As The Hunna unleash their self-titled fourth album, frontman Ryan Potter explains every song on the record – from the sweet to the stormy…
The members of The Hunna have had a lot to get off their chests. They’ve seen the worst sides of the music industry first-hand, enduring a range of troubles from their label (which led to lawyers getting involved) and the push and pull of management whose vision for their music didn’t quite align with theirs. On top of this, their last record, I’d Rather Die Than Let You In, was released smack bang in the middle of the pandemic, affording them little opportunity to give the record the live celebration it deserved.
It's no surprise then, that on their fourth album, they’ve got a few choice words for the industry, taking swipes at the avaricious men in suits (Trash) and the cliquey cool kids alike (You Can’t Sit With Us) with sharp defiance. However, they refuse to be consumed by bitterness, instead taking pride in their ability to weather the storm.
Frontman Ryan Potter talks us through each track on their self-titled record…
“Over the years, we’ve definitely felt like we’ve come through a bit of a storm. We wanted to portray the beginning of the album [as] almost [continuing] on from the third album, which has a lot more anger to it, and then [it] takes us into this new chapter for the band.”
“We’ve been through quite a lot in the music industry in terms of our management and label situation. We wanted to explain how we feel about that and the pressures that are put on artists to make them feel like if they don’t do a certain thing or in a certain way, then they won’t be heard or no one’s going to care.”
“This was one that we wrote during the COVID period. It’s a song about being pent up and just needing one night of debauchery, letting loose and just not giving a shit.”
“We’ve been through a lot, we’ve lost quite a few people in our family over the years. This is one that’s like, ‘I hope someday we can outrun those things, and get back to feeling ourselves again.’”
“This was an angsty one. During COVID, there was a lot of time to overthink and be in your mind a lot, which I struggle with anyway. You go round and round in circles and it can mess you up.”
“It’s more of a hopeful song, about when you have a dream, and then trying to take the steps in order to get to that place. It’s just a powerful one, musically.”
“We just wanted an up-tempo one for shows that people were just going to jump around and go crazy to. It’s definitely got a throwback sound to me as well.”
“Again, this was a COVID-written song. It’s got its own little vibe about it, it’s a little bit different to the others, but at the end, it really kicks off. It’s almost one of the sweeter ones in the album.”
“It’s one about my relationship with my girlfriend and trying to be there for each other in tough times. We told Gil [Norton, producer] about this song, and I could really hear Charlie [Simpson’s] voice on it, working really well with mine. Then Charlie called Gil one day, and it happened from there.”
“We’ve met a lot of amazing artists within the industry, but over the years, some people have made their minds up about us without really getting to know us. It’s about the cool kids who think they’re too cool for everyone else.”
“Some guy had messaged me saying I had basically taken his girlfriend from him. It turned out that his girlfriend had tried to make him jealous by saying she had hooked up with me. It’s just saying to her or to anyone really that you don’t need to use me or other people to get your own back.”
“It’s a very honest song, [about] whenever something is going the right way, you’re on edge, feeling like something’s going to derail it. I think a lot of people feel like that from time to time.”
“It starts off exactly as the title says, quite nice and chilled, and then it explodes. It’s almost like a reflection song, looking back on what we’ve done the last few years and where we’re headed next.”
Pick up a signed copy of The Hunna’s new self-titled album and handwritten lyric sheet right here!
