This Friday (29th), Brooklyn’s Glass Lungs’ full-length album Impermanence will arrive. For those who enjoy a mix of indie, post-rock, punk and more, would definitely want to give this record a spin. We caught up with vocalist Chad Henson to learn more about the group, their goals, forming bands on Tinder, and more.
Can you explain how Glass Lungs was formed?
Alex, Bill and Nick already had something in the works long before I joined but were still searching for a singer. I think it was in the Fall of 2015. I had posted something I’d recorded to Craigslist and Alex found me on there. The rest, as they say, is history. I kind of wish we had a cooler origin story.
I have this romanticized scenario in my head of how bands used to form back in the day. A crazy long haired dude would just walk into some cool smoke-filled rock bar and stroll up to another crazy long haired dude.
“Ey, you play guitar?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
And that’s how Led Zeppelin was formed.
But those days are gone. Now we form bands on Tinder.
How long did it take to finish Impermanence and how was the overall writing process?
My memory is horrible, but if I had to guess, I’d say a little over a year. We tossed around a bunch of ideas. Initially we wanted to do something more story driven, like a concept album, but ultimately decided to scrap it. But there are still some elements we kept instrumentally. A couple of the songs have been around since the creation of the band, though they’ve changed quite a bit since then.
The writing process was fairly simple. We’d jam something at practice and then I’d secret myself away to my troll cave and write for a couple weeks. Then we’d just e-mail our thoughts back and forth until we all decided the songs were as good as they could be. And then we went into the studio and changed some more shit. Haha.
Can you describe the lyric themes of the album?
On the whole it’s basically just about the finite nature of things. Emotions, relationships, life. Reconciling, fighting against it, mourning it. All of that. It actually wasn’t until I wrote the lyrics for the title track that I finally realized what the album was all about. What ties it all together. We’re the only animal on this planet that knows it’s going to end. That everything we experience has an expiration date. At times, that’s extremely disconcerting and scary as shit, but also beautifully poetic. I wanted to capture all of that.
Where do you see Glass Lungs in say, five years from now?
I can see us definitely exploring different sounds, experimenting, but constantly working to improve. I hope that what we create will have found an audience that appreciates and relates to it. It would be great if we could be playing to crowds of people who find something positive in what we do. I want to entertain, sure, but ideally I want to leave the world a better place than how I found it, so as long as I can do that, I’ll be happy. I’d like to make music for the rest of my life, and I’m sure everyone else in the band feels the same.
If you could choose, who would you tour with?
I’m a huge Circa Survive fanboy, so they’re at the top of the list. They’re one of the main reasons I’m involved in music. I remember seeing them play for the first time when I was around 16 or 17 and I was absolutely blown away. If we ever had the opportunity to share the stage with them, I’d probably pass out from excitement. But there’s a long list of bands I’d love to play with. Too many to name, really.
What are your musical influences?
Circa, for one. Haha. But honestly, vocally my influences are all over the place. Obviously I listen to a lot of stuff that’s kind of within our genre, but I also love me some Lady Gaga and Adele. I keep trying to get the band to cover one of their songs, but, uh…I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Kind of a bummer.
Sonically we’re influenced by a ton of bands. I’m sure every guy in Glass Lungs could list off like 50 of them each. Stuff like Emarosa, Pianos Become the Teeth, Harvard. And many more.
Are there any future plans for Glass Lungs that you can reveal to us?
Well, we have the album coming out June 29th, and beyond that, just a lot of touring. And we’re writing new stuff as well, so be on the lookout for that in the not too distant future.
What advice do you have for other musicians who are starting a career in music?
I think patience and humility are extremely important. Never think that you are owed something, or that you are too good to improve your craft. Being successful in this industry is a bit of a crapshoot, and luck does play somewhat of a role, but you’re only hurting your own chances if you believe that success should come right this minute, or that you’re entitled to some certain outcome because you’re just “that damn good”. There are a lot of lessons that I’m still learning. Also, don’t be a dick. Just in general.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Check out the album, everybody. Maybe come to a show. Dance around. Have fun with some people. Buy me a burrito. Or don’t. It’s up to you.
Oh — and Hi, Mom.
