HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Promise Everything – Basement
When BASEMENT announced their hiatus in 2012 just before the release of their sophomore album Colourmeinkindness, it seemed as if the band were temporarily closing the book on that chapter of their lives. Drummer James Fisher went back to art school, guitarist Alex Henery moved to Boston to become a videographer for Run For Cover, and vocalist Andrew Fisher became a teacher.
When their Twitter account posted the cryptic “hi” in January of 2014 and the dates 2008-2012 were removed from their bio on various social media platforms, fans’ excitement grew. What followed was the band’s comeback and release of the Further Sky EP in July 2014 and a string of live dates, testing of the waters ahead of 2016’s Promise Everything.
Coming back together after their hiatus was not as straightforward as a simple tweet though. With the group scattered across the globe, songs were largely written through ideas being sent back and forth between the UK and Boston. Andrew Fisher shared with DIY Magazine, “Many times these versions of songs would be passed back to Alex sounding nothing like he envisioned. This was really hard for everyone, because Alex hated not being able to explain in person the way he thought things should be, plus in our heads the song was done and we had spent a lot of time working on it. Eventually we brought it all together and actually ended up tweaking and even completely reworking songs in the studio and that way it truly felt like a group effort. We made it work but I don’t think any of us wants to write a record like that again.”
A large focus of this writing process was finding where the band’s sound lay following their break. Henery shared with The Aquarian “we really wanted to focus on melody. That side of the band that we wanted to push was to write really catchy songs, but I still want it to be energetic, and I still really wanted people to enjoy the live shows.” He cites AUTOLUX as a key influence for the approach to this on the album, and also reflects on comparisons being drawn between them and JIMMY EAT WORLD, sharing that they were an early influence on him as a musician.
With this shift into catchier melodies and a more melodic approach, the band also began to take up new spaces within the alternative scene. Having risen up through the hardcore scene, BASEMENT were looking to push into other spaces whilst remaining true to where they had come from. Andrew Fisher shared with DIY about, “finding our place as just being an alternative rock band but seeing if we can push that. It’s cool to mix it up and figure out what is possible for us. We’re still trying to figure it all out but we definitely don’t feel confused. Pushing forward with what we’re doing now and seeing how people respond to it, it’s been good.”
When the album was released on January 29th 2016 through Run For Cover, it was met with acclaim. Line Of Best Fit claimed “BASEMENT have never sounded this good”, a sentiment shared by Clash, who deemed it “their best work yet” and noted Aquasun as a “standout track (and fan favourite-in-waiting).” Prior to the album’s release, the eponymous Promise Everything, Oversized and Aquasun were released as singles with the title track and Aquasun receiving a music video directed by Henery, and remaining mainstays in the band’s touring setlists ten years later.
The band embarked on an extensive string of tours in the year following the album’s release, including a UK tour with TIGERS JAW and ALEX G, a US tour with TURNSTILE, and a run in Australia with TURNOVER. In March 2017, alongside a run of shows with HIGEHR POWER, BASEMENT released a deluxe version of Promise Everything through Fuelled By Ramen. This featured a new track Cloud, acoustic versions of Aquasun and Blinded Bye, and a cover of THE CARDIGANS’ My Favourite Game.
10 years since its release, Promise Everything is a crucial album in BASEMENT’s timeline. As the album that marked the group’s comeback, its willingness to lean into new paths created a testament to creating on their own terms, an ethos crucial to BASEMENT and everything they put out.
Promise Everything was originally released on January 29th, 2016 via Run For Cover.
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