How Vintage Trouble found a refreshed sound for new album ‘Heavy Hymnal’

In 2010, a new band began jamming in Venice Beach, later moving to Laurel Canyon to work on their own sound, a mix of retro funk, rock, soul, rhythm & blues. Launched by singer Ty Taylor and guitarist Nalle Colt, Vintage Trouble added Rick Barrio Dill on bass and Richard Danielson on drums and soon found a following. 

The band’s live energy fueled their rise and soon they were opening for Lenny Kravitz, Queen’s Brian May and The Who. But all that touring meant that after their debut album, “Bomb Shelter Sessions,” in 2011, recording often took a backseat. Their second album, “1 Hopeful Rd.,” took four years to release and the third, “Juke Joint Gems,” took another six, arriving in 2021 to give their fans something to get them through the pandemic – it featured material that had been meant for an earlier album that had gotten shelved. 

Being stuck at home in Los Angeles during lockdown gave the band a chance to focus on their recording career for the first time. Unable to gather in a studio, everyone recorded their own parts at home, which helps give the album, “Heavy Hymnal” (June 23), a more textured sound than early Vintage Trouble. 

Still, that vintage sound is still there. “We wanted to make sure that even though we were doing this new record in a different style that we didn’t lose our rowdiness,” Taylor says.

The garrulous Taylor and Colt spoke about the album by video recently, each from their own homes. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Q. On first listen, this album sounds fuller, crisper and brighter than your past albums. Would you agree?

Taylor: So that means the last albums were thin, dull and dark? (Laughs) 

Colt: This record was made quite differently because it was made during the pandemic. We met our producer, Chris Seefried, right before we started. And we individually made our own recording studios and sent him our tracks. 

Before, we always went in with a vision of us being a live band. When Don Was produced us, he said, “I want to capture that energy of you guys just playing.” This time, I had to do my guitars by myself.

Taylor: We could each be scientific about it and fine-tune everything, without losing our feel as individuals. So it’s crisper because there’s no extra sound from the other instruments bleeding in. 

And Chris is really into soundscapes. The crispness comes because for the first time, we were really thinking about sonic real estate. That’ll be the name of my new band, Sonic Real Estate. 

Q. That makes sense because it feels like these songs have more layers in the production.

Taylor: There have layers on other records but the difference now is that you hear each one. I’m a fan of the Phil Spector Wall of Sound – there’s something really beautiful about that – but there’s also something beautiful about hearing what everything is doing on this album, where you hear the counterpoints.

Colt: When we play the new songs live, we’re playing in a more organized way now. 

Taylor: It’s arranged so much on this record that we could stand still live and the music would still dance. That takes some getting used to. Although when I look back on our first performances, I feel like I didn’t trust the organization and I need to do it more. You get used to bashing things out live. One thing I like that the lyricist did – I’m the lyricist – is that I concentrated a lot on inside rhymes within each line. Recording it, I gave each syllable that room but live I forgot all about that.

Q. Are you forever changed, like so many office workers, by working from home?

Colt: It’s an album made in our PJs.

Taylor: Did you read Rick Rubin’s “The Creative Act”? It talks about how no matter what kind of system you have for creating, it’s your responsibility as an artist to try something different. You might find something new.

Colt: Everything during the pandemic was such a great education. We really honed in on learning you can do something in a small environment. And Chris really nourished the tracks we sent him and found a place for each. 

Taylor: There’s something really lovely about being at home. You can do a little bit, drink some coffee, come back, dance, do it, cry, do it. You’re able to fine-tune and feel the details of what you want to put in. In the studio, with other people waiting, you end up settling. And there’s a lot of hours we weren’t traveling or packing up. 

Q. Will you go back to the office?

Taylor: Of course, but there might be times where you play something in the studio and then say everyone go home and record your part. 

Colt: There’s something beautiful about being in the room together and playing. Even when we play live to record next, with us all in a room together we wouldn’t get rid of what we learned on this album. 

Q. What are the themes you’re exploring lyrically?

Taylor: We released one single, “Outside In” at the top of the pandemic, which was about how we’re used to dealing with our outside energy and now we’re stuck inside. 

On the album, you can hear what the last few years of my life were about. The theme is the life lived during the pandemic. There are a couple of songs that people think are love songs or breakup songs but I didn’t have that many lovers during that time period so the lyrics might have been me talking to one of my bandmates. Nalle is now saying, “What song is about me?”

Q. Do you think the sound of this album is more commercial or accessible for listeners?

Taylor: I’ve changed from thinking about songs being commercial to thinking about how we make music for a reason. The world is going through a lot of turmoil and so the more people you can reach with your music, the more you can do.  It’s not about being on the top of the chart but if I can share what makes me get up and think about life every day, it’s helping heal the world.