Interview: Never Ending Fall Talk Reinvention Through Rock Songs on 'American Disco'

Never Ending Fall’s Jack Miller sits down with Atwood Magazine for an intimate chat about the band’s dynamic and groovy sophomore album ‘American Disco,’ their musical reinvention through indie rock and punk, their popular ‘Can it Kirkland’ TikTok series, and the power, influence, and enduring legacy of disco.

for fans of Young the Giant, Hippo Campus, flipturn

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Stream: ‘American Disco’ – Never Ending Fall

There’s a lot to love about Jack Miller saying “disco will never die.”

Firstly, the thought of a rock band’s lead singer and guitarist endorsing disco would have felt outrageous not long ago; and while it’s been nearly fifty years since Chicago’s infamous Disco Demolition Night (where teenagers gathered at Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, for a promotional event that included the literal explosion of a crate filled with disco records; the evening ended in a riot), the rock and disco worlds have generally maintained their distance – if not musically, then certainly in the cultural canon.

Then there’s the notion of disco’s ‘immortality’ – a provocative statement, given how the genre itself enjoyed one of the shortest heydays of any contemporary music style. And yet, disco’s fingerprints can be felt in everything from EDM to hip-hop, new wave, and house. Its global influence may very well be everlasting, and while the number of discothèques may not be increasing, the style itself has enjoyed a widespread revival over the past two decades.

The latest indication of disco’s predominance may very well be Jack Miller’s own band, Never Ending Fall. Their sophomore album American Disco is a radiant collection of high-energy, and at times feverish, indie rock and post-punk songs speckled with funky beats, sweltering melodies, and deep dance grooves. It’s a considerable reinvention for the band of best friends from rural Maryland, whose debut album, 2020’s Space City, was ostensibly a jazz-fusion record speckled with R&B and neo-soul.

American Disco - Never Ending Fall — American Disco – Never Ending Fall

Four months since that January
Lovely night she said
but I didn’t think so
Taking off your old Burberry
Do a little dance, American disco

I said I didn’t mind
And I almost mean it too

You are right again
I am different
Can we play pretend?
I don’t even think so
Did I do that again?
It’s so evident
On her island
She’s my queen calypso

– “American Disco,” Never Ending Fall

Miller smiles as he recalls that earlier era of the band – one that, admittedly, sounds like an entirely different group compared to the Never Ending Fall of 2024. “We slowly realized we wanted to go in a more indie / alternative direction because that is the music we grew up on and relate to the most, if we are being honest with ourselves,” he tells Atwood Magazine. “Today we are a much more confident group. Our music, style and live performances feel like they are all headed in the right direction, whereas five years ago, we were hesitant on what we wanted to be and sound like.”

Moving from Maryland to Los Angeles two years ago helped facilitate Never Ending Fall’s artistic growth, while turning the already-close band – comprised of Miller alongside drummer Tommy StClair, guitarist and keyboardist Conrad Boyd, guitarist Pearce Eisenhardt, and bassist Johnny Hohman – into a veritable family.

“We have always been confident in our musical abilities since the beginning, but once we moved to LA and decided we wanted to rock out like we used to when we were kids, we’ve never really looked back,” Miller explains. “We love the music we are releasing and currently writing. We also spent a lot of time learning how to record and produce since the move, which has helped our songwriting and music quality. Overall, if our past selves saw how we are doing five years later since Space City, I think they’d be very proud.”

Among Never Ending Fall’s chief musical inspirations are groups like Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Kings of Leon, Quarters of Change, and Turnstile. These influences can be felt throughout American Disco, as the five-piece carve out their own niche in the ever-expanding “indie rock” umbrella.

It’s a niche characterized by raw passion and dramatic energy, with catchy, cathartic, emotionally charged choruses and dynamic rhythms that get the mind racing, the blood pumping, and the booties shaking. That a driving rocker like the record’s title track “American Disco” can live side-by-side with the dreamy, sun-kissed neo-disco song “Taking It Slow” (which itself is followed by the blistering alt-rock eruption, “Under My Skin”) is a true testament to Never Ending Fall’s uniquely inclusive and far-reaching artistry; they’re not afraid of bridging or blending seemingly disparate styles, proudly owning all sides to their multi-faceted musical identities.

“This album finally solidifies the new sound we want to represent,” Miller asserts. “Sonically and lyrically, it represents an array of different emotions. A lot of songs are about breakups, navigating new love, reflecting on past relationships and behaviors through mainly indie rock and borderline punk rock sounds.”

**Throughout its half-hour run, American Disco provides an escape and an indulgence to those in need of either (or both).**

“It just had a certain swag to it that we liked and represented our sound and attitude,” Miller says of the title. “We play rock music, but we also like to get a little funky. We also love the disco ball aesthetic during shows and in fashion, so it just made so much sense. We were also longing for a title that was relatively original, and it just really spoke to us.”

“I also feel it does properly represent the album sonically; America is a cultural epicenter filled with many different styles of music, fashion, food, etc., and ‘American Disco’ is a culmination of many different genres and themes that we are all inspired by.”

As a fun aside, Never Ending Fall are also responsible for the hit TikTok series (and jingle) “Can it Kirkland,” in which they conduct taste tests between Costco’s Kirkland Signature liquors and their name brand equivalents. “We wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are now if it hadn’t been for the overwhelming response and love we’ve gotten and continue to get from people across the country,” Miller admits. “We are forever grateful.”

Atwood Magazine recently caught up with Jack Miller for a candid conversation about Never Ending Fall’s sophomore album, their musical reinvention through rock, and the band’s shared love of disco. Dive into American Disco in our interview below, and get lost in the fiery melodies and funky grooves of this breathtakingly bold and charismatic record, out August 9^th via Create Music Group!

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:: stream/purchase American Disco here ::

:: connect with Never Ending Fall here ::

Stream: “Walking My Way” – Never Ending Fall

A CONVERSATION WITH NEVER ENDING FALL

Atwood Magazine: Great to chat, everyone! For readers who are new to Never Ending Fall, how would you describe your band to a first-timer?

Jack Miller: We are five longtime best friends and creative collaborators who create music to excite and inspire others. One of our favorite attributes is that we try to put on an amazingly energetic, unforgettable live show. We are inspired by many different genres and artists which is easily represented in our upcoming album American Disco.

Artists like Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Quarters of Change, Kings of Leon, Origami Angel, Turnstile and many others inspired our latest project. At the end of the day, we are five best friends from rural Maryland trying to make it in LA. We relish all the experiences we’ve had and continue to have and pour our heart and soul into music to offer each listener an unforgettable experience.

I know you guys began teasing your sophomore album American Disco earlier this year, but I actually wanted to take a step back first and talk about Space City. It’s been 4.5 years since the release of your debut album; what is your relationship like with that record and those songs nowadays?

Jack Miller: We are very proud of that era of NEF, often revisiting the album amongst ourselves and reflecting where we were in life and how far we’ve come since. We wrote that album when we were in college, some of us were studying Jazz at Towson University and we were very immersed in that genre and scene. We recorded a bulk of the record with Ted Bowne (an amazing engineer, producer, songwriter, artist, and friend) at his home studio on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It was one of the most fun recording processes we’ve ever had. Ted is such a vibe and an easy person to work with who will also easily inspire you to perform at your best ability.

“Trisha” and one or two other tracks were recorded at Grand Street Studio in New York City, which was another amazing recording experience. We do not perform that album anymore because it does not represent the music direction we want to go. We did perform it a bunch when we lived back in Maryland, but we slowly realized we wanted to go in a more indie / alternative direction because that is the music we grew up on and relate to the most, if we are being honest with ourselves. We do love that project and consider it a milestone in our career and growth as a group.

How does the Never Ending Fall we're getting to know today compare to the band we first heard five years ago? How do you feel you've grown since those initial releases?

Jack Miller: Today we are a much more confident group. Our music, style and live performances feel like they are all headed in the right direction. Whereas five years ago, we were hesitant on what we wanted to be and sound like. We really grew the most when we moved to Los Angeles 2 years ago. We have always been best friends, but since moving out West we have become more of a family. We have a lot of respect and trust in our group which obviously helps every aspect of what we do. We have always been confident in our musical abilities since the beginning, but once we moved to LA and decided we wanted to rock out like we used to when we were kids, we’ve never really looked back. We love the music we are releasing and currently writing. We also spent a lot of time learning how to record and produce since the move which has helped our songwriting and music quality. Overall, if our past selves saw how we are doing 5 years later since Space City I think they’d be very proud.

Likewise, what excites you most about now releasing your sophomore album? What’s the story behind this record?

Jack Miller: This album finally solidifies the new sound we want to represent. We’ve gone on 3 or 4 nationwide tours playing unreleased music, most of it being on this upcoming record American Disco. A lot of people would listen to Space City prior to coming to our shows, under the impression that was going to be our sound and were completely surprised when they heard our set. Luckily, the responses we received from fans were overwhelmingly positive towards our new sound.

Sonically and lyrically, the album represents an array of different emotions. A lot of songs are about breakups, navigating new love, reflecting on past relationships and behaviors through mainly indie rock and borderline punk rock sounds. We recorded the project in our house in LA with Adam Schoeller, who is an amazing local engineer and producer. We can’t wait for people to listen and also can’t wait to keep releasing and writing more music for everyone.

I don’t really want to say your two records feel like the work of two totally different bands, but in many ways they do - a lot can change in 4-5 years’ time! How do you feel you’ve grown on American Disco, and where do you hear that growth in the music?

Jack Miller: We are very aware the two projects sound quite literally opposite of each other. However, we’ve always respected bands and artists who weren’t afraid to take risks and trust their gut on a specific vision. We started to feel a lack of energy playing Space City live and had a collective realization that we needed to make a change. Concurrently, the band Turnstile released their project GLOW ON and it shifted our whole perspective on music. We all grew up on rock and indie music and became quickly obsessed with that record. During 2020, we were pretty aware that we wanted to make a change but didn’t know what we wanted to do. As soon as we heard that Turnstile record, we started writing in the style of which you hear currently, and it felt insanely natural. Then we started performing it live and it reignited a spark inside us we completely forgot about.

I know you’ve been out on the road a LOT these past few years. Did the live shows inform the new record? Were you making songs at all with concerts in mind?

Jack Miller: Live shows definitely inform the new record. We always consider when writing and recording how something is going to sound live. We want to maintain a good balance between great production and live authenticity. We always end up saying things like, “this part is going to sound so awesome live” while writing and recording. Live performance has always been of utmost importance to our group so it has to be considered at all times. We also love touring – it is literally our favorite thing to do. We are currently on tour with Sawyer Hill (actually answering these questions on our way to a show in San Francisco from Santa Ana) and have been performing almost the entire American Disco record every night. We are having an absolute blast performing and the love we are receiving from fans and Sawyer’s crew as well has been overwhelming.

“American Disco” is such an evocative title - and the song itself is great, too! What is the significance of the album’s title American Disco, and how (if at all) do you feel that name captures the spirit of the album and its songs?

Jack Miller: We were struggling to come up with an album title during the recording process. We had about 13 or 14 possible titles written down on a white board and American Disco the song was one of the last tracks written for the album actually. It may have been written during the recording process if I’m not mistaken. So as soon as I showed Tommy the song and the lyric “do a little dance, American disco” was heard out loud, everyone kind of knew that was the title of the album. It just had a certain swag to it that we liked and represented our sound and attitude.

We play rock music, but we also like to get a little funky. We also love the disco ball aesthetic during shows and in fashion, so it just made so much sense. We were also longing for a title that was relatively original, and it just really spoke to us. I also feel it does properly represent the album sonically; America is a cultural epicenter filled with many different styles of music, fashion, food, etc., and “American Disco” is a culmination of many different genres and themes that we are all inspired by.

You’ve to date released five songs off this album; would you mind sharing a little bit about each one, if that’s ok?

“American Disco”: This track was one of the last tracks written on the album. Tommy and I (Jack) wrote the guitar and drum part just jamming one night. At the time, I was listening to a lot of Remo Drive so it was definitely sonically inspired by them subconsciously. This is one of our favorite songs to play live of all time. The end goes so hard live.

“Potential”: “Potential” was originally just a small demo I made, a quarter finished, that everyone vibed with. Conrad and I worked on finishing the song together right before we started recording. It was a very hard song to write because the chorus took a long time to come up with. This track is definitely my favorite guitar melody throughout the whole record.

“Walking My Way”: This is the very first song we wrote collectively when we moved out to LA. We recorded it in our garage unit from our first house in Mid City. This is also a favorite from our Twitch community and we weren’t sure if we wanted to put it on the record but Twitch fam convinced us it was a good idea. And they were correct.

“Taking It Slow”: This is actually the exact same story as “Potential.” It was just another demo idea I hadn’t fully finished. This one was equally as difficult to finish with Conrad. I was really inspired by Last Dinosaurs when writing this song. Became quickly obsessed with them in 2022-2023.

“Slow Motion”: I was laying in bed and the beginning of this song popped into my head. I quickly texted Tommy and was like “bro I have an idea can we record real quick” at like 11 pm and Tommy was like hell yeah. We recorded drums and guitar, one take and it ended up being the skeleton for the song you hear today. We didn’t really change much. Just added lyrics and more guitars. One of those magical moments where everything is one take and works out perfectly.

I have to say, “Taking It Slow” is absolutely irresistible and definitely going on my sunny summer jams playlist. How did this song in particular come to be?

Jack Miller: “Taking It Slow” is one of my favorites off the record as well. It started as a half finished song with mumbled vocal melodies throughout. Usually when I write lyrics, I start off by first mumbling melodies with words that aren’t real because I usually like my initial first take melodies. I always struggled creating songs with high production value and listenability, so I really aimed to achieve that through this song. I really was inspired by Last Dinosaurs and Quarters of Change because of how listenable their songs are.

Considering the record is named “disco,” is there any disco influence on it?

Jack Miller: Disco will always influence NEF in one way or another. We all love Stevie Wonder, Prince, Funkadelic, Michael Jackson, and the list goes on and on. All of those melodies and grooves are implanted in our brains from years of studying them. Even when we play rock music we feel like it has a certain funk and groove to it.

Do you guys ever listen to any disco?

Jack Miller: We all listen to disco every day. When we hang out by the merch table we put on ‘80s disco playlist on our Bluetooth and just jam out with the fans. It always puts us in the best mood. Disco will never die.

I’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about TikTok at ALL, so I’ve gotta ask: Any plans to merge the Can it Kirkland series with the album at all?

Jack Miller: We’ve always attempted to keep Can it Kirkland and the music separate for the most part. On our first tour we would play the CIK theme song for 30 seconds live and it was always fun. Maybe if we get super creative we can drop some easter eggs in future albums for die-hard fans, but we don’t see us doing anything extremely apparent. We do love the Can it Kirkland series and truly appreciate the love and support we get from it remarkably. We wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are now if it hadn’t been for the overwhelming response and love we’ve gotten and continue to get from people across the country. We are forever grateful.

@neverendingfall

Can it Kirkland? Suprised how many of us got this wrong. What should we do next? #costco #fyp #kirkland #xyzbca #spicedrum

♬ original sound – TheNeverEndingFall

I respect that. In the spirit of teasing listeners, what else can fans look forward to off the new album? Anything we can share to start getting folks amped up and excited?

Jack Miller: The rest of the songs that aren’t singles are equally as important to us as the currently released and we are extremely excited for people to get to hear the whole project in its entirety. I will say, the last song is a Queen-like power house song that we love so much. There are some other slower songs that really leave an imprint on us when we listen back. There is a Spotify album countdown that anyone can check out to see the full track listing. And please pre-save the album, it helps us out so much!

What do you love most about your upcoming album, and what do you hope listeners take away from it?

Jack Miller: The entire process of creating the record was extremely rewarding. Every time we listen back to the project, we reminisce on when the drums were being tracked in the living room and all the memories made during the recording process. We hope fans can hear the passion we put into the project. We were very passionate while creating it and we hope that translates to the listener.

In the spirit of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days that you would recommend to our readers?

Jack Miller: Johnny is currently really into The 1975. He highly recommends listening to their live album At Their Very Best (Live at Madison Square Garden) which I can attest is a fantastic live album. Tommy put us all onto Mk.gee and is still listening to his latest project all the time, as is everyone in the band. I’ve been listening to a lot of Shakey Graves. My Shakey Graves radio on Spotify has been my favorite traveling playlist. Also listening to local Seattle homie Justin Harden, check him out his songwriting and voice is so dope. Also check out Sawyer Hill’s music. Listening to him and his group on tour has been inspiring. His voice is on another level. Truly a gifted singer and performer. Pearce is listening to Quarters of Change’s latest record all the time. One of the best rock albums out currently. Plus they’re all awesome guys as well. He also is listening to a lot of Polyphia. Conrad is listening to Brittany Howard, singer from Alabama Shakes, and tons of Pink Floyd. He also said check out From Indian Lakes.

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