You guys have previously mentioned the mood of Coco Beware as being “dark and vibey,” but can you further elaborate? Many of your song titles hint at optimism (”Old Friend,” “Great Life,” and “Thankful”), but the music itself incorporates sunny melodies with haunting sounds and harmonies. Do you find that you have to be in a “darker” mood to record and play your music?
I don’t think “dark” moods in music necessarily need to be a byproduct of actually being in a dark mood at a given moment. Certain groups of people just exhibit certain tendencies when they’re in a room with one another, and this is what comes out when we’re playing. We actually tend to have a pretty great time when we make music, so it’s funny how that works.

I think at this point it’d be safe to say that Coco Beware is one of the most “melody” driven albums of the last year. Who/what inspired the sound of the album? Any particular subject matter for the album as a whole?
Matt’s approach to melody is one of my favorite things — I’m always excited to hear the things that come into, and then out of, Matt’s head. When it comes to the inspiration for the record, I don’t know if that can be mapped to any one thing specifically. I find that most of the time, whether you’re aware of it in the moment or not, songs tend to be a weird mirror of whatever is cooking in your lives at the time. Even if you think the words just appeared from the ether, or the sounds were just what you felt like playing that day. With a little distance that tends to be the case.