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Let’s be honest: the world is a mess lately. But on their sophomore record, Tiny Mirrors<\/em>, San Francisco-based indie pop duo\u00a0The New Up<\/a>\u00a0find plenty of ways to channel the negativity into something positive. Since fatefully meeting at a music festival, Noah Reid and ES Pitcher have self-released three EPs and one full-length, but Tiny Mirrors<\/em> is their first record to reflect both the\u00a0unstable political climate and sweeping personal changes, including the birth of their daughter. Any time an artist sets out to create new work, they are expected to come out on the other side completely changed, but\u00a0Tiny Mirrors<\/em>\u00a0takes that to extremes.<\/p>\n

A little bit grungy and dark at times, the album\u00a0is a perfect reflection of both turmoil and hope. No matter where you live, there’s a palpable tension in the air lately,\u00a0but there have also been acts of resistance; when The New Up ask “Do you think we should let it all go, forget about the things that we can’t change?”\u00a0on “Almost Human,” it’s followed by the warning, “We’ll forget about the things that we could.” Lead single “Future is Now” is all about finding a way forward, backed by an inexorable beat. Music can be a powerful tool to help articulate our feelings and emotions\u00a0when\u00a0we find ourselves unable to do so, and that’s exactly what this album does.<\/p>\n

What was some of the inspiration behind Tiny Mirrors<\/em>? <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

In some ways we were just writing about our experiences and what we were seeing around us on a day to day basis in our own lives. But quite honestly, I think there was a part of us that was looking around ourselves and reading the writing on the wall about where the human race is headed, and we felt compelled to speak about it through our music. A funny thing happened as we got deep into the writing and producing process, though: we realized we also wanted to give people a reality check that they are the ones who are in control of their own lives, and that in order to keep their worst fears from happening they have to remember to exercise that control and not continue to be apathetic in the face of imminent threats. This was all before the election recently, of course, so after this whole alternate universe became a reality, we realized that our music was unfortunately all the more timely. But it was the desire to create a soundtrack for the range of emotions that we experience from being alive in this day and age that inspired us to make this album and give listeners something they could use every day to remind them that they are not alone in feeling alone.<\/p>\n

What does this album mean to you, both collectively as a band and on personal levels?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a band it means incredible growth in every way. Musically, stylistically, lyrically, sonically, conceptually, and from a production and songwriting standpoint, every aspect of the band and the music has grown immensely. To us, it feels like the growth that happens between a 12 year old and a 17 year old, where you start to look at the person differently and then one day you see them and you think to yourself, \u201cWow, you\u2019re kind of like an adult now.\u201d The music really means something deeper to the band, and we really feel like we have a message and that we\u2019re connecting with listeners in a way that just wouldn\u2019t have been possible for us in the past.<\/p>\n

Personally, this album represents a metamorphosis. While recording it there were births, deaths, political turmoil, unfathomable suffering and pain, unspeakable beauty, and a shit ton of self-reflection and self-improvement and shedding of things that weren\u2019t helping us achieve our goals. If there weren\u2019t some underlying solid foundations, one could almost say that we\u2019re entirely different people from when we started to record the album. Whether it was the writing and recording of the album or whether that was just something that came out of the process, it has been a downright transformative time in our personal lives.<\/p>\n

I saw that you had some personal ups and downs in the year while you were creating Tiny Mirrors<\/em>. How does it feel to reflect back on that time now that your album is set to release soon?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty crazy. Looking back, it\u2019s almost unbelievable how high the highs were and how low the lows were. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re manic depressives or anything, but life just has a way of taking you on a rollercoaster ride sometimes and all you can do is try to hold on as tight as you can and not get thrown off out into the wilderness. Ironically, it seems like since those times, things have been thrown even more into turmoil. Thinking back to how we felt then and how things are now is a real gut check. There\u2019s an almost palpable sense of uncertainty that\u2019s so thick you could almost reach out and touch it. As people who are pretty steadfast in our sense of morality and solid in our ability to not be brainwashed, it\u2019s crazy to think about how crazy we thought things were then, but then to look at things now and see how the truth has been twisted into an unrecognizable pile of garbage. It just reminds us that we can never be complacent; we can never think that things are in a good place and that we can sit back and let the world go silently in the direction of unity. That reality never existed, the only difference is that now we all know that we must always stay vigilant. I think that\u2019s what reflecting on the process now most reminds us of.<\/p>\n