Enumclaw have learned that sometimes, not getting what you want can lead to finding what you need. Their second album, ‘Home In Another Life’, is a testament to that journey—born from setbacks, but bursting with raw, real-time reflections. Check out our new Upset cover story.
Words: Steven Loftin.
You can’t always get what you want: this is a lesson that Enumclaw has reckoned with since the release of their 2022 debut album, ‘Save The Baby’. Starting as a lockdown project, hammering out tunes after meeting at karaoke nights, it’s escalated into being a band in the truest essence of the term; a four-piece of colliding ambition and musical chemistry. Just, things didn’t quite pan out how they envisioned.
“I’m definitely not in this band to make 2500 bucks,” vocalist Aramis Johnson chuckles. “I would be completely different if it was more money-focused.” Having started his day today with a rude awakening reminding him of the money he owes someone, the reality of being a touring band seems fresh on his mind. Before all of this, they had grand ambitions of the band being their big break; maybe a track finding its viral moment propelling them forward, or perhaps even a wild tour support invitation that would change it all. While these moments didn’t quite manifest, instead, they found something better – something purer – and a second record, ‘Home In Another Life’.
“It would be awesome if that stuff happened on this record, but I’m in it for a good time and a long time,” Aramis says resolutely. “Maybe we’re a band that takes off on the fifth record, you know, and [we] just need to focus on how do we put out the best 12 songs we have every year kind of thing.”
It’s now been two years since the Washington band’s debut, and life has taken Aramis and his bandmates (guitarist Nathan Cornell, drummer Ladaniel Gipson, and bassist Eli Edwards) down a different path than they first envisioned. Reflecting upon that album today, Aramis holds it in high esteem – as he should. It’s a gorgeously lo-fi, emotionally affecting rock elegy to the 90s. “For a band who was literally a year old when we recorded our debut record, I think it’s incredible,” he reckons. “That’s a great kick-off. It let me see parts of the world I didn’t know if I’d get to see on my own. And the longer time has gone on, the reception for it has gotten stronger. I feel like people liked that record.”
Following it up, however, has proven difficult. ‘Save The Baby’ was penned when the world was paused with COVID. Unemployment was readily available, and the dream of being in a band felt not only achievable but real. “Every day, you had like 12 hours to do whatever the fuck you wanted. And then by the time that album came out, the world had started to go back to normal, and we started going on tour.” What followed was a need for jobs since music rarely pays its due dividends to bands, and a slog to cobble together their second outing. “It took like two years to get to get 12 songs. It’s really hard for me to write songs if I’m gainfully employed,” he laughs. “In the process, we got dropped from our label, which also really inspired the way we made the record.”
Freshly signed to Run For Cover, Enumclaw are ready for round two. Written and recorded over the last couple of years, Aramis mentions that “these songs are the most in real time I’ve ever written.” Another dose of Enumclaw goodness, its bark matches its bite, with the visceral growl of bass and snapping guitar more palpable than its predecessor. Straight out of the gates, the life of Aramis unfurls. ‘I’m Scared I’ll End Up All Alone’ careens its way around the vocalist’s anxieties after a breakup, which he admits now might be a bit too autobiographical for his liking: “I don’t know if I want to continue to write in that manner. But it’s the only style I know how to write in right now.” The rest of the album follows suit as he invites us to wander around the halls of his experiences over the last two years, warts ‘n’ all.
After missing out on their dream studio – Pachyderm in Minnesota (Nirvana, PJ Harvey) – and aiming high for producers who didn’t jump on board, far from setbacks, these forced paths gave Enumclaw a chance to hone in on themselves. “It helped us focus the band inward and focus on the resources we have. And so I ended up [producing] it with my friend Ben and tracked it in four days… and now we’re here.”
‘Save The Baby’ was ushered into the world with the band boldly proclaiming their grand ambitions in interviews. These days, that ambition still sizzles, but it has a humble surface. Aramis admits that those early days were rooted in hubris. “If my ego three years ago, or two years ago, or whenever all that stuff was happening was almond cake, my ego today feels very much an almond slither that was on top of the cake.” Baked-good metaphors aside, he acknowledges that these days, “I’m not really into the idea of being extremely self-indulgent in that way.” They still want to be the best, however. “There definitely will be a part of me where if all this is said and done, and we don’t headline arenas, I’ll feel like maybe I didn’t see it through in the way that I wanted to. But today, I feel this confidence that feels completely removed from ego.”
“It’s really hard for me to write songs if I’m gainfully employed”
Aramis Johnson
There’s no doubt Enumclaw have a special something in their midsts. They pull from the greatest depths of the 90s, sprucing it up with a modern outlook: spritely, soul-bearing alt-rock with a carefree twist. While unable to pinpoint exactly what he sees as the core of the band’s energy, Aramis notes that the key is in its four members. “In some bands, you can replace people in it, like it doesn’t matter as long as one or two people remain the same, whereas I feel like the second we change anybody out it wouldn’t be the same thing.” Enumclaw is the majority of the group’s first instance of being in a band – none too shabby. “I wish I had a better answer. But I think it’s the four of us; we’re just some guys from Tacoma, and I think that mentality in that frame of reference becomes stronger and more integral to what we do the longer we’re in this band.”
From humble beginnings to a humble present, Aramis is even aware that when they get there, his rock star dreams aren’t quite going to be what he had in mind when he was younger. “I’ve humbly come to the conclusion that the thing as an eight-year-old in second grade that made me want to be famous does not exist in 2024,” he laughs. “I still have a lot of hope for it to go back to what it used to be three years ago, but if anything, we’ve gotten further and further away from it.”
That doesn’t stop that ambition from fizzing away beneath Enumclaw’s newfound outlook. “We’d love to sell 70,000 tickets in every major city in the world; that is still a goal I have,” Aramis says. “But it doesn’t get me out of bed the way it did three years ago. What gets me out of bed is just the idea that if I write some songs that make me feel good, and I’m able to share them with enough people that makes them feel good, that’s a win. And if I can pay my rent, that’s another win!” And it turns out that if you don’t get what you want, you might just get what you need. ■
Enumclaw’s album ‘Home In Another Life’ is out now. Follow Upset’s Spotify playlist here.
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