Balancing melody and chaos: Lifeguard's art of creating visceral and hypnotic music.

In a whirlwind of visceral melodies and hypnotic chaos, Lifeguard emerges as a force to be reckoned with in the music scene. With a prolific output that includes a full-length album, two EPs, and two 7" singles within just three years, this young band from Chicago has been on a relentless journey of exploration and self-discovery. In this exclusive Q&A, Lifeguard takes us behind the scenes, sharing insights into their formation, songwriting process, and the influences that have shaped their unique sound. From their collaborative approach to writing and recording to their powerful live performances, Lifeguard invites us into their world, where pop sensibility meets raw energy. As they prepare to join their peers and labelmates, Horsegirl, on a summer US tour, including a performance at Central Park SummerStage, Lifeguard's journey is set to continue with unwavering passion and a commitment to the spirit of youth. Get ready to dive into the captivating world of Lifeguard.

Can you tell us about the formation of Lifeguard and how you came together as a band?

Kai was playing in his old band Dwaal Troupe and Asher and Isaac were filling in for members of Horsegirl at the time (Isaac begged his sister to play drums on one song so he could play with Asher) at an Old Town School of Folk Music open mic thing. Asher and Isaac were bewildered by other kids making crazy music and Kai was too! Love at first sight…

Your music is often described as visceral and hypnotic, balancing melody and chaos. How do you achieve that balance in your songwriting and performance?

We like pop songs as much as we like being really loud. I think we put a lot of thought into the melody/song structure and the energy/noise comes naturally because we’re young and play hard!

Lifeguard has already released a full-length album, two EPs, and two 7" singles in just three years. What drives your prolific output as a band?

The way we wrote and recorded in the first two years of the band is different from how we operate now. We wrote sporadically and would record pretty immediately after finishing songs…now we take a lot more time with them. We have had songs that were “finished”, and we would play them at shows, but they would still evolve purely because of the time spent with them. We really took that into consideration on our new EPs and it helped the songs get really good!

"Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches" combines two EPs recorded within a year of each other. Can you tell us about the connection between these two releases and the evolution of your sound during that period?

We recorded them with that same headspace of taking a lot of time with the songs and letting them change on their own. Some of the songs on Dressed in Trenches were originally written even before Crowd Can Talk’s songs, we’d been playing them live alongside the CCT songs a while before we recorded them. Also they were recorded in the exact same room with the same guy, so it sort of felt like recording an LP in two parts.

How do you approach the songwriting process as a band? Is it a collaborative effort, or do individual members bring their own ideas to the table?

It’s a pretty much completely collaborative effort. We’ll all bring in parts and work them out together. Sometimes Kai brings in a guitar part and then we make a bass part that is great, and we realize the guitar part sucks so we make a completely different song from what we had in mind originally. As for lyrics, usually whoever is singing wrote the lyrics but it’s never down to one person what gets put on the record. Our lyrics are mostly from personal sketchbooks and we usually like to preserve some scrappiness in them.

What was the experience like recording at Electrical Audio with engineer Mike Lust? How did that environment contribute to the overall sound and feel of your music?

Electrical Audio is great and affordable and we’ve recorded almost everything we’ve done there. It makes you feel like you’re a real deal band, seeing Fugazi’s thank you note on the fridge. It’s also just really homey and we love to play Tony Hawk on Albini’s PS2. We come from a place of doing a lot of home recording (as Lifeguard and in other projects) and it’s important for the environment to not feel sterile or too studio-y, so we have stuck to Electrical!

Lifeguard is known for delivering powerful live performances. How do you ensure that your songs translate well from the studio to the stage?

It’s usually stage to studio. We are not a super self-indulgent band –  it’s more important that the music is immediate than it being super cerebral. If the kids are dancing, it’s a hit.

You mentioned being influenced by live shows and the people around you. Can you share a specific moment or experience that had a profound impact on your music?

Seeing Friko for the first time at Martyr’s in 2019 was pretty monumental in our understanding of seeing live music and watching young bands rip it up. Moments like that happen all the time though, and we’re constantly meeting cool new young bands (recently, Flower Grease, Uniflora, Godstar Megamax, Fruitleather) that blow our minds!

You'll be joining Horsegirl on a summer US tour, including a performance at Central Park SummerStage. How does it feel to be touring with your peers and labelmates, and what are you looking forward to most about the upcoming tour?

They’re our bros and it was bound to happen! Super excited to share backline and play tambourine on each other’s songs. Tour can be isolating and stressful obviously and having good friends with you helps a lot! Touring with Dummy last summer was similarly a really sweet experience with some great people. Also super excited to meet other bands that we’re playing with.

As a young band, what challenges have you faced in the music industry, and how have you overcome them?

21+ clubs and adults trying to pull shit on us is annoying and shouldn’t be happening. Sound guys being dicks is pretty universal, so finding nice sound people is always super meaningful. Also having a youth community to play to and with keeps our morale up. There’s nothing worse than playing to a room full of cross-armed adults that hate you.

How do you engage with your local music community in Chicago, and how has it influenced your growth as a band?

We dance and sing and influence each other's songs and give each other ideas and meaning and it’s why this band is still a band.

What do you love right now?

Oasis.

What do you hate right now?

Oasis.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Kill Em All by Metallica changed our lives immeasurably and continues to everyday. It is the best punk-rock album ever made. It’s perfectly slimy and happy and feels like love. 

What can fans expect from Lifeguard in the future? Are there any upcoming projects or goals that you're excited about?

That we’ll quit when we turn 25 and get into yacht fusion. But for now we are alive and hope to tour all over the world and enact Global Youth Takeover.