When I heard that Call Me Malcolm’s lead vocalist was doing a solo project, I was immediately intrigued. Lucias Malcolm is one of the most gifted lyricists in ska punk today. His ability to wear his heart on his sleeve and share his struggles with mental health is as much as it is brave as it is necessary. Mental health is such a taboo topic for some reason, so I’m all for anyone who helps start the conversation. It doesn’t hurt that Call Me Malcolm is amazing as well.
Releasing on Friday, March 10th, Malcolm’s debut solo offering, Past, Present, and Future Regrets, is a hard-hitting melodic punk album that tells the story of a night plagued by insomnia and the manifestations it creates. Musically, the album would fit in well with bands like Rise Against – melody, meaning, and driving harmonies. Fans of Malcolm’s ska punk past will surely enjoy this album. Here’s to hoping Past, Present, and Future Regrets opens up Lucias Malcolm to a whole new audience because he has a voice that needs to be heard.
Ahead of the release, Malcolm took some time out of his day to answer a few questions about his new album. Take a look at what he had to say below.
Let’s get right into it. During the intro of “Kill it with Fire” off your new album, there’s a radio clip with you singing “I used to be in a ska band.” Does this mean Call Me Malcolm is done and you’re solely focused on your solo career?
Never! Ska is in my bones, and we often joke in Malcolm that we’ll be playing shows well into our 80s, riding the 17th wave. The audio clips opening the album are taken from my musical past, present and future. There’s some Battleska Galactica (my first band with Lewis and Trev from CMM), a few Malcolm references, and then a clip from the last track on the solo album.
I was aware making the album that any small renown I had in the scene was solely due to all the work that we’d done in Malcolm, but this was a side step away from that in terms of sound. “I used to be in a ska band” is from Malcolm’s Does My Offbeat Look Big In This, and was just my dry sense of humor announcing “hey, these ten tracks you’re about to hear are straight-up punk.”
Speaking of being in a band versus working on a solo project, how was the process of recording your new album different?
When you write as a band, especially the way we write in Malcolm, there is a constant back and forth-of opinions. What works? What doesn’t? Ways to tweak sections, things to cut, when to start again… if the song is any good at all! Solo, there was none of that. So in many ways, it was a slightly slower process to create the songs as I had to be quite methodical in when to work on a song, and when to give it breathing space so I didn’t get lost in the process and sacrifice judgment.
But the main way it was different was recording. I recorded everything apart from the vocals in my home studio. I have OCD and strong anxiety, so it was 14-hour days for 3 weeks straight to get everything “right”. After that, the producer Oz (who did Broken and Something Else with Malcolm) re-amped the guitars, sorted the drum sound and then recorded the vocals with me before mixing/mastering. So for the vast bulk of the project, it was about as DIY as things can get.
Do you have to have a different mindset when working on a punk album than you do when working on ska songs?
Yes and no. And just for the record, I absolutely LOVE talking about the process of writing and creating. I’m a story-writing consultant so talking about artistic craft gets me very excited!
I knew from the start I would play everything on the album so that automatically ruled out any ska/brass. I guess I could’ve gone for some early Goldfinger vibes, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do. This project was more about embracing the freedom to see what else was rattling around my brain. So to begin with, whilst I knew it wouldn’t be ska, I didn’t know what it would sound like. I just started writing. After a few songs came out (I think Am Hell was very early in the process, as was Fight Scene), it became clear it would be a punk record. So I just leaned into it.
While there’s a huge crossover audience between ska fans and punk fans, there’s a real possibility that some folks might not know what to expect from your solo project musically. To help them picture your new music, what bands inspired you when working on this album?
Since the mid-90s I’ve been binge-listening to punk and ska. But other than your obvious big punk hitters from that era, I think my taste really found its home through the 2000s with stuff like Rise Against, Motion City Soundtrack, Jimmy Eat World, and Alkaline Trio. So I adore and have embraced, a driving guitar-led, melodic hardcore aspect. But at the same time, my sensibilities always lean towards the more tender, the darker, more personal side of the genre. In hardcore, a lot of the conflict comes from external sources, institutions, and societal injustice. Whilst this always strikes a great note with me to listen to, I also really identify with the personal and inner conflict of, I guess what you’d call emo. I’m reticent to say “emo” but I think that’s what I mean.
There’s always been a personal element to all of the music you’ve written in the past, and this album is no different. Is it challenging to cut that deep for your art?
I wasn’t always that way! The first Malcolm record, in hindsight, was me making fun of putting yourself out there for real. If you look close enough, you can see the vulnerability underneath, but it’s hidden by fear to really be honest. That changed with Broken. And now, as they say, the floodgates are open.
It is challenging, for sure. But there is a therapeutic quality to it. At shows, I always encourage people that suffer from issues with mental health to talk openly about their experiences. I have a therapist, a loving and very understanding family, but also this platform where I can be honest about the monsters I carry around with me. So whilst the process of writing an album can be extremely intense, and get quite dark at times (my OCD kicks into full gear when finishing a record, which has the added side effect of insomnia), I always come out the other side feeling lighter.
Art, ultimately, is about expressing a truth about the world. This is my version of that.
With all of your music, you’re also very open and honest about your struggles with mental health. Is there a certain level of discomfort that goes along with being so forthcoming about that, or do you find it important to do it no matter how much discomfort it causes?
I was uncomfortable to begin with, for sure. But I only really started to understand I had mental health issues when I was in my thirties. When Broken came out it was all still a very fresh and scary experience. But as more and more people started talking to me after shows saying “yeah, me too”, it allowed me to be more at peace with who I am. Until recently I never really elaborated openly on which issues I carry with me, I sort of always skirted around it or made oblique references in songs. Now I practically walk around wearing a t-shirt saying “Anxiety. Depression. OCD.” on the front and “Therapy and Medication” on the back.
There’s a throughline with Past, Present, and Future Regrets. Did you start out expecting to write a concept album, or did it naturally manifest as the songs came together?
Not to begin with, I wasn’t sure what it would be. But once I knew it was going to be a full album, I knew I’d tell a story. The lyrics always come last when I write. I write the melody, and rhythm of the vocals, so I know how it all fits together, but the words come right at the end. This means I can connect everything together more easily, and tell the story I want or need to tell.
Since I mentioned it’s a concept album, what’s the story you’re telling?
Deep in the pandemic, I was really struggling with insomnia. When the world sleeps, anxiety plays. And my OCD means that once I start worrying, I fixate. I found my mind wandering back and forth so much. Things from the past, and worries about the future (my wife and I were expecting our daughter at the time). It was like flipping through TV channels showing wall-to-wall existential dread. So that was the basis for the theme of the album (even down to the TV). But the story itself is about trying to find some inner peace through it all. Ultimately as humans, we’re all trying to find meaning in this pain circus we call life. This album is about mistakes making us who we are, and that being OK.
While the album really touches on some deeper and darker feelings, there are also moments of levity too. What message are you trying to share with the more optimistic songs?
Stories, and more generally life, are never solely about darkness. Or, to put it another way, we only recognize darkness by its relationship with the light. I think that juxtaposition is important, otherwise, people would just be emotionally exhausted listening to the record. I try to inject moments of brightness either melodically, or lyrically, as a point of contrast. It’s also, and I think this is really the most crucial thing, an honest expression of who I am. I’ll try desperately to make anyone laugh or be happy, and then cry listening to Kelly Clarkson.
When March 10th rolls around, are you doing anything special to celebrate Past, Present, and Future Regrets of being out in the world officially?
Honestly at this point, I’m so excited. No doubt I’ll have some pizza paired with a nice 2022 Merlot from the local petrol station.
I’m sure you’re going to do some live gigs to support the album. When you finally get out there as a solo artist and play a gig, do you think you’ll have butterflies, or is performing just performing?
It’ll be very strange being on stage without my Malcolm family. But I think most of them bought tickets to come to the album launch already (didn’t even let me put them on the guest list!). I’ll definitely be nervous, but the musicians I have are incredible. I’m gonna give them the full love they deserve and name them here because they’re such a beautiful and talented group of humans:
Nathan (Discover a Fire, Faintest Idea, Dumbfoundus) – Drums/Vox
Gary (Eager Teeth, Telegraphs, Poindexter, Gary Yay) – Guitar/Vox
Charlotte (Till I’m Bones, Just Say Nay) – Bass
What can fans expect from a Lucias Malcolm concert?
Energy, honesty, and smiles. Gigging is my happy place, I try as much as possible to make it the same as anyone in the room.
There are lots of amazing UK bands over there. Who are some of your favorites right now?
Oh boy, I’ll try and keep this deliberate rather than just name-checking 38 bands:
- Random Hand – if you like your skacore fierce, uncompromising, and catchy as all hell.
- Barstool Preachers – if you like your punk rugged, rousing, and poetic.
- Tripsun – if you like your punk raw, driving, and stuck in your head for days afterward.
- Roughneck Riot – if you want to hear the best punk album of 2022. Seriously. Not even close.
- The JB Conspiracy – if you like your ska punky and intelligent.
- Goodbye Blue Monday – the record I’m most excited about this year. Genius punk about mental health and just exquisitely, beautifully written.
Any last words?
Just a heartfelt thank you to you and your readers. Without you all, it’d be harder than hell to play music. Certainly a lot lonelier anyway. The scene is incredible right now, even more so now there is so much cross-pollination across the oceans. It makes me so happy, and you are all as important as the music itself. Huge love to you.
Lucias Malcolm Links: Twitter, Pre-Order the Album, Instagram, Facebook