INTERVIEW: BAD NEIGHBORS' COOPER RILEY

Australian Emo Band Bad Neighbour releases new album Burns from the X Rays

Going through heartbreak is hell – but without it, so many of our favourite emo songs simply wouldn’t exist.

And it was heart break and healing that inspired the story behind Australian self-proclaimed sad rockers Bad Neighbour’s debut album, Burns From The X Rays released this month.

Guitarist, vocalist and lyricist Cooper Riley explains the album at its core is really “one big love song”, the song writing an outlet for him to process the highs and lows that come with love.

“Even when things hurt – there is still beauty in it,” he shares.

Reporter Amy Phillips sat down with Cooper at the release launch in Brisbane, deep diving on this album that is sure to please the ears of junior and elder emos alike looking for something fresh to play to feel all the feels.

Q: If you had to describe the overall story the album is trying to tell, what would it be?

I was heartbroken for a long time and struggling with a lot of personal things, and I think all of that found its way into the record. It's about growing up too. I'm getting older, which is pretty scary, to be honest. A lot of it feels like a letter to my younger self. It's about growing up, falling in love, falling out of love, and then watching that cycle repeat over and over again.

Q: The thing I love about heartbreak is that it often creates great music. But where else do you see this album fitting into someone's life as a soundtrack?

A: I've been saying the whole time that it's about love and growing up, but I think the overall feeling of the album is: things are really bad, but I'm trying. Some of the songs don't sound very hopeful, but there is hope buried in them. I don't know exactly what moment in someone's life it would soundtrack, but probably a time when they're having a rough go of things and trying to get better.There is definitely a sense of breakthrough in there.

Q: The album features the track Rush Apart, one of the tracks you’ve pre-released a film clip to. Visually, the clip looks like an explosion of love and joy, , but the song itself is quite devastating. What's the story behind that contrast?

A: It's definitely a breakup song — a very obvious breakup song — but we wanted to create a juxtaposition and do the opposite of what the lyrics were saying. The whole essence of the album is love, even when a lot of the songs are about not being in love anymore. We wanted the video to reflect that. Instead of ending sadly, like the song does, we wanted the video to end happily. It's kind of like wearing white to a funeral. We wanted to lean into the polar opposite of the song's emotional direction.

Q: There's a line in Rush Apart that I vote the most emo of the whole album - "I want to ghost write an end to the collapsing of your heart." What did you mean by that?

A: I was pretty proud of that one. I think it came from being heartbroken and desperately wanting not to be heartbroken anymore. When you're coming out of something unhealthy and you're not doing well, it's easy to look for someone else to fix you. The "ghost writing" part is about not really being in control. It's about wanting someone else to save you or put you back together.

But that's not healthy. It's not the right way to heal. I think that lyric is really about recognising that tendency in yourself.

Q: Thank you to you and the band for making this album. Before we wrap up, when can people expect to see you on tour?

A: We're touring Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in August. Then we're doing a much bigger tour in November, but I can't say too much about that one yet. We'll be headlining the August run, and November is something much larger.

To find out more about Bad Neighbours' Australian Tour and listen to Burns from the X Rays click here.

By: Amy Phillips