AUSSIE FEATURE: Endless Heights

Endless Heights are a band that stands out from the pack. Their sound, a mix punk and hardcore with melodic tendencies, has seen them distorting genre boundaries on records and in the live setting for a number of years.

Last year, the group released debut full-length effort 'New Bloom' earning a regarded and well-received response. The album was admired by a wide range of music lovers, earning them the tenth spot on Killyourstereo.com’s 2013 Australian Album of the Year poll.

"It’s so fulfilling to see people enjoy your work," guitarist Jem Siow tells us in an exclusive interview.

"We put so much into that record as it was our first one and we put it off for awhile as we wanted it to be just right. There were a lot of people who were listening to us who really liked it and then there were people who were brought onto [our fan base] because of the record."

[You can read our 80/100 review here.]

‘New Bloom’ is an interesting name for an album but it is one that holds a significant meaning amongst the members as Siow explains.

"Joel [Martorana, vocals] writes the lyrics and he always has. But we started the band in high school so I can relate to Joel pretty well. It represents us at the stage in our lives in this band. It was a turning point for us where in every year and in everything we do, we realised what we want, what we don't want and 'New Bloom’ was us realising that this was our dream. This was the direction we wanted to go as people musically and in our lifestyles. It was us putting our foot down and saying that this was the change we want to make."

New Bloom 2013 pic.twitter.com/SofUW4l7wU

— Endless Heights (@endlessheights) September 23, 2013

"I know Joel has a lyric where it says, 'Change the culture you condemn'. And that's basically saying that you shouldn't complain and do nothing but actively go out and influence your life in a way you want it to be. That's what 'New Bloom' is; a change in our lives."

The band is set to play a series of shows with one of Australia’s leading acts right now; In Hearts Wake. Endless Heights will perform to sold out venues across the country, delivering their energetic tracks and presence – the group is excited about the prospect.

"Heaps excited!" Siow says with obvious enthusiasm. "We've done some regional shows with In Hearts Wake and Norhtlane where we first met them and they were some of the biggest shows we've done. But this tour is a bit different in terms of the crowd and our sound so it's good to be able to play to new people."

Although the band is prepared to take to the stage and show local audiences their solid live traits, there was still a sense of uncertainty when the offer was originally presented.

"It was just awesome to be asked as we're friends with all the guys and we've toured with them before, so it was just humbling to be asked. But at the same time, we had to stop and think about," Siow states.

"It's strange for us to play shows in Australia especially because certain bands play to certain crowds. Hardcore bands play hardcore shows, metalcore bands play hardcore shows [and so on]; whereas we just play to whatever. So with the line-up of the tour, we had to really stop and think about it for five minutes. Then we wondered what we were doing and said yes! Of course it's going to be awesome!" the guitarist laughs.

We are joining @INHEARTSWAKE, @BEINGASANOCEAN, @DreamonDreamer1 and @sierra_hc for the #Earthwalker tour this June. pic.twitter.com/ZyVabBfEbL

— Endless Heights (@endlessheights) April 8, 2014

It's safe to say that many punters are glad that group accepted the offer. Endless Heights’ sound has stretched across audiences and delved into the ears of many listeners; all of different backgrounds and preferences. This has made Endless Heights a prominent act as of late while allowing them to avoid conforming to a specific scene.

Siow gives us his two cents on where he actually sees the band in the music scene.

"I see Endless Heights as a melodic-hardcore band. We all listen to different types of music and we see ourselves as fundamentally a hardcore band. We have hardcore ethics and our friends mostly play in hardcore bands. With that being said, we all listen to different kinds of music so we’re pretty open-minded, which gives us a few crossover elements. I like that as it's allowed us to play all different kinds of shows like some pop-rock stuff with bands like Luca Brasi and then turn around and tour with In Hearts Wake."

With so many bands dropping on and off the map nowadays, it's often rare to find a group that sticks it out through the long drives, low pay and hard times after many years. As Siow puts it, sometimes it takes something extraordinary to keep a band together.

"If Endless Heights is still together in five years then something almost phenomenal would have happened for us to still be together. With the band, I know we all have goals that we want to achieve and it seems every six months or a year we're able to tick things off.”

“We wanted to release an album, we want to play this venue, go on this tour or play with this band and we're always ticking those things off. That's a very cool thing because I'm twenty-one and the other guys in the band are around the same age so to be doing all this stuff is really awesome. So if were still together in five years, then we would have done everything on the list but found more things to do and we're sustainable. If we're not, then we would have done everything we possibly could have."

Main photo credit: georgiasassenfeld.com.au

Endless Heights play all dates of the Earthwalker Tour except for Western Australia, be sure to head out early and see the band do what they do best; play honest and passionate music.

IN HEARTS WAKE

EARTHWALKER NATIONAL TOUR

JUNE 2014

with guests Dream On Dreamer, Being As An Ocean (USA), Endless Heights and Sierra

Wednesday 4th June - YMCA HQ, Perth WA (AA) *

Thursday 5th June - Amplifier Bar, Perth WA (18 ) *

Friday 6th June - Fowlers Live, Adelaide SA (Lic/AA)

Sunday 8th June - Arrow on Swanston, Melbourne VIC (AA)

Wednesday 11th June - Zierholz, Canberra ACT (18 )

Thursday 12th June - Small Ballroom, Newcastle NSW (18 )

Friday 13th June - Bald Faced Stag, Sydney NSW (18 )

Saturday 14th June - Bald Faced Stag, Sydney NSW (AA)

Sunday 15th June - The Tempo Hotel, Brisbane QLD (18 )

*Endless Heights not appearing in Western Australia

Listen and buy ‘New Bloom’ below: