Interview: Warn The Duke’s Long-Awaited Sophomore Album

Written by Natalie Melendez

Brooklyn-based punks, Warn The Duke, have spent the last eight years navigating the murky waters of life, from addiction to divorce and quarantine. All That’s Solid, the band’s upcoming sophomore album, is a culmination of those turbulent experiences. But rather than overindulge in the angst and pain present in 2015’s Ghost Be Gone, album two seems to point to a softening in tone—one that can only come from a place of forgiveness and maturity. 

We had the chance to speak with lead singer Dan McCool about the inspirations behind All That’s Solid, its message, the recording process, and more. 

Natalie: It’s been eight years since your previous album. What propelled you to record and release a second album at this particular point in time?

Dan: I think the biggest reason was coming out of the last 3 years - covid, personal tragedies and hardships, and a general feeling of isolation, we realized "hey, we've got a band, it never technically broke up, why don't we write songs about all this?" That and I wanted an excuse to move back to NYC after being gone for years.

Natalie: What has fundamentally changed (professionally or personally) within the band in the last eight? How has this influenced your upcoming record? 

Dan: Like most of the world, we've been through a lot since that time personally. I think professionally, we're all at the age where we're really going for it, musically and otherwise. After touring heavily with Dropkick Murphys, our drummer Derek became tour manager for the Interrupters. I've been working on my own organization and am able to live more comfortably than I was when I was in school last record. The two Chrises have been rising professionally, too. Collectively, we've got our head screwed on straight as this new record comes out. 

Natalie: “Anniversaries” seems to be more emotional than anything on Ghost Be Gone, which features a significantly angstier soundscape. Is this change in sound something we can expect for the rest of your upcoming album?

Dan: I think the angst is still there on parts of the new record. We almost tried to mirror the first one both in the length (10 songs) and the mood (angsty and frustrated yet hopeful and self-forgiving).   

Natalie: Are there any particular musical influences that inspired All That’s Solid? 

Dan: Definitely. I think the last couple Against Me records are big influences. I'm always a sucker for Mike Ness's voice, and that continues on this record. This one may be a tad less punk and a bit more "grunge," and I think you'll hear a lot more of that in the lead guitar especially -- I've been listening to a lot more early grunge bands like Catherine Wheel, and our lead guitarist Chris has always been heavily influenced by the tone and chord voicings of Smashing Pumpkins. But the same hook-inspiration carries from the first record; all the songs start from earworms that I grew up singing along to in bands like Rancid and the Replacements. 

Natalie: What would you say is the upcoming record’s central message? 

Dan: Be mindful and expressive of your pain, but don't become it.  

Natalie: Everyone in the band comes from a unique musical background—how has this impacted your previous and current creative process? 

Dan: It works. I think you can definitely hear all the different influences in the final product. We all bring something to the table. It just makes it kinda hard to decide what to do for a cover: Fugazi or Perfect Circle or Pixies or Social Distortion or what? We've kinda started to throw our hands up and just do Nirvana songs when we need covers.  

Natalie: Speaking of the creative process, how did the recording process for your upcoming album differ from that of your debut? Did you find the process easier or more difficult?

Dan: People always say the sophomore album is the hardest. Not to be too self-referential, but I think it helps to have the first one done, and then the second one can be a response to it, musically and lyrically. So in that sense, this process was clearer and easier. Working with some incredible engineers, producers and mixers (especially Jeff Berner at Studio G and Chris Duggan at Blue Banshee) definitely helped too.  

Natalie: The collage-esque look of your album cover is stunning! Can you give us any insight on how that came about and how/why those images were chosen? 

Dan: I'll be honest -- while I greatly appreciate album art, fine art, museums, etc., I'm a god awful visual artist. I can't draw, paint, or conceive of how visual art could or should look; other people need to do the work for me. So I think I just told this artist we were working with (Roberto Rabadán) what the record was about and he gave us some gut-level ideas. The images he came up with were pretty much spot on in terms of the mood of the record -- disorientation, losing your sense of home, being lost in the vastness of the ocean -- all of it really captured the intention of the music. 

Natalie: Your album release show is coming up soon. What have been your favorite venues to perform at? Are there any others you’re hoping to play in the near future?

Dan: Our Wicked Lady is the venue, and it was the first place we played in 2021 after a 4-5 year hiatus playing live. So it was the natural choice. We love the venue, the neighborhood, and the staff. Brooklyn, Bushwick, and the surrounding neighborhoods have lots of fantastic venues that we plan to hit up soon, including The Broadway, Gold Sounds, TV Eye, St Vitus, Berlin Underground, Mercury Lounge, and a lot more.  

Natalie: If you had to pitch your upcoming album to new listeners using only 3 words, what would they be?

Dan: All That's Solid (sorry, this is an easy one).

Warn The Duke’s All That’s Solid released on March 17th. Listen to the lead single “Anniversaries” below.