An Interview With COVEY About Their Debut Collection, ‘Haggarty’ And More!

Recently, the Boston-based folk rock project Covey releases their debut LP, Haggarty. Ahead of its release the project exclusively streamed through The 405 who stated, “From album opener ‘////’ through closer ‘In Or Out,’ Freeman proves that he possesses a near-supernatural talent for writing compelling, honest and moving songs. This is a talent that should not be taken lightly. What we have here is a genuine talent, one who deserves all the attention he is receiving and then some. The record’s sincere passion likely isn’t hurt that Haggarty is a very personal project for Freeman.”

With only a couple singles out and no major label support, Covey has amassed over 110,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and single “Comes And Goes,” currently stands at over 2 million plays. Since relocating to the United States for school in 2010, Covey has managed to connect with listeners across the world through soul-baring lyrics and raw vocals.

The Wild Honey Pie premiered Covey’s lead single “Same White Shoes” stating, “While the song’s tone suggests remorse, the chorus’ la la las manage to make light of the heavy situation.”

Covey is fronted by British multi-intrumentalist and vocalist, Tom Freeman. The album maintains Covey’s signature folk sound, with a punk pop influences and indie rock flare. The 10-track LP deals with themes of isolation, nostalgia, and navigating through distance and disarray. Haggarty draws similarities from Covey’s previous releases, like “Bows” and “Daisies,” with a more evolved sound. It features performances by Guillermo Goldschmied on bass, Adam Marks on keys, and Dillon Rovere on drums. The album was mixed and mastered by Alex Garcia-Rivera and recorded at Mystic Valley Recording, an all analog studio in Medford, MA. The record is available in CD, Vinyl, and limited Cassettes (which were put together personally by Tom), and will be distributed digitally by Spotify, Bandcamp, iTunes, and Google Play.

Covey was born out of inspiration from bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Smiths, and Nick Drake. Since relocating to the United States for school in 2010, Covey has managed to connect with listeners across the world through soul-baring lyrics and raw vocals. A songwriter for 9 years, front-man Tom Freeman has lived in many places throughout his life including England, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Moving from place to place caused him to explore a wide breadth of cultures and influenced him artistically. Covey has opened for national touring artists like Hozier, The Last Bison, High As A Kite, Gabriel Kahane, Vagabon and Soak. In support of Haggarty‘s release, Covey plans to make tour stops along the East Coast.

A songwriter for 9 years, Freeman has lived in many places throughout his life including England, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Moving from place to place caused him to explore a wide breadth of cultures and influenced him artistically. This breadth of experience was implemented into his music at an early age, and lead to experimentation with different genres such as folk, rock, punk, indie, and electronic. Freeman eventually found a voice and a home in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Covey project was born.

Ultimately influenced by a wide variety of genres, Covey’s sound has a distinct personality. Folky lyrical driven songwriting is complimented by textures of synth and distorted guitar. As described by Sound of Boston, the vocals are “relaxed, natural, and infectiously uplifting”. Musical influences range from artists such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Nick Drake, and Blink-182.

Covey has been featured on the BIRN radio network, and online publications such as Under The Gun Review, and Allston Pudding. Their premier track “Comes and Goes” has won BostInno’s “Song of the Week”, “New England Band of the Month” feature on Deli Magazine, and was recently featured in a national Expedia commercial.

Only in its third year, Covey has opened for national touring artists such as Hoizer, The Last Bison, High As A Kite, Gabriel Kahane, Vagabon, Soak and has played across the Northeast. Look for Covey’s debut album this fall on Spotify, Bandcamp, and iTunes.

Learn more about Covey in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time for this All Access interview! Where does this interview you today? Is there music playing in the background? What is it? 

A friends apartment in New York City. Yes, it’s “Me Like Bees – Pneumonia”

What is one song that you are all loving right now?

“Tall Cans Hold Hands – Told Slant”

How did this group first come to be? 

I started writing music years ago and was living with Dillon Rovere at the time, so we started working together way back with him on drums and after many people coming in and out on Bass and Keys, I think we’ve finally landed on something thats going to stick. We all met through friends of friends really

Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in a band together? 

Not really, it was a long process as I mentioned so I don’t think there was one moment really.

Was it hard to come up with a name that you could all agree on? 

No the name was already in place when we got the current line up together

How did you come up with your band name?

It was the first street I ever lived on. A place in England called Covey Clough Court. I used to go by Covey Clough, but eventually ended up dropping the Clough and just running with Covey.

How do you think this band has been influenced by the city you are from? 

I think the music is definitely influenced by the city and scene you grow up in. I think its definitely helped the project move from a solo type thing into more of a full sound.

What are you most excited about for 2018?

Getting back on the road and releasing the second record.

What did it feel like finally releasing your debut album, “Haggarty”? 

Felt good to finally have a body of work out, but it mainly got me motivated to release the next record as soon as possible and to release as many records as I can going forward.

Did anything surprise you about the overall process? 

I love writing and recording so I figured I would enjoy putting a record together, but I guess I was surprised by how much more I loved piecing a full record together, layering parts on the record to picking which song goes where on the record, I loved it all and cant wait to do it again.

Were there any unexpected challenges to it? 

I mean, nothing unexpected by my social life took a hit especially with . I didn’t do anything but work on this record for 2-3 months straight.

How long did it take to put it together?

About 2-3 months working on the weekends Friday through Sunday.

Could you pick out one or two of your favorite songs on this album and discuss how they came to be? How did they go from being ideas in your heads to full-fledged songs on the collection?

1955 and Funeral Home I think are my two favorites.  I demoed them at home and then fully fleshed them out in the studio. Adding parts whenever I heard them in my head whilst listening back.

In general, how do you all approach the songwriting process?

I tend to demo a song at home, then bring the song to the band. Then we go through and make alterations whilst playing it live

What do you think makes for an ideal show for this band?

We love playing basement shows where we can really get loud and let loose, but so long as the crowd is engaged I think we would be happy playing anywhere.

While this may be difficult to answer, where do you think you are all happiest- on stage performing, in the studio recording or elsewhere?

Completely depends on the situation I think. I personally like recording a lot, but great shows can be just as good. Its definitely a hard question to answer.

Do you have any touring plans to end the year with?

Nothing for the end of the year, but we will be touring again in Feb/March

Who are some of your favorite artists right now? Who would you love to work with in the future? 

I’m really enjoying NE-HI, Weaves, Phoebe Bridgers, Happy Diving, Wild Pink, Saintseneca, Manchester Orchestra right now. I would love to work with any of the previously mentioned.

What do you hope is the message of your music? 

I think each individual song has its own message and I would hope people take away from each song what they see fit. Im not looking for a grand overall theme, just for people to hopefully relate on some level.