Interview with False Plaintiff: ‘There’s still a bit of hardcore in the emo but it’s more melodic, with less brutal vocals’

Singaporean emo/rock quintet False Plaintiff is working on a new mini album, which they will likely release by the end of the year.

The band, which formed in 2012, comprises Brandon Tanoto (vocals), Bryner Tan (guitar), Nicholas Phang (guitar), Jonathan Vincent (bass) and Tanoto’s cousin, Sydney Long (drums). The band members met through playing shows together with their respective former bands. Tanoto, Phang and Vincent were also studying their diplomas at Singaporean post-secondary education institution Ngee Ann Polytechnic from 2010. Tanoto and Tan grew up in the same neighbourhood: ‘We were really into melodic hardcore bands like More Than Life and The Cold Harbour then and figured we’d love to form a band that played similar music,’ Tanoto said. ‘We didn’t have a drummer at the time but I played Sydney a couple of songs from those bands and he was down for joining the band.’ Their name is a reference to Tanoto’s interest in law in his early years, before he eventually pursued a career in journalism.

The mini album will comprise six tracks, four of which they have already played live. While the title of the release is still under wraps, numbers like ‘No Exit’ and ‘Old Friend’ are already a staple in their recent live performances. The new release explores themes of living in the moment and coming to terms with reality as it is, according to Tanoto: ‘Do you know the film ‘Kung Fu Panda’?,’ he asked. I say that I have heard of it but not seen it. ‘Ok, well, there’s a really cool quote in it “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called present.” It’s among the ideas that inspired the EP, it’s simple but it’s very significant. ‘Evergreen’ starts with the lines “Toiling away for the things that we crave. Do we even stop to wonder what gets taken to the grave?” It’s about the cruel reality of chasing tangible items that you can’t take with you.’

They released ‘Evergreen’ as a single earlier this year, although they only played live for the first time this month. ‘It was our first live show since the onset of COVID-19,’ Tanoto said enthusiastically. ‘At the show on Saturday, I didn’t have to sing a single word of ‘Hive Mind’ because everyone was singing along. I tapped the other guys in the band and said “Are you seeing this? ‘Cos I’m not singing it (laughs)! We’ve finished writing four songs, they’re mixed and mastered. We sat on them for the longest time, we wrote them in 2020, which passed in the blink of an eye. We’d planned to release them as a 7 inch vinyl but we wrote two more songs, including ‘Evergreen’ and decided we should put out a mini album by the end of the year instead.’

‘It gave us a much clearer headspace to work in’

He describes their upcoming release as ‘sounding similar to ‘Evergreen’: ‘There’s still a bit of hardcore in the emo but it’s more melodic, with less brutal vocals (laughs). ‘Evergreen’ is my favourite track because we wrote it mid-pandemic, it gave us a much clearer headspace to work in. We wanted a song that could have more of an impact and better represents the themes in the upcoming release, just to give everyone a sense of what they can expect,’ he said.

Other songs, such as ‘Hive Mind’ (2017), take a dig at the corporate hive mind and the monotony of daily life. It’s softer than some of their other tracks and more ruminative, although it remains true to their melodic hardcore roots. As it kicks off: “Bound to the 9 to 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9. Feels like a mandatory struggle to just stay alive. Bound to the business plan for a roof over our heads. A fairly decent paycheck and a life without protests.”

For Tanoto, ‘Hive Mind’ is as much about looking at the past as the present: ‘One way to describe ‘Hive Mind’ is “What did I leave behind? Thanks to this 9 to 5”,’ he said. ‘That encapsulates the whole story. It’s not just about the melody, we want people to listen to the lyrics and interpret them. It makes it more interesting, it opens up a new perspective, that perhaps we have never thought of at all, too.’ I tell him that a musician said to me recently “You can sing a song to 2,000 people and they can sing it back to you for 2,000 different reasons” and this delights him. ‘I LOVE that, that’s so true,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘That’s exactly what it is, you don’t know how or why someone reacts in a particular way to a song but they do, they have their own experiences that they bring to it.’

As a band, they are a melting pot of influences, but American post-hardcore band La Dispute is high on the list. ‘We opened for them in 2014, when they played in Singapore,’ he said. ‘To be able to support them, we were really proud. We love Aussie hardcore/alternative outfit Idle Eyes, they’re our brothers in Australia. We’d play with them any chance we get, their songs ‘Numb Again’ and ‘Gravedancer’ are brilliant.’ His dream line up would be a great mash up: ‘I’d very much like to have Idle Eyes, La Dispute, More Than Life, The Cold Harbour, New Order, Balance & Composure, Last Witness, Grimes, Bombay Bicycle Club and gosh, the list goes on!’

They have ‘heaps of funny and unforgettable moments’ as a band: ‘I think one that often stuck with us and came up in conversations was about a time when we did the Australian tour with bands Eat Your Heart Out, Vacant Home and Blue Velvet. We stopped at a MacDonald’s to grab some breakfast during our drive to the next city on the tour, and Sydney had this cup of tea that he took with him back to the van to have on the rest of the drive. We assumed he finished the drink and dumped it shortly after but that never happened. On the last day of tour we found out that the tea was never finished but just slotted or pinched in between the spaces of one of the seats, its contents simmering for the entire duration of our tour which lasted nearly two weeks! We thought it was hilarious how none of the contents ever spilled and how it never left the van. It probably doesn’t sound funny to others but we were absolutely losing it when it happened, it’s crazy. Still love Sydney heaps, no matter what though!’

If he could do a duet with anyone, he goes with New Order frontman Bernard Sumner: That would be really cool! I’ve always admired his vocal style, it’s interesting because his style isn’t flashy but it’s recognisable and it leaves a lasting impression. I gained a huge appreciation for his material when he was in Electronic with Johnny Marr, too. I was lucky enough to catch New Order’s first ever performance here in Singapore back in 2012. And when he segued into the first notes of ‘True Faith’ and ‘Bizarre Love ‘Triangle’, I was like: “Yup he’s a legend”!’

(Photo from left to right: Jonathan, Sydney, Brandon, Bryner and Nicholas.)