Interview with Conflare: ‘Afterglow is about being in the middle of a situation that you can’t really understand’

Leeds-based band Conflare released their latest single, ‘Afterglow’, earlier this month, an explosive, raucous, pop-rock track with an infectious chorus, quirky guitar work and astute drumming.

‘The ‘afterglow’ is the rare happy memories that bring two totally incompatible people back together. It’s classic Conflare in that the music is so happy and poppy, but the lyrics are quite sad and morbid,’ explained frontman Toby Hanmore. ‘The song is about being in the middle of a situation that you can’t really understand. getting both sides of an argument and seeing everything play out.’

The lyrics are testament to just how the relationship in question is falling apart: ‘I’m the only one left with a broken right hand, you know. Forget the afterglow. Will you care who I was when I rot in the ground, will you dig me back out if my head was in sand? You know it’s where you need to go.’ And later on: ‘If all that glitters is gold, you’re gleaming now. If all that’s bitter is cold, I’m freezing now. If your bark’s your bite, I’m bleeding out.’

The band played ‘Afterglow’ for the first time live on 15 August. ‘We were really lucky because we recorded it at the tail end of March, just a couple of days before lockdown,’ Hanmore said.

Conflare also comprises Ethan Bradley (drums) James Rowland (guitar) and Sam Wilkinson (bass). Rowland was hired in the middle of lockdown, having sent the band videos of him playing various songs. ‘Obviously, we couldn’t meet up to watch him play, so we’d ask him if he could play this song or that song,’ Hanmore said. ‘As well as important questions like what his favourite crisps were. I don’t even remember what he said but it must’ve been alright because I would have remembered a bad answer!’

‘It was like being a prisoner at home’

Hanmore confesses that he wasn’t very inspired during lockdown. ‘I’ve been writing since then but I did absolutely no songwriting during lockdown,’ he laughed. ‘It was like being a prisoner at home, watching the same Netflix shows, it was very samey! But now we’ve got some songs ready to go.’

He even finds inspiration ‘bumbling along’ in the shower. ‘That’s what happened with ‘Tempted’, which is one of my mum’s favourites. I was having a bit of a sing in the shower and had the tune in my head, so I jumped out to record it, I dripped everywhere! It just fell out of my brain onto my laptop, which doesn’t happen very often.’

‘People think of New York as being big and glamorous but it’s not as beautiful as it seems’

New York has also provided inspiration, with Conflare releasing an EP titled New York in 2017. ‘I’ve never been to New York actually and I don’t think anyone else has in the band either,’ he said, laughing. ‘The idea behind it is that people think of New York as being big and glamorous but it’s not as beautiful as it seems, not as pretty on the inside. The song ‘New York’ is about a relationship breaking up long-distance. That song took me much longer to write, about six months and I had four or five drafts.’

Conflare has shared the stage with bands such as IDLES, The Hunna, Yonaka and Shaded. There is a funny story behind their name, too. ‘We were doing a google search when we were trying to come up with a name,’ Hanmore said. ‘Conflare means ‘meltdown’ (in latin) to reference the meltdown we were having thinking of a name!’

The band has very eclectic taste in music. ‘My favourite band and the band’s favourite is Biffy Clyro. I also really like Juice WRLD (hip hop), Boston Manor (British pop punk band) and Machine Gun Kelly (rapper). When I was younger, I listened to what my mum listened to, so bands like Westlife and Take That. I’d love to write with Simon (Simon Neil, frontman) from Biffy Clyro or with Machine Gun Kelly. The best collabs make you sit back in your chair and raise your eyebrows.’

(Left to right: Sam, Toby, James and Ethan. Photo by Tom Berridge)

Conflare ‘Afterglow’