Today I’m beyond thrilled to bring everyone the latest music video from Suitable Miss called “Forever.” The song features guest vocals from Magnolia Park’s Joshua Roberts, and comes from the band’s upcoming album, In Color, out everywhere on May 20th. This band really transcends genres, and there really is a little bit of everything in the mix for fans of all styles of upbeat music. In addition to premiering the video, I was also able to catch up with Suitable Miss to discuss everything that went into this song and the rest of the material found on their new album.
Thanks for your time today! What went into the process of writing and recording your latest single called “Forever”?
Andrew Elofson (Guitar/Production): “Forever” is a funny song to reflect on because the instrumentals for the entire song started from basically nothing. I had the synth line you hear in the main instrumental section, a tempo, and a few random samples I had found. I just kept building onto that little phrase section by section until I felt I had enough of a skeleton to show the band. Once the lyrics and structure came together during our writing sessions, we all decided it wouldn’t be complete without the help of Josh from the wonderful Magnolia Park. The way his vocals and Sarah’s play off each other in the last chorus is one of my favorite parts that we have ever done compositionally.
Sarah Perez (Vocals): “Forever” deals with the topic of toxic relationships and holding onto them, even when you know they are bad for you. As a band, we tend to sit down and just talk to each other about our lives whenever we get stuck on songwriting. Our best songs come together lyrically from talking and reflecting on real life experiences.
Noah Sauls (Guitar): With a majority of the bones of the song being layers and synths, I kind of get to take it easy for most of the song until the end. This led to me “woodshedding” and looping the outro for days to come up with a nice compliment to the soaring vocals.
Debut albums are always a great time to make your stamp on the music scene. I understand your debut LP is called In Color, and will be out on May 20th. What are you most excited about with this upcoming release, and do you have any vivid memories of the recording process?
Sarah Perez (Vocals): I am most excited about how different the songs are compared to our past material. There is a lot of synth and parts with a bigger emphasis on groove that we all fell in love with. My favorite parts of recording were getting to hang out with Andrew and Tom while drinking wine and just having a good time. There was one really high note at the end of a song called “Moment” that I didn’t think I could reach. They cheered me on so much I nailed it on the first try!
Kelsey Gant (Bass): In Color will be the most Suitable Miss-material we’ve ever released. This album is the style that fits our brand perfectly, and represents us the best as a whole. I really enjoy the fact that each band member had the chance to put their own personality onto each and every song. This is our first full album with Noah as our guitarist, so it was very inspiring to hear another perspective on the songwriting process. Having another individual help us along the process, really helps us dive deep into how we want to represent ourselves.
Andrew Elofson (Guitar/Production): This album has everything. Seriously. Whether you like radio pop, metalcore, emo rap, or pure pop-punk, I think there is something for almost every listener on this record.
Tom Hanson (Drums/Production): From our first EP until now we’ve added so much complexity to our sound, doubled and tripled up our songwriting, and Andrew and I spent countless hours becoming better recording engineers to make sure the album sounded the way we wanted it to. We’ve also gotten heavier – but not in an inaccessible way – which is a great balance that I think many people will enjoy.
Noah Sauls (Guitar): This entire record in my opinion is a monument to what can be done if you just keep working. We technically started this record in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Between quarantines, work schedules, and other life events we had to utilize every resource to continue working. Zoom calls, sectional meetups, and a ton of communication led to us being able to create something as beautiful as In Color.
Are there any plans to tour on this material? If so, what artists would be on your “dream list” to tour with and that you feel you could bring something unique to their show?
Andrew Elofson (Guitar/Production): Yes! We’ll be on tour with our good friends in City of Auburn from Dallas, TX this May/June. We’re kicking off in Tulsa, OK on May 30th, and will conclude the tour in Colorado Springs on June 4th. After that, we’ll be out with the amazing Calling All Captains on their midwest summer tour from 6/24-7/2! We’re planning to stay pretty busy the rest of the year. I would PERSONALLY love to play with Spiritbox but I know that is a shot-in-the-dark given their current trajectory!
Sarah Perez (Vocals): I personally think it would be amazing to play with Magnolia Park or Stand Atlantic one day. I know that we would bring a lot of energy to their shows. We put a lot of focus into “putting on a show” and we love to do things like throw glitter beach balls into the crowd!
Kelsey Gant (Bass): These upcoming tours will be a turning point in our music career. In my opinion, Stand Atlantic is one of those bands who has inspired us most as a band. Not only do they also have a lead female singer, but they have a very complimentary sound to ours! We have all met and enjoyed time with this band, so it would be an absolute blast to be able to play with one of our inspirations one day!
Tom Hanson (Drums/Production): Motion City Soundtrack, Brooklane, Point North, Stand Atlantic would be amazing to tour with, and I think we’d fit right in with their crowd as a perfect opener to get everyone hyped for the main event.
How would you best describe the rest of the material found on In Color?
Noah Sauls (Guitar): A culmination of our growth, without losing our roots. I really think we’ve come into our own sound with this record of riff driven pop (this is not a genre designation).
Sarah Perez (Vocals): Lyrically, I think this album really tells relatable stories about relationships, mental health and the frustrations that come with navigating both of those things. I think if you really listen to the lyrics, you can see multiple sides of familiar stories and different viewpoints depending on what you are going through. Ultimately I just hope that people can relate to these songs and that they can feel like they’re not alone in the situations that they may be facing.
Tom Hanson (Drums/Production): Our influences are all over the place and you can clearly tell the blending of genres that go into this album. There’s so much pop, synth, trap driven atmosphere blended with the heavier side of our love for old school metalcore and pop-punk. It’s a unique blend and incredibly catchy!
Kelsey Gant (Bass): In Color shows a variety of different music genres all in one. We all want to have music that not only we enjoy and love, but an album that suits several different genres. We attract all types of audiences due to our diverse style. We included styles of pop punk, easycore, synth, EDM and trap beats that will entice all types of people to enjoy our music.
Can you tell me one surprising fact about your musical upbringing that others may not be aware of?
Sarah Perez (Vocals): I have been singing ever since I was in kindergarten, and when I was 13, Kelsey (bass) and I made it four rounds on the TV show The X Factor. We got cut right before the round with Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell. Clearly we’re doing a lot better for ourselves now!
Andrew Elofson (Guitar/Production): I played my first proper club show at age 14. I don’t know what my parents were thinking but I am so thankful to be where I am because of that moment.
Tom Hanson (Drums/Production): I was a classically trained percussionist for many years. My first tour experiences were not with rock bands, but with orchestras!
Noah Sauls (Guitar): I completely changed the solo of our latest single on the first day of shooting the video! This seems like a logistical nightmare at first but that night, I rewrote it, recorded a demo, and filmed the scenes for the next day.
Kelsey Gant (Bass): Sarah and I are cousins who grew up in a musical family. Every December our church would put on a Christmas themed performance, and our family would volunteer to head it up every year. This show really gave us a chance to truly find our voices and grow to be more comfortable in front of a live audience.