Photographs by Eric Ryan Anderson
Hospitality had already been kicking around New York City for a couple years when they signed a deal with legendary indie label Merge Records (home of Arcade Fire, of course), so by the time their self-titled debut was released in 2012, we were already familiar and fully in love with their upbeat, hook-filled indie-pop. Hearing their second full-length, Trouble, for the first time, though, is a very different experience: there’s nothing that could possibly be described as twee, and even calling it indie-pop doesn’t feel quite right. Trouble sounds big and serious—an unmistakable rock record by a band that still believes in the power of rock but manages never to give in to the many clichés that in recent years have called its relevance into question. We spoke to them about the change in direction, among other things.