Since Neon Trees mixes so many genres, where do songs typically start?
It’s different all the time. Sometimes, we’re together in our practice jamming all kinds of music. There have been times where we’ve written songs that didn’t ultimately fit into the Neon Trees world. Then there are other times when I’ll be playing on the piano or an acoustic guitar, and I’ll write melodies and lyrics that lead to a song. All of our songs turn out very energetic. Even our attempts at ballads still have a certain energy, and it’s because we have such an lively rhythm section. That’s the overall Neon Trees aesthetic. We don’t really pay attention to check if we’re tapping into new wave or setting out to write punk. Rather, we end up creating based on what we do in the band. Do you feel like Habits has a “live” feel because of how organic your creative process is? The struggle that the band faced for a few years was getting a recording that sounded like our show. I think that the live show is an extension of the record now. The show still takes on a whole new life, but th
