Jeremy Bolm, frontman of Los Angeles' post-hardcore band Touché Amoré, is unpredictable.
He’s sharing his recent vinyl acquisitions – and, apart from Turnstile’s NEVER ENOUGH, none are punk.
“It’s funny – I think people who listen to our band kind of expect that we’re not like through-and-through hardcore kids,” he says.
Jeremy flicks through vinyls by REM, country icons Guy Clark and Skeeter Davis, plus The Blue Nile – the latter of which he “got really into” on tour.
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“This record [1984’s debut A Walk Across The Rooftops] is hard to find,” he reveals. “I price records at a record store called Amoeba [Music] here in LA, and that came across my desk and, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna buy that!'”
Jeremy isn’t done. “And then on my drive back to my apartment, I was listening to Illmatic from Nas. So I was having my New York rap moment on my way here.” He laughs. “Yeah, I’m all over the place.”
Clad in a black cap and T-shirt, Jeremy is Zooming from his kitchen as the “predominantly Latino city” faces President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration sweeps.
“It’s heartwarming to see how many people are standing up – like I was driving on the freeway and every bridge that I passed, there were people on the bridge holding up signs. I live in the city of Glendale, which was the first city to say ‘ICE isn’t allowed here’, so I was very proud of the little part of LA that I reside in.”
The vocalist is promoting Touché Amoré’s imminent return to Australia, the band (with guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby and drummer Elliot Babin,) last here for 2024’s inaugural New Bloom Fest.
Touché Amoré have since presented an adventurous sixth album, Spiral In A Straight Line, thematising the dissolution of relationships and modern dread. “I am so excited to get back to Australia and play these songs, especially because Australia played such an important role in this record, in the fact that I was finishing writing all the lyrics when we were there last time.”
Forming in 2007, and releasing their debut album …To The Beat Of A Dead Horse two years later, Touché Amoré emerged as a key band in the post-hardcore revival.
They performed at Coachella in 2015, the day Drake headlined.
“It was as if we were playing at a club show in LA,” Jeremy recalls.
“Everybody we went to high school with was very impressed that we played Coachella, but it didn’t do anything for our career. It was fine. It was just something to do, something to add to our résumé, I suppose. Would I do it again? Sure. Yeah, I’ll take that pay cheque!”
Meanwhile, the group signed to Epitaph Records, issuing the weighty Stage Four to critical acclaim.
In 2020, Touché Amoré aired Lament, booking legendary producer Ross Robinson, the Godfather of nu metal known for his seminal output with Korn – Jeremy noting that it was “a hard record to make.” They reunited with Ross for Spiral In A Straight Line.
“He’s an intense, demanding, but absolutely connected and devoted person to have working on your record, where there’s not a minute where he’s not trying to make the best thing happen for you.”
An old friend, Julien Baker of boygenius fame, sings on the melodic closer Goodbye For Now. The “brilliant songwriter” has actually featured on Touché Amoré’s past two albums.
“I felt bad even asking her to do this one,” Jeremy jokes. “But I was like, ‘I mean, at this point, you’re like a sixth member.’ So you’re sort of, ‘sorry – it’s your fault!'”
Inherently DIY, Jeremy is industrious. Outside of Touché Amoré, he runs a label, Secret Voice, and hosts The First Ever Podcast, chatting to other creatives about their career origins.
Intriguingly, the musician cameoed in Eric Appel’s Emmy-winning film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. “It was very stressful ’cause I’ve never done anything like that before.”
Jeremy portrayed the guitarist in “a fake band,” Weird Al himself showing him how to play a song.
“He didn’t know me at all [but] was so sweet and gave me a big hug and said, ‘Welcome to the set.'”
He’s still in disbelief about the “amazing experience,” stating, “I never thought in a million years I’d be able to be in something like that… I got to hang with Daniel Radcliffe a little bit, who was just the kindest person in the entire world… so it was just crazy. I had several moments that day of thinking like, ‘What am I doing here?'”
Touché Amoré are playing 170 Russell on 17 July. Grab tickets here.
