The Sylvia Platters have been on my radar for quite a while now. Back when I was doing the Tweetcore Radio Hour, I’d play their tunes on a regular basis, taken as I was by their crisp jangle, which calls to mind similarly jangly bands like The Ocean Blue and Riverside. Given my longtime interest in the band, I was flattered when they got in touch with me…

Great band name! Is Sylvia Plath an influence on your lyric writing? 

I really admire Sylvia Plath. It’s hard to imagine that her writing hasn’t influenced me, but maybe in a more oblique way. I don’t think of my writing as confessional per se, but the way she mines the personal, inner world for emotional resonance is something I absolutely identify with.

You’ve been around since 2014. How has the band’s sound evolved since then?

A decade is a long time! I think our first record especially reflects our eclectic tastes and interests. We made that one entirely ourselves and when I listen back, I can hear a young band figuring itself out in real time. As we’ve progressed, I think we’ve matured and refined our sound according to what works best for us. I think I have a better ear for what’s interesting and moving. We play to our strengths more, and are more comfortable with not filling in every detail. I think that our newer material has a spaciousness that comes with confidence. It all feels more lived in to me. 

What keeps you going?

I get so much out of making music with my friends. So there’s that rarefied social environment of working on something special with people who also get it. Then there’s a level of creative satisfaction that comes from continually getting closer to what you imagine when you’re writing. And I also find writing is a way for me to explore experiences and ideas and things I’m living through in a kind of sideways direction. I will sometimes surprise myself by what the process of writing reveals to me. Performing is almost an entirely separate thing to me that I also really love. We don’t improvise much, but I still feel like every time we play a song, it’s like rewriting it for the people in the room with us.

Your press materials begin by asking what we need to risk in order to truly love someone — and what we invite by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. How do risk a vulnerability relate to your approach to making music?

For me, I think I kind of have to be open to where a song leads me. And it’s not often where I expect, necessarily. I don’t really find sitting down to write a song about X topic to be a very satisfying experience. I can do it if I must, but I more often start with a kernel of a melody or a phrase and explore it until I can find something compelling to zoom in on. Another way I think this works is when you collaborate with others. You have to trust each other and let go of enough control to make the best version of the thing you’re working on. That can be hard sometimes when you’re coming to the band with a clear idea of how you want the song to be. But every time I leave a little more space for their interpretations and ideas, the song is better for it. 

You quote Neil Young in your press release. Is he an influence?

I love Neil Young and listen to him all the time. I think that his influence might not be as apparent in the style of music we make, but I think that on a deeper level, my instincts are really shaped by his records. I think he’s a really emotionally astute songwriter and that’s something I aspire to be. It’s the same thing with guitar solos — I always reach for the expressive over the technical. 

The band includes you and your brother Tim Ubels. Do the two of you get along? What’s it like being in a band with your brother?

I wouldn’t have it any other way! Tim and I have been playing music together since we were kids so it sort of feels like a given. But we have great personal and musical chemistry so it’s been a joy to be able to share this part of our lives for so long. We tend to be fairly complementary in songwriting as well. Quite often, Tim will send me a riff that will inspire a full song. Or I’ll help him with a bridge to finish an idea he’s been working on. We are very sympatico. I wish I had more drama to share to entice your readers!

Kyle Schick and Ian Fildes recently joined the band. What do they bring to the equation?

We’ve known Kyle and Ian for years, and have done some recording with Kyle before. So their joining the band felt really natural, and it didn’t take long at all for us to gel as a group. In fact, the two of them joined the band just two months before we hit the studio this spring and it all went off without a hitch. Kyle is one of the best guitarists I know and has a way of drawing out these counter melodies really beautifully. His style is a little more muscular which I think grounds my vocal melodies nicely. Oh and he can also do a mean high harmony. Ian is an extremely versatile musician and is loaded with creative ideas for developing and arranging songs. He also brings such a wonderful warmth and energy to the group that I really appreciate.

“Alone” came out on Halloween. Is that a sign? Does it speak to the tone of the song?

What could be scarier than losing your closest confidant? The release date is kind of a happy accident that we leaned into with a spooky music video we shot and edited in the weeks leading up to Halloween. 

I love that the song begins with “Then she said…” Very in medias res! What was behind the decision to begin the song that way?

I’ve never written a song as a conversation before, but it seemed like a great way to anchor the themes coming up within the context of a relationship. Plus it’s an immediate hook: Who are these characters? What do they want from each other? I really enjoy how Robert Smith uses this conversational framing in a lot of Cure songs so I was eager to try it on for myself.

What’s on the horizon for you?

We’ve got a couple local shows this fall and then a proper cassette release coming out on Dutch Customer in February. So we’re getting things ready for that along with a string of tour dates in support. Alone is just the first taste of more to come very soon!