Portland trio Hoaxed enter a bold new chapter with their new album Death Knocks, out 13 February via Relapse Records. Following 2022’s Two Shadows, the record has been years in the making, evolving into a heavier, rawer, and more textured statement. Tracked in just eight days, the album captures the band’s live intensity, with April’s fierce vocal accents sharpening Kat’s signature sound. Driven in part by drummer Kim’s journey into motherhood, it’s a release shaped by urgency, growth, and fearless creativity. We caught up with the trio to talk all about it.
Welcome to Hoaxed
So first of all, Kat, Kim and April, I wanted to welcome you here and I wanted to thank you again. How are you and how this period is treating you with the promotion machine that’s going on?
Kim: Thank you for having us. It’s good to be here. I think it’s going really well. Like it’s an exciting time. It’s always really hectic, but in a good way. Yeah, it’s nice because we’ve been holding on to these songs in this album for almost a year now.
Kat: Yeah. Past post recording. I think with the writing, it’s been like four years.
Kim: Yeah. It was just good to get it out there now.
Kat: And this, I mean, like Kim said, this time period is like, it’s so much fun. There’s so many things that we have to do, but it’s also like, it’s interesting because it’s our main focus is like playing shows and doing music. Then you get to do all this other stuff in conjunction with it with the album release that like. I think going into music, I never really thought about these pieces and they’re great.
The album Death Knocks is out now
I know that Death Knocks on 13th February is coming out via Relapse Records and it’s the first album after 2022. And I wanted to ask you, when did you start to collect the first ideas for it? When did you realize, “Well, it’s time that we go back again to the studio” and we have this settled and done?
Kat: We were writing these when we were before Two Shadows even came out. And I mean, we’ve been writing with April since we started playing with April, which was the first show we played as Hoaxed, like started working on this album, I think. Um, but I’ll let Kim talk this a little bit. But when we decided to go in the studio was a specific reason.
“We were just working on them for a really long time”
Kim: We had been working on these songs like Kat said, for a while. We’d been collecting some things over the years, but we had like an open ended. You know, we were just working on them for a really long time and then we kind of had to buckle down and tighten the screws and get into the studio when I found out I was pregnant.
But yeah, it was like one of those things where it’s like, okay, well, we really want to get all these songs at least recorded. So, that we can get them into the promo machine before I give birth and have to take care of that side of things for the next like, you know, weeks and months upcoming and wouldn’t be available.
That was like one of those things and it was a very powerful motivator. But I think it also came at a really good time of where we had things cooking. We just needed to get them in place so that we could get another album out.
Absolutely. I mean, first of all, congratulations.
Kim: Thank you.
“A very powerful motivator”
Secondly, I can also understand why it can be such a huge push and motivation because the moment. I don’t have children still, but I’m surrounded by young women that are around 35 and they have desire to have children. Indeed, it’s kind of also a big motivator that factor in a way.
Kim: Yeah, yeah, for sure. It was definitely a big thing for me to also prove to myself that I could. I can do a lot of stuff still while having a child. It was like, it’ll look different and it’ll be different because there’s obviously a gigantic, you know, shift in my life.
However, I was very conscious of it being a joyous shift and keeping a lot of the things that I did for my passion and for my self as an inspiration to keep all that stuff going, like playing the drums. And so that was a very like, unique experience playing drums and recording while being pregnant, that was really cool.
“It’s just like it was the same as recording with Kim every time”
Kat: But you couldn’t tell. I don’t know if people thought that affects, but it’s just like it was the same as recording with Kim every time. So she definitely like, whatever she was trying to prove, she did it [laughs].
The changed musical texture
And you know, there is also another element on this album because I was listening to it. I was listening also to the previous one a little bit, and I felt like there is something in the musical texture that is positively changed.
I was like, “Oh, that’s a bit of that raw, heavy method that I really like”. Actually, I don’t know who I need to ask to which one of you. I need to ask this question because it’s really curious and peculiar how this influence.
Kim: This is an April question.
April: Yeah, yeah, I’m the heavy metaler of the bunch. I’ve sung previously, and I have, like, an aggressive style. Like, I do like a lot of screaming and, like, raspy vocals. With implementing that in Hoaxed, using it as, like, more of an accent for the band, because Kat’s vocals are just, like, the perfect voice for the band. Just a little bit of, like, you know, edge to it.
The changed musical texture [cont]
I’m all about adding, like you said, texture. That’s like the perfect word because it just adds that little extra element. But it’s not overpowering. We’ve toured doing it, like, a lot of people don’t know, but we’re kind of talking about it more. When we played these songs live in the past, like, over the last few years, we’ve added some, like, screaming vocals in the background for songs that don’t have it on the recordings.
When we decided to put this together, we were like, we definitely want to track some elements like this into the new music because it really enhanced the whole. It just added something extra that worked and, like, blended well with everything
“The perfect example is Guilty Ones”
Kim: Totally, I think the perfect example is Guilty Ones off Two Shadows. As per example, when April screams “guilty” in the chorus now. When I hear it on the album, I’m just like, there’s something missing. Because we just, like, when we do it live, it’s totally different than a recorded album.
With this album, I think it was kind of important for us to what you hear when you hear it live is, like, pretty similar to what’s on the record this time. Well, we always have more of a raw tone when we play live. But, all the elements that you’re hearing tend to be there when April screams in the song. She’s screaming it live now. And it’s great.
Hoaxed challenges themselves
I always, like, when a band challenges themselves live because offering the same copy of what you do on the studio album, it’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but if you have to do that for 15 nights in a row, you get bored.
Kat: So, yeah, we definitely surprise because we do now use backing tracks and like, you know, it’s a live performance. Things can happen. It keeps it interesting.
Mission possible: Hoaxed recorded the album in eight days
Also I know that the album was recorded in the monstrous time of eight days. Unbelievable. How did you manage to do that in eight days?
Kat: We did eight days, cranked it out [laughs]. We started with Kim’s drums. There was like a little bit of a break between drums and everything else.
Kim: I think we did two days for drums and then guitars. I think almost was like two days.
One day for both for bass and guitars. We’d do some guitars and then give Cat a break and then do April’s bass and then went back and forth.
Mission possible: Hoaxed recorded the album in eight days [cont]
So that nobody was burnt out. And then same thing with vocals. If somebody had just spent hours doing, you know, a guitar or bass, we would then be like, “Okay, let’s switch to vocals for that one song that we were doing”. So that we could give vocals a break so we’re not burning out anybody’s voice.
It was a nice way to just kind of hop around. The only risk in that is to make sure that we don’t miss anything. It’s like little things that, you know such as we wanted to make sure that we got a scream here. And making sure that we get all those notes and making sure that we hit all of those different marks. It was really fun.
Kat: We actually just we got done faster than we thought we would.
Hoaxed about recording: “we use this word a lot but we have fun”
I’m really amazed about it.
Kat: I mean, we use this word a lot but we have fun. In the studio and especially recording with April this time, it’s like, you know, it’s a new element. It was fun and we had a really good time. All in all, I think that makes the time pass really quickly too. It’s like you’re just flying through the parts because you’re having a good time.
Working with Gabe Johnston and Arthur Rizk
So you know, I know that you worked together with producer engineer Gabe Johnston. Instead, you enlisted Arthur Rizk for the mixing and mastering. So I wanted to ask you how was to work with Gabe, which is the most important thing that you have learned from this experience?
Kim: Yeah, I mean, we worked with Gabe for the past two albums that we did, the EP and the first full length album. So that was just pretty, like, pretty natural for us to book time with him and to go through that experience. We knew what he was really good at and what his strengths were and stuff like that. So that was really kind of a breeze and the same as we would have with our previous albums.
Working with Gabe Johnston and Arthur Rizk [cont]
As far as with Arthur, we didn’t really know that we were going to be working with him until like early mid summer. So I can’t remember, but it was pretty late that we were able to actually get in touch with him and have him join the team. Everything that he was able to add to it was just so incredible and masterful. He was really easy to work with and so that was like super, super lucky for us.
Kat: I think the difference is, like, Gabe, like, we are in the studio with him. It’s easy to explain things. You can show him what you’re talking about. We can like literally point on the screen. While we and Arthur worked with him remotely and I like his ability to take our feedback and execute it into exactly what we wanted, whether it was what we asked for.
Working with Gabe Johnston and Arthur Rizk [cont]
I didn’t even think that’s what we wanted. He was so good at like understanding the vision that we were going for and like hearing our feedback and just translating it into actual action. We were so floored by Arthur and how good he was because, yeah, working with someone remote when you mix can always be a little bit weird. It’s like, how do you describe this sound that I want to do through email? [laughs] And he just got it. Fantastic.
The new singles from Hoaxed
There are already two amazing singles out. The first is Where the Seas Fall Silent and the second one is The Family. I wanted to ask you, you know, in general about the songs and how was shooting the video for Where the Seas Fall Silent?
Kat: We rented a studio in Portland, and that’s how we shot it. We do all our own music videos, so we will hire someone to work with to capture. But Kim and I were both editing majors in college, and April has a strong background in art and production and that type of thing, so we all really enjoy that kind of stuff.
The new singles from Hoaxed [cont]
So we shoot our own music or we hire someone to shoot our music videos and then we edit and do it. It’s something that we’ve all conceptualized together and then executed and then done all the post on.
Actually, the music videos for us are like an extension of the songs just because we have so much control over them. And it’s really a chance for us to, like, you know, it’s kind of an obvious but visualize the song for people and then for The Family. This time we ended up going a different route because we did a lyrical video.
About The Family
Yeah, yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. I really like the lyrical video, you know, because it’s not the usual lyrical video where you see on the screen, the photos in the backdrop there. There is almost an actual family playing together in the video. Yeah, I really like that.
Kat: Thank you. That was a friend of Kim’s which she’s an Argentinian tango dancer.
Then we took her to the historic Lone Fir Cemetery and shot that one just a Saturday morning. We all just hung out for like three hours and shot them dancing around the cemetery and made that video. That one was even a step further into the DIY because we shot it ourselves for that one, while April did all the behind the scenes. Which we’ll have some of that coming out soon.
Upcoming plans for Hoaxed
I wanted to ask you, now that the album is about to be released, do you have plans for tours, promotion and given Kim’s maternity, how do you plan to do a tour? Given that I was wondering how that’s gonna play out.
Kim: Yeah, for sure. We’ve got a short tour for our album release coming up on the weekend of that album release. We’ll be going to Vancouver, Seattle, and Bellingham. Then we have a Portland show that we’ll be doing as well.
But we’re trying to get some irons in the fire. As far as further tours this year, I think that, like, coming fall is some time that we’re really hoping to announce tours soon. But as far as juggling child care with tours, it’s one of those things where as long as, you know, I have, my kid is old enough to be able to be away from mom in a safe, safe way.
Upcoming plans for Hoaxed [cont]
Then, you know, for me, I’m like, is it different than any other job where I’d have to go on a work trip or anything like that? And same with his dad because he also tours. Given this, there’s times when, you know, I’ll be doing sole child care for that time and then when dad is back, he’s doing the childcare for that.
It’s sort of like a swap, you know, going back and forth and figuring stuff out and just making sure that. But there’s a balance in how much we’re present. As long as he feels secure and safe, then that’s something that we can organize and plan for.
Kat: And then one day we’ll just bring him [laughs].
Be helped
I have a lot of respect because it takes a lot. Even if, I don’t have kids, I understand that when it comes into the picture, you need to change everything. And I see, I have a huge respect as a woman myself. I’m glad that you don’t give up and you still continue and you have an environment where you are. Well, you are also helped and where everybody is open also to be helped by you, you know.
Kim: Yes. I feel very, very lucky and thankful that I have a support group of friends and family that are able to take up. Just be there for me and be there for him and help out and be so. You know, I’m not even hesitant to ask, you know, that kind of thing.
Closing words
So, Kat, April and Kim, I wanted to thank you for your time and I hope you did enjoy it. Well, thank you again for, you know, for considering me and giving me this time to speak about your upcoming release for sure.
Kim: For sure. Absolutely.
Kat: Thanks for doing this when you were sick. Appreciate it.
April: Thank you so much.