Since forming in 2020, Loveless have carved out a unique niche in the music world with their signature sound that defies simple categorization, describing themselves as “not too heavy,” and “not too pop,” according to lead vocalist Julian Comeau. Multi-instrumentalist Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail chimes in, saying they craft “heavy pop rock for everyone.” Initially gaining traction through viral covers, Loveless has since captivated audiences with their original material, swiftly making their mark on the industry.
While the duo’s covers on social media have played a pivotal role in catapulting them into the spotlight, they are building quite the distinguished catalog for themselves with their own original material. Their first release of 2024, “I Love It When It Rains,” was the duo’s fastest original song to garner a million streams. Their newest single, “Heart-Shaped Soul,” comes alongside the announcement of their upcoming album, Loveless II and anticipation of their upcoming headlining “I Love It When It Tours” Tour.
From their rock rendition of “Middle Of The Night,” by Elley Duhé, to their haunting interpretation of “Happier Than Ever,” by Billie Eilish, the duo has garnered attention from luminaries such as Charlie Puth and Lizzo along the way. The recognition from big league artists isn’t lost on the duo, and they’re well aware of how their viral journey has helped put them on the map. “Going viral definitely has helped,” Comeau says. “Charlie — shoutout Charlie — not only did he share our video and tag us, he dueted it more than once.”
Though Loveless doesn’t mind being referred to as a “TikTok artist,” they draw the line at being labeled a “TikTok cover band.” Embracing the role of a social media content creator and influencer, Comeau says, “I have no shame in being a social media content creator or ‘an influencer’ if it means that we can share what we make. You can either choose to embrace that and become artistic within that, or you can say, ‘boo hoo, I’m not gonna do this,’ and just do nothing.” Whether through content creation or audience engagement on platforms like TikTok, Instagram or Twitter, Comeau emphasizes the importance of maintaining a social media presence. “Somebody somewhere has to be engaging with you or you might as well be irrelevant,” he asserts. Comeau views this necessity as an inherent part of modern artistry and remains unapologetic about their approach: “I’m not ashamed of it at all.”
Covers aside, the duo has been working on their next album, Loveless II, slated for release Sept. 13. Compared to their two previous albums, Loveless I and End of an era, Comeau shares, “I think this one’s a lot more hopeful. There’s a little bit more of a tinge of, dare I say, happiness. It still is dealing with complex emotions and feelings of resentment and anger and rage. But I think it’s a little bit less bitter than Loveless I and a little bit more nuanced than End of an era.”
The duo says that they assembled a “dream team” for Loveless II. Erik Ron (Taylor Swift, Panic! At The Disco), Andrew Goldstein (blackbear, 5 Seconds of Summer), Zach Jones (The Home Team, Fever 333) and KJ Strock (MGK, Ice Nine Kills) have all contributed to the project, making it the group’s favorite to date. “We basically worked with everyone that I’ve wanted to work with on this record,” Comeau says. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done.”
This summer, Loveless is set to grace Chicago’s Riot Fest stage as well as England’s Reading and Leeds Festival, and have already played Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Festival in 2024 and Chicago’s Lollapalooza in 2023. They’ve also supported pop rock band Waterparks on their recent “Sneaking Out of Heaven Tour,” but they say nothing is quite like playing their own headlining shows. “There’s a place for both, but we definitely prefer to play our own shows,” Comeau says. Tirapelli-Jamail chimes in, adding that, “when we’re doing tour shows, the day is pretty much the same as the last, you pretty much know what to expect.”
As Loveless prepares for their headline “I Love It When It Tours Tour” this fall with support from Beauty School Dropout and Julia Wolf, the duo promises to add some new music to the setlist but not without having their favorites out of the bunch. “I think ‘Heart-Shaped Soul,’ is my favorite and I’m excited for people to scream it along with me,” Comeau says. “‘Ghost Like You’ is really powerful, and I think the feature we have with GAYLE on ‘Lonely in New York’ is gonna be really, really strong!” Chiming in, Tirapelli-Jamail adds that, “I love the closing track on the album, ‘Just A Feeling I Remember’ It’s a very beautiful ballad-y sort of vibe which is something I don’t really think that we’ve done before.”
Comeau says he hopes to pivot away from personal journaling in their songwriting and dive into more narrative-driven concepts. “I’d love to honestly break away from writing so much journal stuff and start doing some more story-based stuff,” he says. “Breaking into concepts and maybe doing a concept album. We kind of have this trajectory in mind of vision is this trilogy of the Loveless I, the Loveless II and Loveless III [albums]. Then from there, who knows?” Tirapelli-Jamail echoes Comeau’s interest in exploring concept-based music and drawing inspiration from bands they admire. “A lot of the bands that we enjoy listening to are concept-based,” he says. “I think bringing that to Loveless would be really cool.”
Apart from aiming to become the biggest band in the world (as Comeau often jokes), the band is committed to growing their catalog of original material and developing their craft further, regardless of the traditional pressures associated with evolving as a musician in the social media era. “We’re building it up like a real organic band, and we wouldn’t have it any other way,”
Comeau says. “We’re not in it for the money or the fame; we’re in it for the art.”
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