“The idea is based around embracing your imperfections, being happy with them, and learning from them,” says Freddie Edwards, guitarist of the band Flawes, when asked about his band’s name. “Instead of seeing your previous attempts at success as failures, you learn from those experiences. The word itself has got an e, we see it as a flaw within a flaw.”

Back in 2015, a chance meeting between school friends and session musicians Josh Carruthers (JC) and Josh Hussey (Huss), set in motion what was to become a new alternative pop band. “We later met Freddie through a mutual friend and it was actually really easy to start the band, he was the first person that was recommended to me as a guitarist,” says frontman JC. “We had one rehearsal, went for a beer afterwards, and that was it,” adds drummer Huss. “Nothing’s changed!”

Having toured around Europe and released their debut album Highlights in 2020, Flawes had a full year of festivals, tours, and shows ahead of them. However, the pandemic forced their plans to be altered and their attention was directed towards more songwriting. “Lockdown definitely meant that we’ve really had to hone our craft in terms of learning to record ourselves,” says Edwards. “We’ve been in touch with all the producers we typically work with and are just trying to pick their brains with any tips they’ve got about how to do it best. But it’s been great, Huss has got his drum kit always set up now in his house. There’s been a lot of back and forths, a lot of zoom sessions. I think the fact that we weren’t allowed to go out and maybe party as much as we would normally benefitted the music. We worked really hard and we definitely wrote more than we typically would in that space of time. We’re really proud of what we’ve made.”

“I think that’s what people need right now - something to help them get back on their feet”

The perseverance and creativity of the band was made abundantly clear with the release of their EP, Reverie, in February of this year. An infectious optimism and energy characterise the EP, as the band sings of seeing the positives in a bad situation. “It’s got a real underlying message of believing in yourself and all of the songs are quite uplifting,” says Huss. “I think that’s what people need right now - something to help them get back on their feet.”

Boasting 6 diverse and catchy tracks, Reverie mixes a distinctly modern sound with reflective and nostalgic lyrics. JC explains the backstory behind one of the main singles, “What’s a boy to do”: “It’s based on quite a specific experience in my life, where I was probably at the age where I met Huss at school. I had a big crush on this girl; I basically walked up to her, asked her out, and she said no and walked away. Instead of being gutted that she said no, I was actually proud of myself that I had the balls to go and ask her. And I was like, well at least I know now and I can move on. Certain lyrics reflect the school situation, like the neon light that shines across the hallway. I can still picture exactly where it was.”

“The video was great, there was a lot of chaos and a lot of outfit changes”

Though the band could not record the EP in a studio due to restrictions, they were later able to film a music video for the single. I ask them about the process of making this eclectic work: “Shooting the music video was fun!” says Huss, “We spent a lot of time in lockdown on zoom calls with the directors and we came up with the whole concept ourselves, throwing as many crazy ideas together as we could. Could we get my Dad in the video? Could we get Freddie’s sister into the video? How could we make JC into mini JC? For the people reading this, it’s not going to make much sense unless you watch it. It was all COVID-friendly, we had a COVID officer on the video shoot who’s turned out to be a big fan now actually. But the video was great, there was a lot of chaos and a lot of outfit changes.”

“It’s quite different to what we’ve done previously,” reflects JC, “Many of our former music videos were very serious, with a moody and staring-off-into-the-distance vibe. We wanted to break that mould and for our personality to come across. The three of us are quite easy-going people, but you wouldn’t have guessed that from the previous music videos, so this one was a bit more like us, a bit more real.”

“The costume changes also tie into the name Reverie as well,” adds Huss, “It’s all about providing a safe space, an escapism away from the bad year we’ve had. Even just watching the videos is meant to take you away from reality for just a little bit and have some fun again.”

“To be able to go into HMV and actually buy a copy is something I still haven’t quite got my head around”

While Huss highlights “What’s a boy to do” as his favourite single the band have produced, JC and Edwards differ in their opinion. “I’d probably say my favourite is the first song of our first album Highlights, “Look no further” - the song started the whole process. It was a really big life moment to have released the album last January. To be able to go into HMV and actually buy a copy is something I still haven’t quite got my head around.”

““No good for my soul” is probably the one I’d choose,” Edwards adds, “The next release might trump this song when it comes out though! But there’s a particularly nice guitar line in “No good for my soul” - it feels great to play live.”

While lockdown meant a cancellation of the band’s live shows, they continued to take their performance aspirations to a new level with a World Record Attempt for the greatest number of individual livestream performances in 12 hours. The trio managed a staggering total of 60 performances to fans all over the globe, as lockdown made them realise they have fans further afield than they initially thought. “That was honestly the longest day, playing the same song,” says JC, “We started at 10 o’clock in the morning and we didn’t finish until 10 o’clock at night. We basically had an individual call with an individual fan every 10-15 minutes for those 12 hours. We just played that one song and by 3 o’clock we were all losing it.”

As restrictions ease, Flawes are keen to perform at the earliest opportunity and to promote their EP, as well as their album, as much as possible. The interview ends with a positive, upbeat tone, mirroring the kind that so often pervades their music. “Hopefully we’ll get to some of the places we’ve never been before, like Russia and Brazil, in the near future. We’re excited to make that happen,” says JC, “Performing is our favourite aspect of the job. I don’t think there’s a feeling that can beat being on stage and people singing the songs back to you.”