Comeback Kid Singer - 'Trouble' EP Is Band Taking Leaps of Faith

Comeback Kid have returned with the hard-hitting new EP, Trouble, which serves as a bit of a break from the norm for the band. As frontman Adam Neufeld told Full Metal Jackie on her weekend radio show, this new collection of songs is a bit of some odds and ends where the band took some "leaps of faith" following particular influences rather than trying to have the music fit the construct of an album.

"We're kind of dipping our toes," says the singer, referring to the album as "a nice little in betweener."

Within the discussion, Neufeld speaks to how he connects onstage to more emotionally charged songs like "Disruption," gives us some insight on where the title for the single "Trouble in the Winner's Circle" comes from and he also shares his thoughts on the current state of hardcore music.

Check out more of the chat below.

It's Full Metal Jackie and we're very excited to have Comeback Kid frontman Andrew Neufeld back on the show. So the band has an absolute banger in this Trouble EP. Andrew, it was a fairly short turnaround since the last album. What sparked this new batch of songs?

Actually it was songs that we had been working on while we were working on our last full length, Heavy Steps. Some of them we didn't really get to the finish line with on recording or we wrote it and then we weren't really sure if it fit on the record. We kind of wanted to make the records more cohesive. So these batch of songs is maybe some songs where we took a couple leaps of faith. We're kind of dipping our toes.

The first single is called "Trouble in the Winner's Circle," and it's just a little bit more of like an alternate rock song. It's a hardcore Comeback Kid song. We kind of leaned into a couple different influences on this EP and we just kind of wanted to keep it separate from the full length in between records. And it's a nice little in betweener.

SharpTone

Let's talk about the new song, "Disruption." It's an absolute pit starter, and there's been talk of this song channeling some of your favorite influences. I'm picking out a bit of Nine Inch Nails of all things. What were you listening to and who inspired this high energy jam?

I would definitely say that there's that Nine Inch Nails bit in the song. We've kind of always been aware of that we're taking influences from, like, old AFI and stuff. I think on a song like this, we were kind of saying, "Oh yeah, well that sounds like that. That sounds like this."

I'm like let's lean into those influences because it's stuff that is just kind of fun to do and we have our own different take on it, so sometimes we'd be a little bit paranoid about that, but at the same time, I felt like it was appropriate to lean into some of those influences a little bit more and just satisfy ourselves and just do it.

Comeback Kid, "Disruption"

Andrew, we talked about "Disruption," and you've said that this is your call to arms, a track that helps get you through when all else seems to be crashing down around you. That's a very specific mindset and I'm sure came from a very emotionally charged moment. Is it difficult to recapture that spirit musically once the moment has passed? And how do you get yourself in that mode of aggression when preparing to go play live?

No matter what, I think that some of the deep lyrics that I've written for myself, I always can channel that, especially onstage, because you're giving so much emotion onstage. And I can usually channel that energy because I remember how that feels to write those kind of things.

As you say, it's a call to arms. It's almost like this chorus, when you stick your fist out with the fingers on top and a fist is a disruption. So it's kind of like that kind of thing. It's an old school kind of call to arms kind of bit.

Andrew, another great song on here is "Trouble in the Winner's Circle." Love the video, by the way. What is it about a public meltdown that just seems to enthrall us all? And why do you think it is that we love to tear things down once they've reached the top.

I stole that bit from a podcast that I used to like by Neal Brennan. He was a comedian and they had a segment, "Trouble in the Winner's Circle." I always loved listening to just public things going on in day to day life and celeb gossip and all that.

But that segment was pretty funny. It was just talking about these kind of super famous and people in the public eye and some funny meltdowns. So it's just kind of like a take on that - Trouble in the Winner's Circle.

Comeback Kid, "Trouble in the Winner's Circle"

Comeback Kid are being recognized by fans online for helping them get into hardcore. What was it that first drew you into this style of music and where do you feel that the state of hardcore is at in 2024?

What drew me in, I grew up on skate punk, like NOFX type stuff, Propagandhi, who's from our hometown, Winnipeg. That was a huge influence on us. Those are some of my first introductions into knowing more as a youth about human rights and animal rights and having some insightful thoughts that maybe I wouldn't have had without a band like those.

But with the hardcore stuff, I started hearing some more aggressive music and definitely was drawn into that and then just learning about what it all meant and the ethics behind it. And I just felt aligned with that and have been involved in that for most of my life.

So as far as hardcore right now, I think it's kind of incredible. Like post-Covid, a lot of bands are getting to the spotlight now and taking the genre to places where it's never really been before on such a large scale. And I'm really proud of those bands and friends of mine who've started these amazing labels that are just shining a light on hardcore music, more than it's ever really had before.

Thanks to Comeback Kid's Andrew Neufeld for the interview. The 'Trouble' EP is available now. Stay up to date with the band's activity and touring through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram and Spotify accounts. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie's weekend radio show here.