“I think of Public Opinion as a rock and roll band, straight up,” asserts vocalist Kevin Hart when asked how he’d describe the Denver-based band’s sound, but he also observes that “people can sometimes react to our band the same way they’d react to a hardcore band, whether it be stage diving or moshing or what have you.” Maybe that’s because, while Public Opinion isn’t sonically a hardcore band, they do share the same authenticity and depth of spirit hardcore aspires to, along with the fact that the members are influenced by and have deep connections to the hardcore community, as well.
The band’s debut full length album, Painted On Smile, co-produced by Ian Patrick Shelton (Regional Justice Center, Militarie Gun) and Taylor Young (God’s Hate, Twitching Tongues, The Pit Studios), will drop everywhere this Friday, September 6th, on Convulse Records, and represents a mile-marker moment for both the band and vocalist Kevin Hart himself. “It’s feeling like I’m getting beyond my bullshit – whether that’s coming to terms with the loss of loved ones or getting sober and realizing I need to use the opportunity to grow.” More than simply a collection of songs, Painted On Smile is a sincere and complete effort that spans the band’s diversity of sound, from fully acoustic tracks to ferocious, fast riffs set to a pounding backbeat reminiscent of seventies punk and aughts rock. The album isn’t just rock and roll, it’s heart and soul poured out onto vinyl, catharsis incarnate.
I had the chance to talk with Kevin a little bit about the making of and inspiration behind their new album, the band’s journey so far, and how he found himself by getting out of his comfort zone. Enjoy the interview and make sure to check out Painted On Smile, streaming everywhere Friday, September 6th and available on limited edition vinyl through Convulse Records!
Photos by: Derek Rathbun
To get us started, could you introduce the band and members? Where are you from and how long have you been playing together?
My name is Kevin and I sing in the band. We’ve got a sort of collection of folks who perform different instruments depending on the situation, but, in short, the band is: Myself, Kevin J, Brent, Sebastian, Austin, Devan, and Eli. Most of us live in the greater Denver metro area, but two of us live outside of Seattle and will fly in for shows/tours/recording when need be.
In the past you’ve called Public Opinion “either the surprisingly poppy band on the hardcore show or the surprisingly aggressive band on the indie rock show,” is there a genre that feels like home for you? How would you describe your sound for anyone who hasn’t heard Public Opinion before?
I think of Public Opinion as a rock and roll band, straight up. There’s a big push to make things that don’t sound like traditional hardcore into the hardcore landscape because people can sometimes react to our band the same way they’d react to a hardcore band, whether it be stage diving or moshing or what have you. I don’t think there’s anything sonically about the band that would lead you to think we are a hardcore band beyond who our friends are and who we play shows with, but because some of us grew up around punk and hardcore it gets thrown on us often. Being on Convulse Records also pushes the narrative in that direction where people who haven’t heard us before will assume we’re an aggressive, fast hardcore band.
What would you say are some primary musical influences on the band? Do you all have similar musical taste or is there a diversity of sounds influencing different members?
I believe there’s a pretty broad taste in the band and, as a result, we often find either common ground on new bands or we find something ourselves by adding some of A and some of B together. The big ones for myself would be early 00’s garage revival bands like The Strokes, The Hives, and Bloc Party, while still celebrating bands like Rival Schools or some of the earlier Run For Cover output.
You have a brand new record, Painted On Smile, coming out September 6th on Convulse Records. This will be your debut full length release. Can you tell us a little bit about the creation of the album? Was there a very specific, intentional process behind the writing of the album or is it a collection of songs that have come together over time but didn’t start out as being necessarily related? Was there a concept or theme in mind when you wrote the album?
I think the record has a lot of different subject matter and trajectory, but I would also be able to say that, in summation, it’s feeling like I’m getting beyond my bullshit – whether that’s coming to terms with the loss of loved ones or getting sober and realizing I need to use the opportunity to grow. For writing the instruments, I was challenged by my friend Ian, who produced our last few records for us, to just straight up try new things. I didn’t want to go too far out and lose what made the band, but he was wildly reassuring that if I wrote it and sang on it, it would still feel like Public Opinion in its DNA. I very explicitly went to the practice space with the intention of writing an album and not just a collection of songs, and I think we succeeded at that. Some of the more 90’s alt influence can be heard in tracks like “Some Don’t,” but, more than that, it can be noticed in the fact the album isn’t all the same. There’s two very acoustic guitar heavy tracks intentionally, and that’s to make it feel like a complete work.
Painted On Smile is loaded with raw, confessional tracks full of introspection and self analysis. Whether delving into topics like struggling with mental health on “Stethoscope” or battling explosive anger on “Hothead,” each track seems to be an opportunity for exorcism through examination. Do you want to share any insight into what inspired your writing on the album?
I think having to sit down and write songs about what’s floating in my head was wildly cathartic for me. A friend of mine recently mentioned to me that sometimes he doesn’t know what his songs are about until years later. I’m not sure about the years later part, but after writing and recording these songs and hearing them back, I’m starting to notice even more in the lyrics I wrote. A lot of the early PO material dealt with being angry at someone, while this record is more angry at myself. Two of the more sensitive songs deal with the passing of loved ones, one being my mother who I had a rollercoaster of a relationship with. I’m pretty glad I was able to start to make peace with it all through music.
Ian Patrick Shelton (Militarie Gun, Regional Justice Center) and Taylor Young (God’s Hate, Twitching Tongues, The Pit Studio, and more) co-produced Painted On Smile, and you have worked with both of them in the past on previous recordings. How did you originally connect with Ian and Taylor? What made them the right choice to co-produce the album?
I think I first met Ian when I was 16 or so, so I’ve known him forever. When I first moved to Seattle five years later and started seeing him at shows all the time, we eventually just started talking about music and haven’t really stopped since. We worked together on an RJC (Regional Justice Center) 7” that I released for him a handful of years ago now. Ian and I send each other demos pretty frequently, so he’s along for the ride from the jump. I flew to LA to make iPhone demos of what became a cassette release early in the band’s life on Convulse and he’s been involved ever since. I knew that Ian had done a few records with Taylor in both RJC and Militarie Gun, as well as the two co-producing the MSPAINT record. I knew Taylor was capable of capturing sounds and that Ian would push me to my best performance, so it seemed like a no-brainer.
What was the recording process for Painted On Smile like? You made the trip out to LA to record with Taylor at The Pit, what was that experience like? Have you recorded at The Pit before?
Devan and I flew out to record the “Heaven Sent”/“Dry Clean Only” single in January of ‘23, just a few months before we went back to record the full album. None of us had ever worked with Taylor before. On the first trip out, I was really quite nervous, especially knowing how far outside of Taylor’s most notable work we were. It turned out to be an awesome experience, and Taylor is funny and cool enough that he made everyone feel at ease. In typical Public Opinion fashion, all of us made our way to LA on separate flights and created a logistical nightmare for ourselves, but thankfully the session itself turned out awesome. I stayed a couple extra days after the other boys went home to finish things up, but I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
In keeping with your previous EPs and singles, Painted On Smile is being released on Convulse Records, an awesome, independent label out of Denver who have put out incredible music from MS Paint, Destiny Bond, Gumm, Dazy, Candy Apple and many, many more. How did you end up working with Convulse and what has that experience been like?
When I was in LA doing demos of what would become “Pay No Mind,” I got asked by Ian to play bass in a project called S.W.A.T. with him, Pat Kindlon, Spenser Granese, and Mac Miller. That band’s demo wound up coming out as a co-release on Convulse, and, during that process, Ian had put in a good word for me. Adam liked the songs, we had a phone call, and then when I moved to Denver we started working together more closely.
Public Opinion is based in Denver, Colorado – what’s going on in the Denver scene these days? There seems to be a lot of great bands like Destiny Bond, Candy Apple, and Time X Heist emerging from that scene along with yourselves.
Denver seems to always be cooking in many different directions. Candy Apple and Direct Threat both have new, awesome records out. American Culture is an indie rock band on Convulse who just put out a very good LP. Destiny Bond is on tour forever, Time X Heist is going back to Europe soon, I believe. Just everyone working hard and trying to make their way through.
With the new album out September 6th, do you have any plans for shows or touring in the near future?
Yes, absolutely. We’re doing a week of shows through the midwest in mid-September to celebrate the release of the record. We will also be announcing shortly a longer trip through the east coast in November, more details on that soon. Additionally, we have home shows coming up with High Vis and Direct Threat on October 5th in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as a show with Gel, MSPAINT, Destiny Bond, and The Mall in Denver on October 13th.
What are some bands or releases that you’re listening to lately?
Discern – Referee
White Reaper / Spiritual Cramp – Split
No Guard – War Over Me
Desertshore – Drawing Of Threes
Praise – Coming Up For Air
Drug Church – Prude
Anything we missed that you want to share or shout outs you want to give to close out the interview?
Thank you for your time!
