After 8 years as a band, Fitz and The Tantrums is ready to define their sound:
In June, Fitz and The Tantrums released their third studio album. “Fitz and The Tantrums” turns over a new leaf for the band that was previously known for its soul, indie, and alt-rock: now, the group has streamlined their sound. They brought in writers and producers that work with Lorde, Panic! At The Disco, and Sia to focus their ideas and change their direction. “Fitz and The Tantrums” is a playful, energetic LP that listeners can’t help but move to.
James King, instrumentalist for Fitz and The Tantrums, took time off from touring to talk to The Charger Bulletin about the album and their upcoming show in Wallingford, CT:
Q: You have four instrumentalists playing at once. How do you play off of each other?
A: I primarily play sax, a lot of keyboard, backup vocals, guitar—a lot of different stuff falls on me. There’s no full-time guitar player. I play into the guitar and complement bass—I was initially just playing sax on the first record.
Q: You’ve really embraced the idea of being a “pop” band. Can you explain this?
A: Yeah, we have. We’re more pop than ever, but we’re indie pop. We have soul. Now, our radio audience and show audience is more diverse than ever… Our music has a lot of different connotations for different people.
Q: When working on “Fitz and The Tantrums” you collaborated with a bunch of really cool people. How did this help to reshape your sound?
A: We focused a lot on bringing in people who we wouldn’t have thought to collaborate with. Sam Hollander worked with us on “Handclap” and everyone is really happy with how it came out. You have to be open to outside input:
Q: The “Come Get Your Love” tour is already in progress. Do you have a favorite song from the album to perform live? Is there a fan favorite?
A: I love them all, but if I had to choose one I guess it would be “Complicated”. It has great percussion, cool bells and whistles.
Q: The “Roll Up” music video is nowhere near the traditional music video. Where did the inspiration come from?
A: We were banging our heads against a wall for a concept and we wanted go outside of the box. Fitz has a friend with an animation studio out of Iowa. The video is a lighthearted play on the song and the release was right around Halloween, so the timing was great and the video is really fun:
Q: What do you want to tell fans and people who are thinking about attending one of your shows?
A: Just expect to get crazy! You can actually feel like you’re at a live show— we don’t just duplicate the album. We pride ourselves on that.
Buy tickets to see Fitz and The Tantrums at the Dome at the Oakdale Theatre here. Listen to “Fitz and The Tantrums” on Spotify and Apple Music.
