Words by: Amanda Marano 

Hundredth has recently shared their dreamy new single, “Somewhere Nowhere”. The song, which is the title track off their forthcoming album out this fall, its an electro-pop-rock gem full of emotion and building optimism. With lush instrumentals, piano arpeggios, and enticing lyrics like “it comes too late / we wait too long / ride the middle / hope we still belong / we carve out plans / to watch them break / cuz it’s funny to watch the feeling / drift away,” the stunning track is both comforting and melodically ambient.

Vocalist, Chadwick Johnson, discussed the new song, explaining, “Somewhere Nowhere’ was one of the last songs I wrote for the record and I really wanted a ‘thesis-like’ title-track to set the tone for the entire album. It’s uplifting, but dark. It’s modern, but feels a bit nostalgic. It’s a glance backward while moving forward. I feel like it’s one of the most balanced songs on the album and it really sets up the entire album sonically and lyrically.”

Hundredth recently announced their fifth full-length album, Somewhere Nowhere, which will be released on October 9th. The track follows the album’s vibrant lead single, “Bottle It Up”.  As the title track for the exciting new album, it sets the scene for a new, synth-pop era for the group, a break from the old into the shining new. Speaking on the album, Johnson shared, “It’s super dense production-wise, but the hope is that you can really feel it in your guts. We wanted things that groove or swing, to make something more rhythmically complex, but also to make you feel something. It was about finding moods and imperfections in that electronic environment.”

The album is the band’s biggest leaps towards a new image so far, with a fresh new genre-defying sound.  “It’s always been about where we are right now—what we want to hear, what’s inspiring in the moment,” Johnson explains. “We’re always growing and changing as people, so it makes sense that the music does too.”

The South Carolina-based band’s sound has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade, from their humble beginnings in hardcore to their sharp turn into kinetic shoegaze on 2017’s critically acclaimed RARE. While RARE’s success brought the band to new heights, Johnson wasn’t about to stop there. He followed with 2018’s Ultrarare, and then a series dreamy pop singles in 2019. They constantly innovate and build on their craft, which proves the successful route to pleasing their large and loyal fanbase.

“The goal is still to make the music that we want to hear, but now we’re just more influenced by things outside of guitar,” he says. “I also couldn’t play a lot of these chords or create the same atmospheres on just a guitar. I can create more emotion or more complex arrangements when I use a digital piano or synth… We could have made albums out of those songs but they just didn’t feel quite right yet,” he explains. “We knew we were heading far from RARE with the new record, I had a vision of something different.”

Getting candid about being a musician in our modern day society, he Johnson further shared, “Doing music as a career can be really weird, especially right now. You ask yourself where you think this thing you’re working so hard on is going. Everyone is chasing something but this record is about trying to analyze why. We’re all so focused on where we want to go, but we might never get there, so what’s the point if you don’t at least enjoy what you’re doing.”

Somewhere Nowhere elevates the band in status and skill and they  continue to explore the endless possibilities of their soundscape, while still remaining true at heart to their vast instrumentation and intricate lyrics. Unafraid of change, Johnson says, “If we’re going to do something, we’re going to go all in. Each album represents where we are, and I don’t plan on stopping.”

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