Of Mice & Men continued to release new music throughout 2021, and now they announced the Echo album and the "Fighting Gravity" music video, which found that the band has opened up their voice to more new areas. Singer and bassist Aaron Pauley also chatted with Loudwire about the new record and the moments that led to the emergence of new EPs during the year.

In some ways, Echo will be familiar to fans, because it includes the Timeless and Bloom EPs (three tracks each) that have been released this year, as well as three other original songs (Ad Infinitum EP), and Crosby covers and stills. And Nash's "helpless hope" ended the successor of Earthandsky in 2019.

In "Fighting Gravity", Of Mice & Men makes the atmosphere heavy with flashing melody and tense atmosphere, evokes a kind of purgatory existence, drifting between dark and light overtones to find answers.

When talking about the song, Poly said, “'Fighting Gravity' is about learning to let go, and at the same time recognizing the impermanence and shortness of life. We think we can control so much, but we really don’t, and the dilemma that exists is the human condition. The basics."

"Echo is a snapshot of the last year and a half of our lives. It covers loss and growth, life and impermanence, love and infinity-how the most beautiful and tragic parts of human experience are deeply intertwined," the band said A collective expression.

Watch the video of the new song below, and view the Echo album cover and track list at the bottom of the page.

Talking with Poly on the phone, we delved into the reason why dividing records into separate EPs is an exciting way to introduce new music, and why this format is a versatile but under-sufficient format for musicians Tools used. In addition, Of Mice & Men also officially launched a Twitch partnership to further interact with their fans, some of whom may see the development of Echo material in real time.

Scroll down to read the full interview.

Echo will be released on SharpTone Records on December 3. Although it is the seventh full-length album of Of Mice & Men, this is their first album with this label. Order your copy here.

I can feel the distance between now and now, life in the afterlife is like a moment of heritage like grains of sand

In the endless ocean, constantly tossing and turning, in eternal motion, until we emerge from the bottom

Why am I always struggling with gravity?

If everything is where it should be, then why does the space feel so incomplete? If everything is arranged properly, why am I always struggling with gravity?

I can feel the balance, between then and now, and what will happen to such a fragile system, like a moment of life

If everything is where it should be, then why does the space feel so incomplete? If everything is arranged properly, why am I always struggling with gravity?

01. "Eternity 02. Obsolete 03." Anchor 04. "Dyke 05." Bloom 06. "Tooth Extraction 07." Mosaic 08. "Gravity of the Field" 09. "Echo 10." Helpless Hope

In the past few years, what new release strategies have caught your attention?

One of them is Tool's new record when it launches a new logo. I like many things. The visual art aspect of your record doesn’t have to be just promotional material. You can turn it into something consistent with the music you are creating. It is more like a meal to chew.

Why is now the right time to release the series of EPs "Mice and Men"?

This is something we have been talking about since 2016, so before the two full-length albums. You can spread the music to the audience, and it is more relevant, because you don't need to wait a full year and a half to create all these materials and publish them. You can tell a story by chapter.

Part of the reason we signed with SharpTone Records is that we are discussing what we want to do with the record companies, and they are happy to help turn this creative vision into reality. It's not that we throw away three songs when we write songs-it's more thoughtful and comprehensive.

How does EP benefit the band in terms of streaming volume compared to more traditional album releases?

Hard to say. I sometimes poke my head in the analysis, but many of them don't make much sense to me. The record company and management are very satisfied with this, and we and our fans are also very satisfied. If anything, it allows us to maintain a consistent dialogue. This is a cliché, but music is a language-you can use it to communicate ideas and connect with fans through personal and shared experiences.

Compared to releasing an album every two years, it can make your conversation with your fan base more consistent and coherent.

For a band, EP can be an escape, where you can slightly change your voice without showing that you have completely moved in a new direction. Does a positive response to something more experimental help inform future writing?

In the context of how fans perceive music and how we perceive music, it is correct to have creative freedom to experiment. Part of your experience as a songwriter is getting feedback. This does not necessarily inform the creative direction, but it can let you know what people find attractive.

Ultimately, it is up to us to decide how to deal with it. Sometimes we are still selfish and stubborn, knowing that someone likes something, but still doing what we want to do.

Back to streaming for a moment...For a complete album, the number of plays tends to decrease as you enter the album, unless there will be a single later on the record. EP is a way to keep songs ahead-a fan can easily read three songs, and this shorter product also has replay value. Is it good for the rock and metal industry to turn to this direction to play streaming games?

From this perspective, "streaming games" just provide music for your fans, who believe that music is valuable in it. Not only does it help your career in terms of analysis and games, but games are what people find fun in art in this era. It is as important as ever.

Rock and metal as a whole can learn a lot from popular communities about how popular communities interact with digital media. You can create a song, and when you pass it at night, your fans can immediately own it.

We made the EP ourselves. You can make music in the bedroom like Billie Eilish. Music will only become more accessible. In the digital space, songs will eventually appear in some playlists, but you can rearrange your playlists and choose three of your favorite songs from the 10 songs in the new album, so we can only publish it at a time Three songs.

Of Mice & Men also cooperated with Twitch to enter a new digital field. How do you think this space has become more viable for musicians, not just gamers, it is more famous?

It allows some of your biggest fans to understand what is happening behind the creation of music. It's a cool thing to be able to connect with these people, especially in times when human communication has already caused losses such as pandemics.

When I was in high school, we used to go downtown to talk about new records, and now this is happening in the Twitch community. My favorite thing is to see everyone communicate with each other. Chat is a place to hang out—not just for us to interact with people.

Outdated, except for the human voice, it was almost completely done in the live broadcast.

Thanks to Aaron Pauley for accepting the interview. Follow Mice & Men on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.