"Public Places" EP by Public Places

After releasing a couple of singles and music videos, Public Places make themselves less private with their debut EP under Catshelf Records - Public Places! The band’s first two singles make up the opening tracks of the EP - a reassurance of familiarity before expanding into the depth of their sound. “A Love Song” provides a twist to their laid back sound by introducing female guest vocals which is a delightful surprise harkening back to 60’s folk. “Regrets” continues with the chill vibes and serves as a great transition to my favorite track in the EP - “Things Are Always Going To Be Okay”. Not only does it give a hopeful message - something we all need right now - but the cheery folk tune is a joy to bob your head to. Overall, the EP is a perfect companion on a Sunday afternoon or when you just need to relax.

I was able to have a quick chat with the band about their music and EP.

JANLOR: How did the pandemic affect the songwriting and recording process?

TOBIT: We already finished recording all the songs for the EP before Covid exploded. Thanks to the pandemic, mixing/mastering was held back, thus halting the whole plan of releasing it in the summer of 2020.

ZED: The only one that needed vocal tracking that time was RJ’s song.

TOBIT: Ah oo nga yun “A Love Song” pala hindi ko pa nalagyan ng boses noon!

JANLOR: Why release the EP at a time like this?

APA: No choice na kami haha.

KELVIN: We felt like we need to release something new this year.

TOBIT: Isang taon na yung “3Lefts = 1Right” haha kaya ayun nga… Jon (Cinema Lumiere) and I were having faint talks about doing a joint EP launch before the pandemic came. After a few idle months, we talked about it with the Alternatrip friends and the plan came into fruition.

JANLOR: How did the band decide on this sound/genre?

APA: I have been listening to Turnover and The Strangeness a lot that time.

TOBIT: Apa asked me if we could form something outside our respective bands. I was into Real Estate and The Geeks noon so I went along.

APA: Tapos we asked Zed to join us and then Kelvin.

KELVIN: At first, I thought we are forming a shoegaze band haha

TOBIT: But then we all agreed on Real Estate, eventually. Plus, thanks to our friends and Spotify’s algorithm, we were able to discover similar-sounding bands like Swimming Tapes and Ultimate Painting. We basically copied most of how they sound like and that was it! hahaha

Stream Public Places below!