Taken from their upcoming LP Pacifica -- due out May 24th via Kurt Travis’ Esque Records -- the Detroit natives are teaming up with The Noise to share their latest single “Voices Over Infinite Distance.”  

Elaborating on the spirited new song, guitarist/vocalist Steven Christy says, “‘Voices Over Infinite Distance’ is about relationships or friendships that you both know are kind of coming to an end. However, you’re more accepting of it because you are doing your own thing anyway.” 

To check out the new track and accompanying music video directed by Nick Frollo, be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to pre-order Pacifica here.

Pacifica Track List:

Hailing from the thriving Texas music scene, three of the six current recording and live RHF members – CJ Burton, Matthew Benthal, and Emilio Garcia-Caro – started a band at the young age of 13. Although Burton attests to quips from members of a scene that was unwelcoming to kids of that age, he found power in the constant ageist shut downs. In more recent years, with the addition of Michael Beaudo, Michael Fox, and Adrian Romero, RHF have experienced the more well-known support system of the Houston scene.

“I can’t even begin to explain what it has done for me and my band mates over the years and what it’s taught us,” Burton said. “Houston is definitely a successfully diverse scene in the way that there’s a place for everyone with their music. You have scenes in other places that are pre-dominantly hardcore or classic rock, but you can find your little clique of bands and artists that play the music you play anywhere in Houston and thrive from it. It’s really been a privilege to grow up as a musician in this city.”

When Burton moved to Texas at that age, the friends he made there showed him the “good stuff” – Dance Gavin Dance (DGD) quickly became a “breakthrough” band for young Burton. Kurt Travis-era DGD had a particular influence on Burton’s vocal style, and this continued into Travis’s later solo- and A Lot Like Birds-related endeavors.

Although Burton was a regular at DGD’s Texas shows, it wasn’t until he was 15 or 16 that he finally had a close encounter with Travis: After a half hour-long begging session with his mom over the phone, Burton skipped school to spend the night at a friend’s house, where Travis happened to be staying overnight during tour.

“So at the house we all were just chillin’ in the garage, and then my friends started showing Kurt their music, and of course I went along and did the same thing,” Burton said. “I threw on a couple singles off [RHF’s] debut album, Hunters and Demons, that we had just released and nervously watched as Kurt listened to it. And as any rock star like Kurt would do, he just bobbed his head and was like ‘This is dope man.’ But of course, I thought he was only just saying that so my little 16 year-old heart wouldn’t be broken, haha.”

Two months later, however, a Facebook message from Travis ensued, reassuring Burton that it wasn’t the case. Travis was in the early stages of band management, and RHF was well on his radar. Having stuck to Travis’s mind, RHF were offered management by Travis himself.

“I was literally so jittery and over stimulated about this happening that I accidentally sent him a frownie face emoji in response,” Burton said.

Yet even with Travis’s representation, labels’ reluctance to work with teenagers still blocked RHF from signing to any. Thus, Esque Records was born from Travis’s desire to represent and boost any band of his choosing, regardless of age.

FWYFB¸RHF’s first album released with Esque, came straight from a time of hardship, during which Burton dealt with loss at the hands of suicide and cancer. At the time, Burton was in high school, and his increasing sense of insecurity led him to find stability in the form of a relationship, which ultimately became toxic. What remained truly stable was Burton’s writing throughout it all, which later translated thematically into RHF’s second album.

“To be honest, I didn’t initially write this record for really anyone but myself,” Burton said. “The things I was writing about weren’t things that already happened, enabling me to share my experience at a post-grieving perspective. They were raw and happening to me right as I was writing about them.”

Translating this experiential darkness into something musical was backed by Burton’s efforts to try out a different perspective: relating to others’ struggles. Being able to write about his troubles after the fact cleared Burton’s headspace and allowed him more time for introspection and developing a sound and theme to accompany it.

The product was an album with hard edges and a soft center: smooth vocals and dreamy instrumentals that echo Circa Survive, one of Burton’s personal influences, weave into heavier, fuller choruses almost seamlessly. Fronted lyrically by such personal subject matter, the album’s instrumentation is both contemplative and impulsive, encapsulating the thematic limbo of FWYFB.

“With that perspective alone, it made me look at these songs as something to fall back on or something to help me admit and cope with what I was doing to myself in this situation,” Burton said. “And the instrumentation I was composing along with the lyrics gave me this powerful yet delicate imagery in my head of falling down endlessly but having enough time to think in depth about yourself falling before hitting the ground; thinking about why you fell, what’s going to happen, what you could’ve done to prevent that fall.”

That suspension is illustrated on “The Great Hall”, on which Burton sings, “Faith can lie and love can fall/When you’re running down the staircase in the dark.” As spiraling guitars peer through crashing symbols, Burton’s vocal range shines at the forefront.

It’s a concept that isn’t hard to grasp or relate to, and Burton takes pride in knowing that FWYFB can soften the blow for RHF’s listeners. Yet while Burton feels pride, there is no self-proclaimed pedestal – Burton’s appreciation of music does not come from meaning or purpose, despite his efforts to put so much into his own.

“Music is for a very vast spectrum of things. We use music for healing, communication, entertainment, background, advertisement, etc., so I don’t think every artist will have the same intention as each other,” Burton said. “With that being said, music is an expression no matter what way you look at it, and I think those expressions set by different artists do help or enhance their listeners’ lives in some aspect.”

Paralleling RHF’s outreach to help their listeners, Burton refuses idolization based on musician status. He is humbled by his own experiences as a fan, encouraging RHF’s own fans to approach him while on tour.

“No matter what magazine cover or late night TV show you end up on, we all started out as fans and listeners like you ourselves,” Burton said. “So please, if you see me at a show or anywhere, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to me! I would love to have the privilege of meeting all of our fans that put me where I am today and hear how much our music means to you.”

Read our full interview with CJ here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cjwy0jlipzzsdpl/Rome%20Hero%20Foxes%20Interview.docx?dl=0

Check out RHF’s tour dates below: