To Tea + Toast , an Introduction to Tiberius
By José Barrera Aguirre | @munksandberries
Cover photo taken by Elijah Adamson
“Who I am now, who I was in college, and this weird juxtaposition between feeling, like, really old and also really young at the same time.”
Brendan Wright, the lead singer of Tiberius, reflects on his first album, A Depressing Optimism, and leaving that state to create Lull. A body of work that is genuine to his experiences and reflects a time period of uncertainty.
Tiberius was originally a form of exploration for Wright, a way to deconstruct his emotions and blow them up to a “monstrous scale.” After playing a couple of songs live with his friends, Tiberius became a band.
A Depressing Optimism, for me, felt like this long rant about a boy going through an existential crisis that isn’t different from anyone else’s. And that’s the point.
Wright can acknowledge that to some people he might just be a “Mac de Marco ripoff," he says. "I blend in and there's not necessarily any reason to listen to me over anybody else. But It’s something I've always wanted to do. So I'm excited to do it.”
For his second album, Wright wanted to leave his monsters behind and create music that wasn’t constantly bringing him down.
“But sometimes I think what if it happened earlier?
What if it happened now?
What if I moved to the city? What if I moved down the street?”
A what-if to a possibility we once held onto.
“Pale Ale,” is an introduction to everything that comes after that initial moment. That moment of clarity when you realize what is in front of you, and just dive in.
I feel that there is always this contemplation of what-if and Tiberius embodies all of that in their new album.
This understanding that so much can happen and so much change can occur within a year that it’s almost intuitive to ask what if.
“And I promised the nicks I’d get what I deserve
but now the love in my life, is just for her
And if you see me in case and you still get the fuzzies
I hope you get why I wanted to stop
I mean it was probably a good idea
I mean I'm graduating this year
But sometimes I think what if it happened earlier?
What if it happened now?”
“Pale Ale,” was originally released in the summer of 2019 and was reworked to fit thematically with the rest of the album.
“This song is about dating in college and this experience of getting swept up in a moment, and sort of experiencing romance, but then also experiencing [that] it's very short-lived. You're also in shambles because you're in college and you don't know where you're going with your life and the person you're with doesn't know where they're going with their life. And it's just kind of this like, little sliver in time. But it begins this process of self-reflection, of looking at yourself and realizing that, like, you don't really have your shit together. And so let's unpack that more … and the unpacking is what the album is supposed to be.”
Lull is a reaction; it is a result of diving into the unknown and rolling with the punches.
Compared to the first album, it was described as the morning after a drunken night, not in the sense where it’s all a blur but one finds clarity in the unknown.
“The songs are written kind of between the period of like, about to graduate, just graduated, just moved to a new place. So a lot of them deal with things like transitions and a reflection on, you know, who I am now and who I was in college and this weird juxtaposition between feeling, like, really old and also really young at the same time.”
Tiberius will be releasing Lull sometime next year, they had promised it in the fall, and then in the spring, but honestly nothing is certain right now and that’s okay.
In the meantime, the music video for “Pale Ale” is out now and was directed by Elijah Adamson. What was originally supposed to be houseparty became one man, a U-Haul, cardboard cutouts, and toast with tea.
To keep up with Tiberius, follow their instagram at @tiberiuswright
Listen to their music here
Watch the music video for 'Pale Ale' here