Leeds’ Default Mode Network are shapeshifters. Their 2022 Demo EP ‘Cosmic Joke’ is a collection of blues-inspired tracks that could draw comparisons to early King Gizzard.

And just two years later, the band’s roaring single ‘Weight of Gold’ sounds like the end of the world on downers. It’s sludgy and grungy and perfect. And now, Default Mode Network are back with the gorgeously psychedelic ‘Chin Up Chuck.’

We live in an era of reinterpretations and adaptations. Emerald Fennell’s new Wuthering Heights adaptation is turning heads in all different directions. Our social media feeds are littered with ads for “throwback” products – designed to bring the feeling of bygone eras into the modern world. With this new single, Default Mode Network pay homage to the 60s while still keeping their feet planted in the now.

Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the band used the same piano that brought songs like The Beatles’ ‘Fool On The Hill’ to life. On ‘Chin Up Chuck,’ the instrument enters like a ray of sunshine. After two and a half minutes of incredible swirling, swampy rock and roll, the clouds break and that piano feels like the first warm day of spring. It’s like a mini summer of love that fits perfectly in the center of a four-minute pop song.

Though Default Mode Network lean into a throwback sound, there’s an unmistakably modern sentiment here as well. The guitars are shimmery and dripping with phaser. The drums are spastic, dancing around the melody. It’s a 21st century fever dream disguised as 60s psychedelia revival number. And the real beauty of this song is that it takes us on a trip – we enter as individuals, we leave as part of the Network.

What was it like to record on that Challen piano at Abbey Road that has so much history?

Recording on the Challen piano was definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment, I’d heard that piano countless times on ‘A Day In The Life’ and ‘The Fool On The Hill’ in particular, so it was surreal to sit down in front of it and play those parts and be in the room with the sounds rather than hearing them through speakers. I had to have a nod to the iconic ending chord of ‘Sgt Peppers,’ as it’s one of the pianos used for that too… I recorded myself playing that same giant E Major chord on the piano and we have it reversed at the end of Chin Up Chuck, so it swells and builds up into Mrs So & So! Honestly, what’s even cooler than getting to play it is having it featured on a couple of my own songs.

How do you feel the band has grown sonically? To me, there’s such a clear distinction between your early work and what you’re making now.

The first demo EP I made was a proof of concept to be able to show to other musicians to try and find the right match for a rhythm section to join me. I wanted to show a recording of something and say ‘I wanna sound like this!’ and it definitely served that purpose as I ended up finding Jason & Aidan for drums and bass, who are perfect. The first EP we made was representative of the first few sessions jamming together, which was nearly 2 years ago now, so this 2nd EP has definitely allowed us to have some time to find our initial footing and then run with it. We’ve definitely embraced some weirdness with the writing which has made it feel more unique to us, whilst still being a composite of our influences.

What’s it like to be a guitar band in the 2020s? Do you feel like there’s a guitar revival happening now?

It’s hard for me to say if it feels like there’s a guitar revival happening at the moment. Because from my perspective it’s the stuff I’ve always listened to, so personally it doesn’t feel like it ever went anywhere. I try to go to see every band I like when they pass through my city, and seeing packed out rooms of hundreds to thousands of people singing along, dancing, watching, moshing & pitting gives me confidence that the guitar is as strong a cultural unifier as ever. I don’t think it’s any less relevant than it was 50 years ago, it’s just in a different era now where it’s a more established instrument, much like the different uses of the piano from the 1800s to the 1900s. And with it not being in it’s infancy anymore, on one side of the coin it means it can be a tough instrument to innovate with… but on the other side, we’ve got a century of guitar music to be inspired by! The technology around it also makes it an exciting time to be a guitarist; I have a guitar pedal that sounds like a great replication of my dream amplifier, but at a fraction of the cost and without needing to be cranked super loud. Even 15 years ago when I was playing as a teenager, nothing existed like that which sounds as good as it does today. So all in all, I’d say now is a great time to play guitar in a band!

How does this single compare to the rest of the songs on the EP?

The 4 songs on the EP are actually pretty distinct from each other, I think! Because we’re working with the financial and time constraints of not being able to do this band as our full time jobs, it’s been easier to create a 4 track EP for the last couple of years than trying to make a full album. But this creates the challenge of trying to simultaneously creative a cohesive sound whilst demonstrating our range of styles and abilities in just 4 songs. The track order becomes important here – I knew early on how I wanted to order the 4 songs on the EP so that they feel more holistic, so Chin Up Chuck and the following song Mrs So & So feel like they come from a similar place to me (they also both have the Challen piano on, which is maybe why I group them together!), and then the 3rd and 4th tracks (Autopilot and Coy) steadily become different styles as the EP goes on!

Klemen Breznikar

Default Mode Network Instagram / YouTube