American Ink have just released their latest masterpiece What I See, What People See, available via all digital outlets.

AmericanInk is an independent Boston-based pop-punk/alt-rock band composed of drummer Nick Fauza, guitarist Michael Romano, and bassist Aidan Crotty. 

AmericanInk somehow successfully manages to stay relatable while creating trendy, yet nostalgic, music”.  What I See, What People See, is the next chapter in the band’s catalog, which sees them creating music further on their own terms. Their latest single from the release, “Synecdoche,” is a perfect first glimpse into the world of AmericanInk. With swirling guitars, strong and shout-out-loud vocals, the track is filled with a hypnotic rhythm section that helps to set the tone for the further release.

No strangers to the music world, in 2018 their debut EP, Hand-Drawn Hearts, saw the band first starting to make waves. Their follow up, 2019’s Please Forget You Knew My Name, explored everything from hardcore punk to acoustic-driven balladry and included their most confessional, intimate lyrics at the time. In early 2021 the band released Up Next On...  which further brought their sound and vibrant energy into the spotlight. 

Fast forward to today; What I See, What People See showcases that theamount of sub-genres applicable to their sound just keeps growing. The release features a combination of upbeat, nostalgic pop-punk instrumentation and thoughtful lyricism. 

What I See, What People See willhave AmericanInkenticing you with their shredding riffs, exhilarating percussion, and hostile vocals – reviving the attitude and vigour of a sound which forges some monumental hits.

AmericanInk’s What I See, What People See is out now via all streaming platforms.

We sat down with American Ink for an exclusive interview below.

What can you share with readers about your latest release “What I See, What People See”?

Our latest release “What I See, What People See” without recency bias, is definitely the release of ours that we are  most proud of. As a trio of three with very different creative and driven musical minds, this album is so special to us because it’s a representation of what can come out of such equal and personal contributions put in different categories. This album is largely a combination of modern pop-punk, pop/rock, alternative rock, indie/rock, with hints of a wide spectrum with edge and balladry. It was created all in one place, in our home basement studio. Over the span of about 4 months, we were getting together to write/record/polish all of these songs, which is something we hope our readers can find interesting in relation to the creative process! 

How does this project compare with your other projects you had in the
past?

This is our 4th full project. Our first was our debut EP, ‘Hand-Drawn Hearts’, followed by our first full LP, ‘Please Forget You Knew My Name’, followed by our 2nd EP, ‘Up Next On…’.

This project has many similarities as well as many differences to our past projects. Most of the similarities are within the song-writing. There are a lot of similar song structure attributes that we have always went with since our first EP that we continue to use, such as the catchy and simple pop/punk structure in our song ‘Sleezer’ from Hand-Drawn Hearts, in relation to a song like ‘If You Wanna’ on our new album. We love to go back to our structural routes when our goal is to write an attention-grabbing tune like those two! In contrast though, there are many differences and displayed ways in which our music has evolved with this new project in comparison to the others. One of the main differences being the production. This new album definitely has the most mature and professional sounding production, which we feel is another tool that will let our music evolve into the best it can be! Our first two projects were very raw and sort of ‘meat and potatoes’ with just the instruments in a band. In the new album, there are plenty of experimental synths, layered guitars and vocals, many different drum sounds, bass effects, and much more.

What about this project makes you most proud?

We feel that what makes us the most proud about this project is probably not just the workload that we had put on ourselves with no additional assistance, but the manner in which we did it all ourselves! From start to finish, every lyric and riff of every song is a product of us three being productive together in our basement studio. Fully recorded/engineered, mixed/mastered, and produced by member Nick Fauza, everything about this album was a huge contributive effort from all 3 of us, which feels the best and fills us up with the most pride when we look back on it.

Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?

Our number one goal when we were creating this album is to create a project that can attract people to join our growing fanbase! Without good music, a fanbase won’t last. We always have the simple hope that people can sing along to our music, want to see us live, and become intrigued and excited by our new releases. We want to create music that people will actually add to their playlists. We want people to have our songs stuck in their head. We want people to remember our lyrics. I think that the main thing for us is the same as how it is for the artists WE are fans of. We want people to feel the same way that we feel about the music we love personally!

What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?

We feel that the inspiration to make music comes from merely the same feeling that we have for the artists we are fans of. When we go together to see shows ourselves, when we talk about new music from our idols, and all of the above, we just want to be a part of that joy and curiosity. We want to be on the other side of it, and we want to be the reason people love music! A lot of our motivation also definitely comes from the belief we have in ourselves. We feel super confident that we have what it takes to be a big artist, touring, connecting with fans, releasing better and better music as time goes, becoming part of peoples playlists and musical conversations, all of the above!

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown
– who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a
link so readers can check them out.

Hmmm. If we had to choose one artist to collaborate with, we would have to go with a band-favorite among us; The Frights! We’ve gone to a lot of The Frights shows together, covered their songs together before we wrote originals, and much more. We feel that the loyalty and joy of their fanbase is something similar to what we would want in ours, which gives us all the more fascination from them. Definitely one of our idols!

What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?

The last song I personally listened to was Come A Little Closer by Cage The Elephant. Cage The Elephant is definitely another band-favorite among us. Though we’d have to say our main favorite bands collectively are: Blink-182, Yellowcard, Greenday, The Frights, SWMRS, Car Seat Headrest, Weezer, and plenty more in the scene!

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

The best place to find us is definitely on our Instagram or our website! Everything is always up to date on both, and our instagram has weekly and sometimes daily posts for announcements regarding shows, music, publications, all of the above.

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareamericanink/

website: https://www.weareamericanink.com/

I really appreciate your time. Is there anything you’d like to share before
we sign off?

Keep streaming our new album, ‘What I See, What People See’! We’d love to see new people at our upcoming shows this summer! Check our website and instagram for dates and details! Many thanks to you all!