Like Torches is a four piece band reminiscent of the amazing 90’s rock sounds we no longer here in American music. Bands such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Blink 182 & the Foo Fighters will never be replaced. There sounds pioneered a vibe for music with a heavy current in their wake. New things became popular, new sounds were easier to dance to and before we knew it, the heart-breaking, story-telling, so-real-you-could-cry music, was a “throwback.”

Lucky for us, bands like, Like Torches were internationally getting this American music and loving it as much as we did – the only difference was, they kept the traditions alive. Like Torches brings “Just the Girl” by Click Five and “Best of You” by the Foo Fighters, together into a room and tells them to sit down and get to know each other. They’re not afraid to touch on feelings of sadness, because they know as long as their music is real, they’ll be taken seriously.

I had the privilege of talking to Daniel, guitar and vocals of the band, to learn more about them and gain insight on their latest single and UK tour!

1. How did the band form? Have you had the same members since the start or did you go through some changes?

The band formed in 2005 when Zak (bass player) and I (Daniel, guitar) wanted to start a band. We were then called You Ate My Dog and played music in Zak’s room as our dedicated rehearsal space. As any new band, we played music for the fun of it and never expected anything to come of it. In 2012 we started Like Torches, which was the title of our record with You Ate My Dog, and had a couple of band member changes. My younger brother Jonathan joined on vocals and a very good friend of ours, Jimmy, joined on drums. So we changed drummers and guitarists a couple of times during our path to where we are today. Now, there’s only the four of us: Jonathan, Zak, Jimmy and Daniel.

2. What has been the challenge of being a band founded in Sweden, but performing and writing in English?

The hardest thing with being a Swedish band in general, no matter what music you play, is that Sweden is a very small country. With a population of 9 million people in total, spread over a country that is bigger in size than California, just makes it really hard to tour and build a fanbase at all. What’s popular in Sweden is pushed by Major record labels and that’s a challange for any band. There aren’t really any indie labels which makes it difficult to do anything as a band, and in our case lead to us just doing everything ourselves up to the point where we are today and we signed with Rude Records, who are awesome.

Writing and performing in English came natural to us. All of the bands we listen to are American bands and the genre we play is an American genre. Everyone in Sweden knows English,  so it’s not weird for us in any way.

I hope that listeners will take away that the end of something is also the beginning of something else. Sometimes, ending something can be the best thing that ever happened to you.