The Format return with ‘Boycott Heaven,’ their first album in 20 years
Boycott Heaven, The Format‘s first studio album in nearly 20 years, arrives today.
For a while, the indie rock outfit’s Sam Means and Nate Ruess thought they might be cursed as a band.
“Anytime we get together and try to do anything with this band, something horrible happens in the world,” Means says.
In 2020, COVID-19 delayed and eventually nixed a planned tour, which would’ve reunited the duo after their split in 2008. A follow-up to 2006’s Dog Problems was also in the works.
“ The wildfires happened then too,” Means says.
So when The Format finally took the stage again in September, the energy was palpable.
“It was just, like, out of body, surreal,” Ruess says of performing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. “Walking out there and just seeing all those people? Just, no words. It just was crazy.”
Their third studio album has been colored by what came after the band’s original split. Ruess went on to front the Grammy Award-winning band fun., which skyrocketed to stardom with their Janelle Monáe-assisted hit, “We Are Young.” Meanwhile, Means dove into his own solo work, producing film scores and co-founding a merchandise company, Hello Merch.
Their reunion was sparked by Ruess, who found himself writing again and learning to play the guitar.
“As I had started to finish these outlines of songs, I was, like, ‘Oh, this would be an awesome Format album,’ ” Ruess says.
In today’s session, Ruess and Means join World Cafe in the studio to talk about returning to a guitar-forward sound and how the long gap between records has made Boycott Heaven a special project for both of them.
Plus, The Format perform live.
Interview Highlights
Ruess on feeling uncertainty after the band split
“I was reminiscing a little bit about what we used to do — how my mom was so depressed when [The Format] had ended … Because I’m not qualified for anything else, so when it ended, it was, like, ‘What are you gonna do? You barely graduated high school.’ ”
Means on how being a dad changed his collaboration style
“As a parent, you’re wanting to just be, like, ‘This is how you do it’ — teach her, I guess. But at a certain point, I realized, I don’t have to teach you how to do this. Like, you have this in you. I just need to help you find it within you. And that’s a perfect way to think about writing songs and working with adults as well.”
Ruess and Means on stage fright
Ruess: “I’m always terrified to walk out on stage … I don’t enjoy it. That’s why I didn’t do it.”
Means: “We were a mess.”
Ruess: “You mean emotionally?”
Means: “Yes.”
Ruess: “We would constantly check in with each other via text just to see how the other was doing.”
Means: “Frantically rehearsing. We wanted to be very prepared. We took it very seriously — we still do.”
Ruess on songwriting for other artists
“I hate it. It’s awful. It’s the worst situation … I’m a lyric guy. I like to go away to my room for a couple of weeks and not come out until I’ve written lyrics. But you sit there with these people and you’re, like, ‘What should this song be about?’ … It just felt weird and seedy … I didn’t feel like a creative person. I just felt like someone who had the answers.”
This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Kimberly Junod. Our digital producer is Miguel Perez. World Cafe‘s engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.