A band high on my radar since 2018 has been Rivals. I actually caught wind of the group seeing Heartist’s drummer listening to the band on Spotify and checking them out. Instantly, I loved the visual aesthetic and fascinating genre-bending this band had to offer. Damned Soul was in my top 10 albums of 2018, and Rivals has kept busy ever since. Hot off the heels of their new single “Lavender,” we got a chance to speak to vocalist Kalie on her impact on the band’s visuals, the genre of Dark Pop, and more:
The New Fury: The visual aesthetic of Rivals is one of the most striking parts of the band, with picturesque music videos and vivid album art for Supernova. I know Kalie does graphic design, is she at the helm for Rivals’ visuals from here on out?
Kalie Wolfe: I’ve actually been doing our visual since before Damned Soul! It’s crazy to think that my art has been such a staple in our bands life. I’ve done a lot of our posters, merch and I’ve done most of our album art, I didn’t do Supernova though that was done by Cameron Burns but it’s such a trip to see my art worn by our fans.
New Fury: You just started a Patreon packed with content, how has the reception for it been so far?
Kalie: Honestly fantastic, we have a tight nit group of fans that are so good to us and want to see us make more music. Patreon was a fantastic way to give content we never planned on releasing to those who truly believe in us. It’s refreshing to see that sort of love tbh, being home this long has been sort of a mental mind fuck so the Patreon has been a blessing.
New Fury: You just featured on an Outline in Color track, can we expect you on anything else coming up?
Kalie: I don’t have anything planned as of now but I love doing features so I bet it’ll come soon!
New Fury: You’ve been branded as “dark pop”, what influences got you to craft this unique genre?
Kalie: Well it really stems from me being extremely in pop music while the guys are into metal. We wanted to mix the two together in a way that was more like who we were. That’s sort of how we got our sound, we just made music that felt like us, we just wanted to be us if that makes sense ?
New Fury: When touring is safe again, who do you want to hit the road with?
Kalie: Oh gosh, honestly everyone we’ve already toured with and everyone we haven’t haha. We’re just ready to hit the road and wanna play music for people again.
Thanks to Kalie for speaking with us! No doubt Rivals has a lot in store for the future, so keep up with them here:
