As December Falls: 'We've pushed boundaries on this album – we've come into our own'

As December Falls are gearing up for a huge year. After the success of their chart-topping album Join The Club, the band appeared at Slam Dunk Festival, 2000 Trees as well as Full Force Festival in Germany. Now, with this year’s festival slots locked in, a new album on the way, and a headline tour to follow, the band are stepping into a new era and they’ve never felt more ready. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, singer Bethany Curtis and lead guitarist Ande Hunter detailed their plans and ambitions for the year ahead.

Fresh from a trip to Greece to unwind following a run of shows supporting singer RØRY, the band are still buzzing. “For me it was probably one of the best tours we’ve done,” said Bethany. “Sometimes we play shows and they’re like, ‘we’re not here for you,’ so it was really nice to have that connectedness. I was suddenly getting loads of comments like, ‘I’ve just seen you and I’ve now bought tickets to see you on your tour.’”

That sense of connection isn’t a given for a support act and Bethany knows it. But, regardless of who they’re playing for, the band are committed to delivering a mix of “ADF bangers” for their crowd and on their most recent tour, it was the new material which hit the hardest.

Their viral single ‘Therapy’ was released in January just before the tour and proved to be a hit at the shows, acting as a reflection of just how much their fans are connecting with the new stuff. “In the nicest way, they’re just better,” Bethany said. “We’ve really come into our own with our new stuff, finally writing things that all of us are 100 percent happy with.”

Along with ‘Therapy’ the band have released three more singles from their forthcoming album, Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine, due out 8 August. While Bethany sees it as their strongest work yet, she admits that some songs didn’t come easily. “I’ve been a lot happier recently,” she confessed. While this is a positive thing it meant she had to dig a little deeper and work a little harder for the darker – more relatable – themes fans have come to expect.

This time around, instead of drawing from her own experiences she relied more on the stories from the people around her. But this she admits can be dangerous territory: “You kind of trick yourself into being upset over something that’s not happened.” However, using this technique still allowed her to write in a theraputic way without relying on her own emotions.

But overall, be it her own personal stories or someone else’s, explorations of mental health, anxiety and overthinking remain central to creating a connection with listeners. “They understand a lot of things I’m singing about,” Bethany opened up. “I’m going through it, they’re going through it so they have that relatable level.”

That fierce connection has helped the band build what they have described as the ‘best fanbase in the world’. And being an independent band with no label means all that support is crucial and isn’t something they take for granted. “When we’re going for a Top 10 in the UK charts, they’re like, ‘no, we’re all going for a Top 10,’” Bethany said.

With their upcoming album, Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine, it’s likely their fans will once again be rallying around them to help them make it into the top charts. And with more resources than ever before, the band were able to record the album in a proper studio – a far cry from their previous basement setup – adding more freedom to the writing process.

“I would read about bands in the seventies or eighties making albums and they’d go into the studio and spend months writing the songs as they recorded them, and it gives you a lot more freedom and flexibility” said Ande.

That more relaxed approach meant the band were able to write more freely, as they didn’t get too attached to songs. “That gave us the freedom to push the boundaries a lot more with this album than we ever have done: sonically, musically and lyrically,” Ande added.

Before the album drops, there’s one more single to come. ‘Ready, Set, Go’ is, in their words, a “very sexy, dark” track; slow, synth-heavy, and unlike anything they’ve released before. “This is probably the scariest song for us to drop,” they admit. “It’s one of those songs where when we were in the studio listening back to it, we were like, ‘did we go too far? Is this not us?’ But we’re learning to trust our gut.”

They’re aware that pushing the boundaries is essential, especially by album four: “It’s very easy to typecast yourself into a certain role and go, ‘Oh, that’s what they did, that’s what was successful,’” they said. By focusing on breaking the mould they were in danger of being stuck in, they’ve managed to create what they believe is their best work yet.

That confidence in their music has also influenced how they present themselves as a band. For Bethany in particular, this is evident in her style choices: “Some of the outfits I’m wearing in these videos I would not have dreamed of putting on a couple of years ago. I’m putting myself forward rather than being like, okay, I’ve got to be this Pop-Punk Princess.”

This evolution is shaped in part by the band’s strong connection with fans through Twitch and Discord. “Fans know me more – I don’t need to hide who I am,” she said. While some artists might find that kind of vulnerability intimidating, for Bethany, those relationships make it easier to be her authentic self. And it’s clear throughout our conversation that the band knows exactly who they are and it’s refreshing.

“We’re a pop band with riffs,” they laughed. The band are set to play the main stage on the Friday night of RADAR Festival which takes place next week in Manchester. While the line-up this year is particularly diverse, on paper it still leans heavier than ADF’s sound. So, how do they feel about it?

“I think Radar is going to be sick,” said Bethany. “It’s obviously a lot heavier than the 2000trees line-up, but I’m excited because we’ve never played it before. I think we’re very much one of those bands where the minute you see us live it suddenly clicks. We’re a very loud, energetic band!”

After festival season, the band will hit the road again for a “bigger, harder, better” headline tour, aptly named after the album, and, in many ways, a subtle nod to the chaos of the world right now. “Beth has wild ideas,” said Ande of their tour plans. “There’s going to be some really fun moments in the set,” she teased. “We’ve got a song called Grim Reaper and there’s going to be a whole thing around that. There’s lots of stuff we’ve never had the opportunity to do before.”

One of the band’s most exciting stops will be Rock City in Nottingham, a venue that means a lot to them, given that’s where the band was born and raised: “Being able to play the venue where we grew up and our favourite bands play is crazy.”

Across our conversation, it’s clear why fans are so eager to rally behind them. Bethany and Ande are charming, excited, and wholly themselves. As we wrap up, Bethany adds: “We say the same line at every single show, we come on stage and it’s ‘Hey, this is a party that everyone is invited to.” It certainly feels like it.