The Unlikely Candidates are an alternative rock group hailing from Texas, and they've just released new music in the form of the single entitled Oh My Dear Lord. Coming off the release of their new single, I sat down with the band to ask them some questions about their inspirations, their plans and of course, their new single, which you can listen to here.
The new single offers up a sound that parallels that of Imagine Dragons, while still being unique and overtly their own. When asked about the inspiration behind their music, there was a lot to say.
Since starting the band in 2008 in the shadows of a small town, where not even lead vocalist Kyle's family knew he could sing, their influences have shifted from the likes of the Warped Tour circuit to something shying away from heavy metal beats and morphing into a sound adjacent to alternative pop.
"I had never sung or written a song or had any interest in doing music before... my family was very confused for the first several years of our project...so I think the name really fits."
I asked them whether or not their musical influences have changed a lot since their formation and according to frontman Kyle: "They've changed a lot." Since their start, the band has gone through a lot of changes, but their genesis was producing music that was a lot more hardcore.
According to Cole, one of the guitarists, what inspired them the most, in the beginning, was "a lot the warped tour theme, for sure, a lot of All Time Low Stuff. It was harder stuff, a lot of hardcore music for that timeframe." This happened before they made the metamorphosis into the pop-punk genre.
In regards to their plans for the future, The Unlikely Candidates hope to get on the road, and ultimately break the seal of their success in North America and move on to Europe and then beyond. Since putting in the hours on the road with bands like Fall Out Boy, these guys are no strangers to the tour life.
They're hoping to enter the festival circuit, but when I asked whether or not they would consider going back to their roots and performing at Warped Tour, Kyle shied away. "We've been approached about it before, and while we have respect for that world, it's not really where we're at any more".
They have big hopes for their new single "Oh My Dear Lord" and they're excited to see where it's going to take them in the future. If you haven't already, go check out the new song and get ready for it to become one of your new favorites.
