The Plague Inside Your Head renews a genre, rejuvenates a band, and rearranges the idea of what a summer song is versus what a summer song can be.
TJ Redding of The Mighty Tortuga took some time to answer our questions about the band’s new album and the expansive journey – including friends, fun, pride, and self-reflection – to get there. As the band’s lyricist, he knows the ins-and-outs of this release. It’s friendly, he’s friendly, and the five-piece group feels approachable with their homegrown, Connecticut-based roots, and love of ‘mall emo’ sights and sounds.
There is a really cool nostalgia factor in the music you make, but the EP as a whole has a newness to it. If you guys had to put these songs in a certain decade or era of music, where would you fit it and what bands or albums would you throw into the mix with it?
Inspiration definitely comes from the late nineties through 2010s. We make music we like, pulling inspiration from bands we grew up listening to and any new releases we find super interesting. Some examples are Taking Back Sunday, Transit, Turnover, Bad Books, The 1975, and the list goes on and on. We don’t stick to a specific sound or genre in particular. I think it’s kind of just what we are into at that exact moment.
The Plague Inside Your Head is the title of this album and its meaning can go a hundred different directions. How did you come to name it this? And is there a reason there is no song named after it, as well? Because it could be a really poignant title track if it came to be.
We have always avoided naming a song the same as the record. We don’t want to draw anyone to a specific song. We put a lot of effort into creating the tracklisting and truly believe a good record hits differently when the songs are listened to in order. The record title, The Plague Inside Your Head, is actually a lyric from the single “Rearview” on the record. The lyrics in that song came from a true and honest take of a fallen relationship, in a moment of self-reflection and admittance.
Let’s talk the producer of The Plague Inside Your Head. We know who it is, but can you tell our readers who helped piece together these songs and how that partnership came about?
We connected with Fred through working on some music with him but it grew into something bigger after doing pre-production for some of the songs on the record. When he heard our last record, which we were looking to release at the time, Fred offered us to be on his record label Heading East Records. We went into the studio with him in June 2022 and made The Plague Inside Your Head as you hear it today. It was great being able to bounce ideas off of Fred and let him give his input to the songs. We have never used a producer before, so while it was a learning experience, we have never made something we are more proud of than this group of songs.
This will be your second summer in a row with a five-track EP release. Is there a reason for that or is it all coincidences? Do five songs just work for you? Is it a magic number? Are summertime bops and warm weather hits just your thing?
We like to keep it fresh. We are always a record ahead in the creation process and know that there is an anticipation for new music as it becomes more accessible worldwide. We are very hard working, but also love the craft and making new songs. There is a lot of strategic planning and it helps us create a sense of demand for the new EPs. No magic number, however five always feels like a good amount of songs to present the overall vision for the record. Summertime bops are the best kind of bops, and it always becomes easier for us to tour during the warmer months.
The alternative rock world has been on the up-and-up the last handful of years. How excited are you to be part of this new group of borderline emo, sort of garage rock performers?
We are so thankful to be surrounded by so many amazing and talented individuals and groups that create such incredible music. We love nothing more than playing with a band we have never met before and connecting with them and their music. Everyone in this scene is all about the love of the craft and making stuff that just makes them happy. The increasing desire for emo music gets us hyped because we know that people will like our music – all we need is for it to be heard. The best part about this scene is that fellow musicians are always sharing each other’s music with their friends and other bands they play with. It creates a blossoming community of networking, as well, with trading booking contacts and all that stuff. [I’m] really genuinely stoked on where the genre is headed and hope we can make some big moves with the release of this record.
THE NEW EP FROM THE MIGHTY TORTUGA IS OUT TODAY WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC!
