Blood approach loving a relationship backwards in their debut LP, ‘Loving You Backwards’

Words by Matt Keenan

Photos by Olivia Stabile

Ever since starting this magazine, Liv and I have gotten to go on some really fun adventures together. Recently, we got the chance to go on potentially one of the coolest ones yet: we did a photoshoot in an arcade. 

Meet Blood, formerly longtime Austin residents who back in 2021 decided to start fresh. After moving into a house in Philadelphia, the band had undergone a reorienting experience, spending time and effort writing music around the clock. Their latest album, ‘Loving You Backwards’, released on August 2nd, 2024. The record sounds as though it is informed by an eclectic, yet focused range of influences yet also feels familiar simultaneously. Listening to the record takes you through a past once explored, while also bringing you back to the present, approaching a relationship, well, backwards. 

We got the chance to meet Blood in Philadelphia, and talk about the record, and take some pictures in an arcade. Below, you’ll find our interview, as well as photos taken by my partner in crime documenting our time with Blood. 

Best Left Magazine: First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us, the shoot was so much fun, Liv and I loved getting to meet you all. One of my favorite ways Loving You Backwards was described was ‘approaching a relationship in reverse’, do you feel like that is an appropriate description, is there any significance behind the title? 

Blood: It is about having to go back into your own past and deal with all of the personal blocks that are keeping you from being truly present with your family, friends, and lovers in the now.

Best Left Magazine: You moved to Philadelphia from Austin in 2021, and it has been what you might call a rejuvenating experience musically, what are some of the things you feel have changed since your move? Do you think the move has changed you musically in other ways? 

Blood: Yeah, I think moving allowed us to go inward and not give a fuck about the expectation of the audience. I think Philadelphia is a city steeped in the blues and in a sense of heaviness cut with very public jubilation and a great sense of humor. I think our music was influenced by that beautiful moodiness and in that I think we were able to find something that felt more directly tapped to the subconscious.

Best Left Magazine: Loving You Backwards has been described as a vast, and widely influenced album as well, if you could introduce Loving You Backwards to someone who has never listened to it before what are some artist/album comparisons you would draw? 

Blood: It sounds strange but I have a very hard time answering this because I am too close to the project and have sat with the music too long. All I can say is we were listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins and I personally was locked into the best radio station in the country Philly’s 107.9.

Best Left Magazine: You’ve also announced a tour! Are there any specific dates on the upcoming tour you’re excited for most? Are you playing anywhere you’ve gotten to play before that you’re excited to revisit, or people that you’re excited to play with for the first time, or is this all new to you as a group? 

Blood: I am very excited to have a homecoming show of sorts in Austin with our friends Font and Gummy Fang. Also Nola is always a blast and Chicago with GMG and TV Buddha is gonna be so fun. I feel a deep kinship with Chicago.

Best Left Magazine: Tim, you’re a self-professed bookstore gay, and your study of queer history is very much a conceptual underpinning of this record. How would you say the study of queer history has come into this record in terms of inspiration, where exactly do these conceptual underpinnings lie in your own words? 

Blood: I think the only obvious thing is just being obsessed with memoirs of famous and random fucking queers from the past. This probably helps with crafting one’s own story and biography. Although, after this album I am tapped out on the self, as I imagine we all are.

Best Left Magazine: I love the themes of big ideas and big honesty that are prevalent throughout this record, and really enjoyed getting to listen to it more and more. How would you in your own words recommend this record for those who might be interested in listening? 

Blood: I would say its a pop record that has great variety and a lot to give back to the listener if you spend extra time with it and spend time in headphones with it. Our producer Dan Enrique Howard created a series of collages that feel really professional but also have the intricacies of a producer always trying to come at a song from a fresh angle.

Best Left Magazine: While the record may be loving you backwards, what are some artists/albums you’ve been loving right now? When you go on tour, and you are theoretically handed the aux cord, what are you putting on and why?

Blood: My favorite find of the summer is the band Wheat whose album Medieros is timeless. Check it out. Also, been listening to a lot of softer british indie like the Sundays.

Best Left Magazine: Putting aside music for a second, is there anywhere you’re excited to visit on the tour for non musical reasons? If so, where and why? 

Blood: New Orleans and Chicago because theyre always a blast and I love the people there so much.

Best Left Magazine: This might be the typical last question of the interview, but where can people connect with you online, and is there anything you want to say to anyone reading this? 

Blood: You can hit me up on IG or the email, especially if youre a booking agent! Please come to the shows, bring your friends, and get as weird as you like. Cant wait to see yall on the road!

Thank you so much again to Blood for taking the time to talk with us, Liv and I are super excited we got to put together this interview and you can check out some portraits of the band below. You can also listen to the debut LP from Philadelphia’s very own Blood now wherever you get your music and be sure to catch them on tour if they are stopping by a city near you!