Interview: Aaron Pauley from Of Mice & Men

With their fourth studio album ‘Cold World’ set for release in September and an upcoming tour of Australia with A Day To Remember at the end of the year, Of Mice & Men are absolutely back with a bang! We talked to quintet’s vocalist/bassist Aaron Pauley to discuss the recording of ‘Cold World’, the band’s upcoming Australia tour, and their thoughts on AJ Maddah!

How’s your day been so far?

It’s been good, it’s my day off! I woke up, just had breakfast, and have just been driving through the desert!

Sounds good! So your fourth studio album ‘Cold World’ is set to be released on the 9th of September, what was the recording process for it like?

A lot of these songs we’ve written in our rehearsal studio and so a lot of it was kind of more organically written than we’d done in the past. With ‘Restoring Force’ quite a bit of the record was done on the road, y’know, in the back lounge, on the laptops, a lot of demoing that way, but this was actually done with a lot of us jamming and what not. We worked with David Bendeth who we did ‘Restoring Force’ with and we were in the studio for about two months.

You released single Real earlier this month, is that song a good indicator of the direction the rest of the album will be taking?

Not really! There are definitely songs in a similar vein, but also songs that are vastly different. I would consider this a pretty dynamic album…

How is ‘Cold World’ different to your previous album releases?

A lot of the process was more organic. We essentially had a year off from touring to reflect on the previous three years together and to really experiment with different sounds by playing together. This record feels more unified that way!

What kind of artists were you and the rest of the band listening to during the writing and recording of ‘Cold World’?

We were listening to a lot of 90s music because that was the era that inspired us as young kids to listen to rock music! Lots of Alice In Chains, Tool, Deftones, Incubus. I definitely think you’ll hear some of those elements throughout the album.

Are there any running lyrical themes that are present on the album?

Most of the songs on this record were written from a place of reflection, either on the world or on ourselves. Austin and I really dug deep to try and deliver what we feel like are some of the most honest lyrics we’ve ever written!

You’re coming back to Australia this December supporting A Day To Remember. What are you most looking forward to experiencing over here?

We love Australia! I’m looking forward to seeing our fans and friends over there. Plus, ADTR are very good friends of ours, and touring with them is always a blast!

Here in Australia we’re still mourning the loss of Soundwave, which was a festival you played a few times. What’s your relationship with AJ Maddah like now and would you consider playing a festival over here again in the future?

It’s a bummer. I think that music fans over there suffer more than the bands do when staple festivals get cancelled. I don’t really know that there was much of a relationship beyond our booking agent and himself working out deals for us to play, but we would definitely play a festival over there. Australia is always awesome!

A Day To Remember 2016 Australian Tour
supported by Of Mice & Men and Tonight Alive

SAT 10 DEC
Red Hill Auditorium, Perth
TUE 13 DEC
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
WED 14 DEC
Festival Hall, Melbourne
FRI 16 DEC
Hodern Pavilion, Sydney
SUN 18 DEC
Riverstage, Brisbane

Get Tickets HERE