SIIGHTS have dropped new EP Through Thick And Thin, which is available now on Insanity Records. Having toured with the likes of Lana Del Rey, Dylan and Griff, SIIGHTS are also fresh from their first ever headline tour, including a sold-out London show at The Grace and dual sold-out homecoming dates in Dublin and Glasgow.
Through Thick and Thin is a five-track EP in which SIIGHTS sets themes of growth, loss, empowerment and self-acceptance to some of the band’s most indelible melodies thus far. Drawing on influences ranging from the classic rock of The Runaways to new-gen alt-pop heroes like Muna, songs variously chart the overthinking, talking-stage of a new romance (‘Words’) right through to ending up alone again, in the so-called city of love (‘6AM To Paris’).
Beneath its pristine, uplifting sound, Through Thick And Thin also explores deeper emotional journeys. ‘Miss You’ may sound like a breakup anthem but is in fact a moving meditation on grief; ‘Fragile’, too, acknowledges the idea of being mentally present even in the face of mortality. Clearly growing in confidence as artists, producers and young women, SIIGHTS now manifest a form of self-belief that they hope will encourage listeners to back themselves, too: the stadium-sized chorus of ‘All My Life’ speaks to the need for self-love over romantic infatuation, with a musical and spiritual bond between the pair that has truly seen Mia and Toni themselves persevere Through Thick And Thin.
Through Thick And Thin was written, performed and produced by SIIGHTS between NYC, LA, Stockholm, London and Mia’s Dublin home studio. The EP – conceived as part one of two – also sees SIIGHTS open themselves up to collaboration; notably with Grammy Award-winning producer Jenn Decilveo (The Strokes, Miley Cyrus) and platinum-selling Bastian Langebaek (Nilüfer Yanya, Anna of the North). By owning every aspect of the creative process, and visibly pouring their very essence into songwriting, the duo hope to inspire more up-and-coming female musicians to take control in a notoriously male-dominated industry. And it’s this continued belief in positive change, and the next meaningful human connection, that makes SIIGHTS one of the UK’s most hopeful pop prospects.
We had a chat with the duo all about the EP, their creative process and what’s coming next for the band. Read it below.
Hi guys! How are you? For anyone discovering SIIGHTS here for the first time, please give us a brief history on the band, your influences and describe your sound.
“Hey! we’re doing good, thank you. Sure, Mia is from Dublin and Toni is from Glasgow and we met in LA – we’re both songwriters and Mia is a multi instrumentalist / producer also. We make our own music so being honest and not shying away from speaking about different topics in our songwriting is a big part of SIIGHTS – sound wise we’re guitar driven alt pop/ rock with some folk elements from our Irish/ Scottish backgrounds coming through.
“We have so many influences but some that stand out are Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell , Alanis Morissette , MGMT, Stevie Wonder.”
You’ve just released your third EP Through Thick And Thin. The record explores themes of growth, grief, empowerment and self-acceptance. Please elaborate – what can you tell us about this collection of songs? And what do you hope fans/listeners take away from it?
“Through Thick and Thin really is the exploration of relationships, the close ones we have in life and also the one we have with ourselves. It really touches on how we get to grow in the face of change and how that new version of ourselves sometimes requires us to step into our power – leaving some things in the past. It also touches on the realisation of how important being present in the moment is in life. I suppose, in the last few years we’ve learned change is inevitable. We’re just trying to navigate life the same as everyone else – but we feel if we can write about it honestly in our songs, that hopefully other people will find something in it for them. That it can create a feeling of connection and maybe make someone feel less alone.”
Please take us through your songwriting/creative process for Through Thick And Thin. As per all your previous work, this latest chapter was self-directed. However, the project also sees you open yourselves up to collaboration. What did you take from the experience?
“For us its always about going where we’ve never been – as people and artists we’re always open to see where we can expand and as you mentioned earlier we absolutely can be self contained but its exciting to see what comes from having new people in the room. I think naturally anytime you collaborate in any way you get a new perspective through the other persons eyes which is always interesting.”
What was your favourite part making Through Thick And Thin and what did you find most challenging?
“We found certain songs particularly challenging to write and be so candid in. As an example with ‘Fragile’ because we had been so honest with those lyrics there were moments we found ourselves holding back tears recording our vocals as it was quite difficult to sing those lyrics. Overall making this EP felt like a period of evolution and growth for us which was quite cathartic. We loved getting to travel and collaborate whilst creating it. There were a lot of times where it was just us with our instruments and our laptop where we could really focus and we poured so much of ourselves into these songs.”
Finally, what’s next for SIIGHTS? We know that Through Thick And Thin is the first part to a two part EP project. What can we expect from the next part?
“Yes it is, when we were writing TTAT we were having such a transformative year, so when we finished this EP we continued writing and that became what feels like a fuller completion of a story. The 2nd EP is all about radical self empowerment and really celebrating yourself. One thing we’ve learned and experienced through these last few years – (especially as collectively It feels like a huge % of the world is experiencing a lot of life online) is that there’s a lot of comparison to unrealistic beauty standards / success standards along with a pressure to conform to them. It can have a real effect on people’s mental health and we really want to help break some of the stigma around that if we can. We want to remind people they’re beautiful as they are, to encourage self expression and create a safe space at our shows for people to be able to be themselves.”
