Writing from Arizona, Sam Douglas of Mallory Knox is in a tour bus; possibly not an uncommon place to be while on tour. Sure it sounds glamorous, but chances are a lot of the time you’ll end up somewhere between one sight and another, mostly seeing audiences and venues. What’s the view from the nearest window?
“I’m currently in my bunk somewhere between Orlando and Jacksonville, which unfortunately doesn’t have a window, much to my despair.”
Not that they’re complaining. Warped is one of alternative rock and punk’s most famous tours, a travelling carnival hitting as many of America’s states as it can and setting up in parking lots, fields and amphitheatres.
“It’s definitely a unique way of touring,” says Sam. “Each day is different which keeps it interesting. There are over 60 bands on this tour as well, which I don’t think happens anywhere else in the music world.”
Mallory Knox are the local lads that did good, and they’re well aware of how fortuitous a thing this is. One of the most recurrent themes throughout all their interviews, including this one, is how thankful they are to everyone who got them there. Named after Natural Born Killers’ murderous heroine, they’ve taken Juliette Lewis’s cult character all the way to the dizzying heights of the UK charts. (“We were nearly called Dorian Gray, but there was a cheesy Hollywood film coming out,” says Wikipedia).
‘We were nearly called Dorian Gray, but there was a cheesy Hollywood film coming out’
To say they’re unashamedly radio- friendly, as The Guardian were quick to observe, implies a calculated move. Within their electrically charged anthems there lives an honest love of pop music; both sides are equally sincere and equally accomplished. Along with their fellow Cantabrigians, Lonely The Brave (who were profiled in May’s Cambridge Sound), Mallory Knox are part of the reason that British rock still breathes.
“We sometimes have chats between ourselves,” says Sam. “When you sit back and take it in, it’s been an unbelievable journey. We are very thankful.”
When you’re in the middle of an Arizona desert playing to audiences who know your lyrics by heart – that’s what making it feels like. It must be very surreal.
“The best things are without a doubt the shows and seeing how much the songs you have written mean to someone else. We are getting to play places that we never thought we would even visit, and at venues in the UK on our upcoming tour that we never imagined we would play, let alone headline.
“The worst thing without a doubt is being homesick and missing your loved ones though. Family is everything at the end of the day, and leaving them and my girlfriend while I’m off around the world can be very hard. You just want them there with you.”
Chart climber Asymmetry is Mallory Knox’s second album and debuted at number 16, rubbing shoulders with the cult act Black Veil Brides and putting them within throwing distance of Taylor Swift. It’s also an incredibly personal album, that chronicles the members’ violent upheavals in their private lives over the last two years.
“It reflects perfectly what we were all going through at the time,” Sam explains. “Like everyone you have to overcome some personal struggles that can really affect you, but I’ve also had some amazing things happen to me in that time too. Personally I’m in a different place to where I was when we wrote that album.”
Avoiding the sophomore slump, Asymmetry refines the accomplished sound of their 2013 album Signals while allowing them to push forward into tender new territories – an audacious seven-minute epic, braver song structures and an emotionally unbridled, stadium-filling finale. It’s ambitious and inventive while still being catchy throughout; for want of a better word, it’s all incredibly real.
However big they get, I doubt Mallory Knox will ever forget who they are and where they come from. With a much- anticipated homecoming show on the horizon, we’ve got every reason to welcome them back. Any postcards you fancy dictating for folks back home?
“Yes, thank you for all your support… If you’ve bought our album, our merchandise or came to a show – we wouldn’t be where we are without you. Also up The U’s!”
:: Mallory Knox play Cambridge Junction on 30 September. Tickets £15 adv.
