be that band that is ‘your’ band, you know? The one you feel so deeply about, the band that’s there for you, the one you listen to in the car when you’re driving somewhere new and you want comfort. I have bands like that, they feel like family. I want it to feel like we’re always with you.
Codie: Yeah, I want to make the record that stays with you forever.
MHB: What does music mean to you?
Caitlin: Without being too dramatic… music is just my reason for living. No, seriously, though! Because I feel like I cant imagine life without it. I don’t know how that’s possible. It’s in everything, life is so close to music. They’re like, the same thing.
Amy: Music means a lot of things, it can change a lot of things and bring people together, it can make people feel things, it’s communication.
Molly & Codie: That’s sums it up pretty well I think!
MHB: Is there anything else you would like to share about yourselves & your music?
Caitlin: I love peanuts.
Amy: Peanuts are delicious.
Molly: I’m going to get some noodles in a second, so there’s that.
Codie: Thanks guys, now I need to make some pad thai.
I am definitely excited to hear what else is to come from them as if it's anything like their debut, these girls have a promising new year awaiting them.
Check out the video to their debut single 'The Knife' below:
To hear more from TETHER, be sure to follow them on SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter.