Seeking Escapism: Balancing Act Interviewed

Balancing Act burst onto the indie music scene in 2022, with their gloomy yet charming take on dark indie-pop. Since infectious debut single ‘Cold’ the band have been popping up, seemingly, everywhere – from an intimate gathering in Manchester’s YES basement to a sold-out headline show at the city’s infamous Deaf Institute. “The idea of becoming a band came about in 2021 by me and Jackson,” frontman Kai Jon Roberts tells CLASH.

The band started out as a duo of two long-time acquaintances brought together with the initiative to make music. “Originally it was just a writing and production duo between me and Jackson with the idea that we wanted to do a band but it was gonna be just us two… then we decided against that”.  A decision well-played judging by the sense of creative unity which comes through on Balancing Act’s records and their very communal approach to songwriting. “Because we don’t live really closely with each other we don’t often get opportunities to write together so when we do it’s ceremonial,” the band’s frontman Kai reveals. “We have to have a time and space for writing… we go to a place in France and then when we’re all there it’s like Balancing Act boot camp and we will all mess around with sounds. It used to be that me and Jackson would play acoustic guitars and come up with parts for everyone but now… the stuff we are writing now are even more bizarre and dark than our first EP because we are writing about the things we are experiencing in that specific moment.” 

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Since establishing their signature self-described “dark, sexy and sick” sound amongst their home indie-rock genre, Balancing Act have stayed loyal to their general sonic-style whilst embarking on a natural progression from dingy-natured, intensifying verses to festival-field-filling hits which add a heightened atmosphere fitting to the band’s flair. “We never sort of set out with, This is the Balancing Act sound… whenever you start writing a song and it sort of wants to be in itself… you just let it be,” states guitarist Jackson Couzens, who you may recall from his time playing amongst indie-pop band Anteros. “The darker alternative stuff probably lines up with our taste and influences more so but you’ve got other tracks like ‘She Plays The Theremin’ or ‘Laylow’ that were just wanting to be a little bit more fun indie-rocker types… we just let the song inform itself really”. 

Balancing Act’s most successful single ‘She Plays The Theremin’ rallies reminiscent of a classic Kings Of Leon crowd-pleaser, housing uplifting riffs amongst an energetic beat. Similarly ‘Laylow’ gradually builds on a steady paced drum beat, led solely by singer Kai’s self-harmonising which eventually explodes with twangy strings synonymous with the charismatic chorus of every perfect 2000’s indie-hit. “The first EP was the blueprint of what we wanted to achieve but we just didn’t quite get it right… on the second EP there was no purposeful shift, we were just learning to write together and were more developed than we were on the first EP,” Kai says, going onto cite “loads of Massive Attack, loads of Portishead, The Maria’s’ recent album ‘Submarine’ and Tim Burton soundtracks” as Balancing Act’s eclectic mix of current artistic-influences. A specific and unique sound which guitarist Jackson described as “cinematic shower-rock” a phrase that accurately captures the atmospheric nature and un-ostentatious feel of the band’s overall style. 

Festival season also saw the hot, new London-based exports take songs like ‘Laylow’ and ‘She Plays The Theremin’ amongst older fan-favourites such as their earliest certified, intimate, crowd-pleaser ‘All Yours’ to the stages of Truck, Tramlines and Y Not Festival – playing to packed out, lively crowds. Field’s filled with fans determined to prove that they knew every single lyric whilst singing along to the band’s biggest tracks. “We’ve grown as a band, size-wise a lot this year, we’ve moved on a lot. We did a gig in Bristol last year and sold like 20 tickets then this year we sold-out ‘The Garage’ in London which was amazing,” Jackson mentions, indicating just how much attention Balancing Act have drawn in. The band then go on to deem “AC/DC” as the band’s dream support slot amongst “Jack White”, frontman of The White Stripes. 

A successful of summer touring festivals whilst receiving a rowdy reception on every stage and smashing out singles, which have gone onto triumph on streaming services such as Spotify, all begs the question “When will the band decide to embark upon releasing their debut album?” 

“I think if we were to talk about an album, the world, and ourselves, are not ready for that just yet… but we are in and out of that place in France,” Kai mentions, whilst Jackson continues: “We got back from there literally a week ago. We were there for three weeks and… we don’t hate each other yet” he jokes, signifying further the band’s close relationship which prevails even during intense, and often gruelling, artistic environments.

To put it simply, Balancing Act are the dark horses of the current indie-scene and the It band to catch live before they inevitably blow up, big time.

“One thing that we all agree on as a band is that we aren’t interested in having a loaded background, it’s about the music and I think when it comes to us we want to put on a live performance that blows people away. We want to take people away from the problems outside and when people come see us we want it to be an escape rather than a heavy reminder of all the awful burdens that are probably going on outside”. Kai suitably closed out on Balancing Act’s conversation with CLASH. ‘Escapism’ is an adjective more than appropriate for a band who capturing the most nostalgic facets of classic indie-rock and re-purposing these details to offer an slightly edgy breath of fresh air in an already saturated genre.

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Words: Lauren Hague
Photography: Indy Brewer