Knocked Loose premiere behind-the-scenes look at new album, ‘Laugh Tracks’

Knocked Loose has been hard to slow down. The midwest hardcore/metalcore band has toured relentlessly since their first EP, Pop Culture, came out over two years ago. Since then, they’ve also put out a split with Damaged Goods and prepared their debut full-length, Laugh Tracks, including the single “Deadringer.” 

Due out September 16 on Pure Noise Records, Laugh Tracks is the same Knocked Loose with a fresh approach to writing music. Check out this Behind the Scenes video premiere in which the band talks about their roots and recording Laugh Tracks. Once you watch the video, read below for vocalist Bryan Garris’ take on the new record and constant touring. 

You can preorder Laugh Tracks here

Knocked Loose has been very active as far as releasing music goes. You put out Pop Culture in 2014, a split with Damaged Goods in 2015 and now Laugh Tracks has a September 16 release date. How do you keep up a pace like that while still touring? 

I’m not too sure how we have stayed this busy, we all just have the same mindset and didn’t turn down much in our earlier stages of touring. Our earlier releases were written at a computer in between drummers mainly by our guitar player, Isaac. He would just write any time he’s home, and he still does. With Laugh Tracks we wanted to take a different approach and write all together. So we took like a month or two off touring and would get together as much as possible to write. We eventually got bored of being home and started touring again and just wrote every chance we had in between tours for basically a year. 

Speaking of that hard pace, Knocked Loose has toured pretty extensively since Pop Culture came out. How hard is it to spend so much time on the road? Have you seen your fanbase growing as you pass through areas multiple times? 

Definitely seen our fan base grow, it’s been a wonderful couple of years. I’m very grateful for the attention we have right now, if that makes sense. But sometimes it gets difficult to tour so much between butting heads within the van, or just missing out on birthdays and other family-oriented things back home. Everyone at home understands, we are blessed with a fantastic support system. But I do miss my family, and my girlfriend. 

Laugh Tracks is a full album, Knocked Loose’s first. In what ways has the process of crafting a full-length album differed from the shorter releases you’ve done previously? 

Writing a full length album was something I never thought we would do. We used to joke and say that we can’t write a full length because no one wants to hear 11 songs that are just breakdowns. But we all knew that a new direction and somewhat a change of pace was necessary and the writing process was very organic. I’m very happy with these songs, in not just a song-to-song way, but together I think personally that it is a cohesive album. Our best material yet. 

How has Knocked Loose’s sound evolved in the year since the split with Damaged Goods was released? 

It has definitely changed. Writing the split was in this weird grey area in the band where we thought we knew what we wanted to sound like. It’s very heavy for the sake of being heavy, whereas our new material makes sense when it’s heavy. And we still try to make it entertaining when it’s not as heavy. A consistent goal within this band is to just be heavy. Whether you call us hardcore or metalcore, it’s up to you. But heavy is one thing we are for sure. 

Does Laugh Tracks follow any specific themes lyrically?

I wouldn’t say there’s a consistent theme. None of the songs directly tie into each other. But an underlying tone I wanted to convey was honesty. I will always be honest with my music lyrically. I write how I feel, for me. 

You’re on the road right now, as part of the Common Vision Tour with The Acacia Strain, Oceano, To The Wind and Culture Killer. What has the experience been like to be on tour with a few veteran bands (and fellow up-and-comers Culture Killer) of the heavy music scene? 

This tour has been great. It’s full of weird venues and it’s funny sometimes. We show up to shows and look around like “damn this might be shot.” And the shows are consistently bad ass every night. Definitely blessed to be apart of it. I can’t say enough how much I thoroughly enjoy Culture Killer as a band and as people. Love those guys. And The Acacia Strain as well, very nice guys. It’s been a learning experience for us touring with these guys, they’ve been a band for 15 years. We hang out every day. It’s awesome. 

Have you been playing songs from Laugh Tracks on tour? What’s the reaction been like, especially now that “Deadringer” is out? 

We play a couple honestly, we’ve been sneaking them into our set for a while now. We play “Oblivions Peak,” “Counting Worms” and, of course, “Deadringer.” The initial response to “Deadringer” on the Internet was insane! We had like 30,000 views first day. It’s been great to see how stoked people are for new stuff, and the people that have taken the time to learn the song. The response overall has been more than what we thought it would be, to say the least. 

The Common Vision Tour runs into mid-August. What’s next for Knocked Loose after that wraps up? 

After this tour we are home for little less than a month, then we hit the road with Stick To Your Guns, Stray From The Path and Expire. Very much looking forward to that tour. And after that we go to Europe for the first time ever with Counterparts, Expire and Landscapes. Very productive year for us!

  • Aug 2 – Crest Hill, IL – Bada Brew
  • Aug 3 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
  • Aug 4 – Louisville, KY – The New Vintage
  • Aug 5 – Nashville, TN – The End
  • Aug 6 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
  • Aug 7 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
  • Aug 8 – Wilmington, NC – Ziggy’s by the Sea
  • Aug 9 – Philadelphia, PA – The Voltage Lounge
  • Aug 10 – Amityville, NY – Revolution Bar and Music Hall
  • Aug 12 – Derry, NH – The UVH
  • Aug 13 – Providence, RI – Fete Music Hall
  • Sep 8 – Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
  • Sep 9 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
  • Sep 13 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
  • Sep 16 – Detroit, MI – The Shelter
  • Sep 17 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
  • Sep 19 – Howell, NJ – The Lab @ GameChangerWorld
  • Sep 20 – Worcester, MA – Palladium Upstairs
  • Sep 21 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
  • Sep 22 – Philadelphia, PA – The Voltage Lounge
  • Sep 23 – Richmond, VA – Canal Club
  • Sep 24 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
  • Sep 25 – St. Petersburg, FL – Local 662
  • Sep 28 – San Antonio, TX – Alamo City Music Hall
  • Sep 30 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theater
  • Oct 2 – Anaheim, CA – Chain Reaction
  • Nov 9 – Oberhausen, Germany – ResonanzWerk
  • Nov 23 – Prague, Czech Republic – Futurum
  • Nov 24 – Wien, Austria – Viper Room
  • Nov 25 – Munich, Germany – Backstage
  • Nov 26 – Aarau, Switzerland – Kiff
  • Nov 27 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof
  • Nov 28 – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patronaat
  • Nov 29 – Southampton, United Kingdom – Talking Heads
  • Nov 30 – Plymouth, United Kingdom – The Hub
  • Dec 1 – Cardiff, United Kingdom – Clwb Ifor Bach
  • Dec 2 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – The Cathouse
  • Dec 3 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Sound Control
  • Dec 4 – Huddersfield, United Kingdom – The Parish
  • Dec 5 – Colchester, United Kingdom – Owl Sanctuary
  • Dec 6 – London, United Kingdom – The Underworld Camden
  • Dec 7 – Hasselt, Belgium – Muziekodroom
  • Dec 8 – Hamburg, Germany – Logo
  • Dec 10 – Leipzig, Germany – Fesenkeller
  • Dec 11 – Berlin, Germany – Lido