Today I’m excited to bring everyone an early listen from Connecticut emo band, Mighty Tortuga, called “Rearview.” The song comes from their forthcoming EP The Plague Inside Your Head, that was produced by Fred Mascherino (The Color Fred, Taking Back Sunday) and will be released everywhere music is sold on June 8th. You can pre-order the EP here. I was also able to catch up with guitarist Jacob Berberich for a brief interview below.
Thanks for your time today! What went into the writing and recording process of your new single, “Rearview”?
“Rearview” was the trickiest song to put together on the album. This one initially started as an entirely different song. We were working on it for a few months and felt like it wasn’t clicking, so we decided to head back to the drawing board. We brought the existing chorus to one of our co-writing partners, and landed on the version you hear on the record. We ended up finishing the song only a few days before the initial studio trip, so we decided to come back a few months later to track this one so we could fit it on the album.
I understand this EP, called The Plague Inside Your Head, was produced by Fred Mascherino. What was it like collaborating with Fred?
Collaborating with Fred brought a whole new layer to the songwriting and overall creative process. There were months of going back and forth writing the songs with Fred, trying new things, and having him help us fill out the songs. This being the first time we went to a producer and tracked a record, it brought an entirely new edge to the songs. We have become so accustomed to producing the songs ourselves that ultimately the main difference with this record was Fred getting the final call on production & tones. It brought a whole new feel to the band that we are super excited to share.
Where did the EP title originate from?
Conveniently enough, it came from a lyric in “Rearview”! “A refusal to address the plague inside your head.”
Will you be testing out some of the new material live soon, and what songs do you think translate best to a live setting?
On our spring tour we will be playing a bunch of the new songs. We’ve had the record done for over a year and have been itching to get out and play them, so we are very excited to see how they are received. We have been playing a song off the record (that won’t drop until the record comes out), and it has been received super well so far. I have been referring to this one as the “Fred Song” almost this whole cycle, due to its true Taking Back Sunday influence. We have our guitarist Mike pop in to sing the second main vocal part and it’s a real fun time. In addition to this, we have been opening the set with “Let Me Down” since February and everyone has been going nuts for it. Excited for them all to hear “Rearview”!
Tour Dates
- 5/3 – Norwalk, CT @ Wall St Theatre
- 5/5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Meadows
- 5/6 – Southbridge, MA @ Starlite
- 5/21 – Providence, RI @ The Parlour
- 6/8 – Lowell, MA @ Taffeta
- 6/9 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium Upstairs
- 6/10 – New York, NY @ Arlene’s Grocery
- 6/16 – Boyds, MD @ The Garage
- 6/17 – Ambler, PA @ The Yard
- 6/24 – Providence, RI @ Alchemy