2020 marks the ten year anniversary of the release of ‘Passive Me, Aggressive You’, the debut album by The Naked and Famous and their introduction to the world led by the success of “Young Blood”. Ever-evolving, the band comprised of Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers, released their newest album, ‘Recover’ in July, which is an autobiographical record tackling themes of love and loss, life and death, fear and gratitude. The album’s title track is timely and fitting in light of the current pandemic, as it speaks to losing a loved one (inspired by the loss of Xayalith’s mother when she was a child), while the very real “(An)Aesthetic” was written by Powers about his near-death experience with blood poisoning. “A pandemic and subsequent recession is not an ideal time to release an album, but perhaps Recover is the musical message some people might appreciate right now. The album was anything but easy to make – it was fought-for. It’s about healing and resilience,” said Thom Powers about the record, adding “Some songs take a very sober look at mortality. The title track “Recover” reveals the grief Alisa still feels over the death of her mother (when she was only a child), and how that loss is re-punctuated each time she hits milestones in her life. Recover is an album about Alisa and I recovering ourselves both personally and artistically.”
Xayalith and Powers spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about their time in quarantine, how their approach towards creating music has changed, especially with the latest album and more. Check out the interview:
