Liam Edwards, vocalist with Bristolian pop punks Highlives, reflects on the inspiration behind his band’s forthcoming 5 track E.P Misguided Youth: “We’re often misguided through our younger years, and our lyrics reflect on that a lot, focussing on how it feels to see younger people go through the same situations, and having to make the same life choices that you once had to. It’s easy to become lost amongst the various situations that are thrown at you in life, and the decisions that you’re forced to make.” This contrast between both the hopefulness and challenges of youth greatly inform Highlives’ music, their effervescent pop punk shot through with melancholy. Here he delves into the creation of and meaning behind the artwork for the release…
The artist behind the Misguided Youth cover is Mark Bell. We came across his work through other bands in the pop-punk scene which he had worked with, such as Montrose and Not Today. He has a very unique touch and is very skilled creatively. We wanted to work with someone who would be comfortable with us throwing a load of crazy ideas at them, and would then be able to make something of it.
The lyrical content of the EP is what inspired the front cover. The songs touch on what it’s like to grow up in a society where you’re constantly surrounded by both negative and positive influences. Sometimes the line between good and bad, right and wrong can become blurred, causing people to become lost and that’s the concept which we have tried to portray through the artwork. The artwork features a young boy, face-on, walking down a pathway with a good environment on his one side, and a bad one on the other. The two very different landscapes represent the good and bad temptations in life, and the boy is stood right in-between them.
In the early stages of planning the artwork, Mark experimented with giving the character angel wings and a devil tail. This idea was however scrapped for the final version, as we felt it was very full-on and ultimately wanted the concept to be more subtle.
Highlives release EP ‘Misguided Youth’ on 11/12/15
Watch current single ‘Better Days’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mox5uVfrpD8
