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What do you do when your indie band gets signed by a major label, puts out an EP and embarks on a tour all within the space of a few weeks? For Sam Harris, Noah Feldshuh and Adam Levin of Brooklyn’s X Ambassadors—who are Interscope’s latest signee (along with keys player Casey Harris, although he was sick and not present at this interview)—the answer is simple: drink some beer at your local watering hole and bask in the dramatic turn of events.
“The goal was always to bring things to a larger scale,” Harris said over a cool pint on a muggy day last week. “To be completely honest, we never thought of ourselves as an “indie” indie band. We were indie because we were doing things independently, on our own for a while. Everyone’s really excited. I think we’re all getting past that stigma of the major label. Because when it comes down to it, you have to pursue whatever opportunities are presented to you.”
Interscope imprint KIDinaKORNER scooped up the Brooklyn quartet after Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, another of the label's bands, heard the band while on tour in Virginia, where the band had a buzz due to their track “Litost” getting a fair amount of radio play. After hearing a song called "Unconsolable" Reynolds immediately called label-head Alex Da Kid and within days, Harris, the vocalist, songwriter and spokesperson for the band, was on a flight to London to meet with him.
All the trappings that come with major label success soon fell into place—a brand new EP entitled Love Songs Drugs Songs out earlier this month, a stint supporting Imagine Dragons on a high-powered tour, and the idea that being a band was finally becoming viable.
“This is what we’ve wanted to do our whole lives,” Harris said. “Noah and I met when were were six-year-olds in kindergarten in Ithaca. We became best friends and have been friends ever since.”
Feldshuh, the group’s lead guitarist laughs that he wouldn’t even have a college degree if he hadn’t moved to New York City along with Sam to pursue their dream of doing music. “I bought a guitar to be the guitarist to be in a band with Sam,” he said, further cementing the close-knit feeling of this group.
“This is what we’ve wanted to do our whole lives. Noah and I met when were were six year olds in kindergarten in Ithaca. We became best friends and have been friends ever since.”
Even before their Interscope signing, X Ambassadors is decidedly rock with few traces of the perceived sonic traits that people associate with indie bands. They cite Incubus and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as childhood idols—and trickles of both these very mainstream rock groups flow through the band’s sound. Theirs is an alternative rock sound alongside the deep-set grooves that set the Chili Peppers apart and the same depth of emotion that made Incubus a household name. There’s no pretension or smugness here either, their earnest excitement is palpable and refreshing.
“It wasn’t even until I was in high school that I started listening to “cool” music,” Harris admits. “I had a girlfriend then, and she introduced me to Arcade Fire and Fiery Furnaces, all that shit.”
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But with the proliferation of orchestral swells, sing-alongs, folk, indie-pop, blues and grunge throwbacks, etc. etc. just hearing some good pop-rock feels like a departure in itself. Alternative rock has an appeal uniquely its own and when it hits, it really hits. That’s how listening to their lead single “Unconsolable” feels, like one of those songs that will burrow into the ears of a country and become enmeshed in the sonic fabric. A thick opening of drums work into a taunt hook and emotional reflections told in tight harmonies.
Most of the band, three out of four (Noah and Sam met Adam in college), have known each other for most of their lives—a twenty year relationship that shows in their musical cohesiveness.
“We speak the same language. It makes it easier to push the limits and see what we’re all really capable,” Harris said. “Just on the technical side of it that’s a real advantage that we have. But also, I mean, you can’t really put your finger on it. There’s a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that’s always sort of existed.”
"Ultimately, when you’re writing music you’ve got to put yourself out there, and it’s a lot easier to do that with people that you love and trust. It’s a hurdle that’s just knocked down that enables you to be more free."
Feldshuh also points to the emotional openness that a bond like theirs brings to the band.
“Ultimately, when you’re writing music you’ve got to put yourself out there, and it’s a lot easier to do that with people that you love and trust. It’s a hurdle that’s just knocked down that enables you to be more free,” He noted.
Now, under the wing of Alex Da Kid, X Ambassadors seem poised to take the country by storm. As a label head and a co-producer of their EP along with Reynold (of Imagine Dragons), Alex has a close hand in the group’s decision-making. Drummer Adam Levin notes how Alex’s experience in the industry has really helped them, as relative newcomers.
“He’s awesome. What he added to us was a person that we trust with everything we deal with,” Levin explained. “Not only recording, but as a producer, he’s focused on the songs—what’s good and bad, and how to change things. As a label head, he works just as importantly as a producer. When you have someone that’s creative, who’s very close to you, in charge of the label, then you can get things done in a more expedited fashion.”
Stream snippets from the group’s initial EP below and look for their full-length album coming later this year, along with an official video for “Unconsolable.” For a band so new though, the group certainly have lofty aspirations.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to be satisfied though, there’s always going to be a higher ground,” Levin notes. “Once you make it, you’ve always got to maintain. There’s always going to be a higher ground.”
