Michael Clifford On How Creating 'Like A Kid Again' Informed His Debut Album, 'SIDEQUEST'
The 5 Seconds Of Summer guitarist has gone solo, but his debut album, SIDEQUEST, is never what you expect. "I definitely wanted to make something that was wild," Michael Clifford tells The Music.
Michael Clifford (Credit: Amy Lee/Le3ay Studio)
Side quests. They can often be the most engaging part of a video game, film, television series, book, or even a piece of music.
Those little side plots that serve to fill out a world you’re already immersing yourself in. A way to introduce new plots for your protagonist or see them in a different light. The ability to collect experience points, money, and other exclusive items. A side quest is designed to be rewarding and fascinating, and most of all, present a new kind of challenge.
For Michael Clifford, his forthcoming debut solo album, SIDEQUEST, represents all of those things. Best known as the lead guitarist and co-vocalist of the uber successful Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer, Clifford is stepping out of the spotlight of the band and paving his own path.
Drummer Ashton Irwin was the first to go solo, releasing his debut album, Superbloom, in October 2020. Lead singer Luke Hemmings was next – he dropped his debut solo record, When Facing The Things We Turn Away From, in August 2021. Last month, bassist and co-vocalist Calum Hood released his debut solo effort, ORDER chaos ORDER.
It’s an interesting time to say, “This is me without my bandmates,” that’s for sure. Clifford, running on just a few hours of sleep, catches up with The Music from his home in Los Angeles.
He showcases his sleek home office setup, featuring guitars behind him and a new microphone, while holding his daughter’s new pink headphones as he explores the many elements that went into SIDEQUEST, out this Friday (25 July) via Hopeless Records.
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“It’s been scary, to be honest. It really makes you appreciate the good people around you; I miss my friends. Doing it by yourself is no joke because, you know, it’s obviously all on you,” Clifford admits. “All the decisions are on you: you’re in charge of your own destiny. There’s less people to bounce ideas off of, which sometimes sucks.
“But yeah, there was no time where I was like, ‘Now I have to go side-questing.’ I just kind of fell into it, to be honest. I made some music and ended up getting it to a place that I felt happy with, and that I could see myself releasing it. I’m having fun and I’m just enjoying this little chapter of my life.”
Clifford will launch SIDEQUEST with two nights at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on 31 July and 1 August – a prospect that “terrifies” the musician.
“I’m excited; that’ll be very fun. I need to get working on that and make sure that it’s ready. But yeah, no, I’m petrified of the live show,” he says. “I’m going to be especially nervous when/if my band come to the show, as it will very much be the first time I’ve ever taken a stage where all the focus is on [me]. That’s scary as hell!”
He adds with a laugh, “Right now, my vision looks like I’m getting on stage, and then I’m freezing and I’m forgetting all my words, and then I’m running away, Mean Girls style…”
When listening to SIDEQUEST, it’s clear that Clifford embraces a genre-free, eclectic style that you don’t hear all that often, while still feeling uniquely him, and like it can appeal to Gen Z.
He draws from influences as diverse as Biggie and My Chemical Romance, and as a result, the album defies categorisation. The chameleonic effort is packed with surprises: cool is pure pop-punk vibes, thirsty is an acoustic-led ballad, eclipse goes hyperpop, and he rap-sings on give me a break.
“I definitely wanted to make something that was wild,” Clifford grins, sharing his love for things that don’t necessarily make sense when they’re next to each other.
“That was a big part for me, too. I wanted it to be unexpected. I wanted it to subvert those expectations and do something else, and find ways to do the things that don’t make sense together.
“Some of the influence on this was finding things that don’t necessarily go together. I go from a Biggie song to My Chemical Romance. It feels so, like, opposite ends of the spectrum.
“I was trying to not listen to too much music going through this, because I really wanted to get any ideas that already exist out of my brain, and create from a place of trying to undo my knowledge of music, and just create like a kid again; create as if I had just gotten a music-making software out of a cereal box, you know? That was the kind of energy that I was trying to tap into.”
Featuring collaborators such as American DJ and producer Porter Robinson (Clifford’s “favourite artist of all time”), pop-punk outfit Waterparks, and up-and-comer Ryan Hall, SIDEQUEST will be released by the influential punk rock label, Hopeless Records.
Clifford joins a roster of artists including All Time Low, Neck Deep, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, The Wonder Years, fellow Australians in Stand Atlantic and Trophy Eyes, and stacks of other bands. Discussing the landmark signing, Clifford recalled the label’s support even when he said he’d be releasing an album containing “a bunch of different sounding stuff.”
“Hopeless sort of came to me even before hearing some of the music that I was making,” Clifford tells The Music. “They have such an amazing team, and every time I tell someone that I’m on Hopeless, or that I signed to Hopeless, instantly, their first reaction is, ‘Yeah, that makes sense’ [laughs].
“I definitely wanted it to be that kind of partnership where, even though I’m not making music that’s traditionally pop-punk… [it’s still] representative of Hopeless and their history. They’ve clearly evolved so much and have such a wide, eclectic range now; I think the stereotype of what Hopeless is what I’m talking about when I say, I’m not making nostalgia pop-punk; that’s not my MO with it.”
He adds, “I really loved that they were so open and so supportive of me trying to go against the grain and create shit that was challenging to the idea of what genre it was, and not specifically sticking to a lane, you know?
“My biggest thing is: I want this to live in every lane. Throughout the album, it’s trying to find its sound. And then, when you think you know what it is, it’s all of a sudden, I show you something different. I was really, really obsessed with creating a bunch of different sounding stuff. They were so supportive of that.”
Ahead of the album’s release, Clifford said it would explore his insecurities and opening up about problems, offering relatability backed by peppy synths and bright guitars. It’s in these moments that he dazzles the most.
The most rewarding moments of SIDEQUEST are when Clifford slows right down and embraces the most intimate aspects of songwriting. The tracks enough and nosebleed are melancholy heaven, with quieter verses leading to a well-earned, impressive chorus.
Clifford notes that many songs changed over time, and some have even been in the works since 2020. “enough was the song I wrote in 2020 and, when you write something so long ago, you were in a specific moment at that time – I think a lot of people were, and it was heavy,” he shares.
The song has taken an interesting path, shifting from a cynical number to a complete 180 after Clifford found a new perspective by looking at the world through his daughter’s eyes.
“Being a parent and having a child, it really opened this other perspective for me, where I was like, ‘Man, the whole reason that I make music is that fucking feeling that you’ve just found something that has made you, like, so happy and feel unfiltered joy,’" he says.
“After watching my daughter experience so much joy in such little things, I looked back on a lot of the music, and I was like, ‘Man, maybe I was more jaded than I anticipated, or I was a little more jaded than I meant to be.’
“So, I wanted to re-do stuff and re-approach it from this element of: I want it to just ooze joy and playfulness and even in the heavier parts, even in the more mellow, emotional songs, like enough and nosebleed and thirsty, I still wanted it to have this feeling of ‘We’re still playing.’
“I don’t want anyone to leave listening to SIDEQUEST feeling bad, as basic and foundational as that sounds. I wanted it to be something that makes someone smile and makes them feel like they’ve had fun. I really wanted it to feel enjoyable for someone listening to it.”
Clifford echoes his earlier sentiments: the goal of SIDEQUEST was ultimately putting music together as if he were a child.
“I don’t take what I’m doing seriously,” he chuckles, “I don’t take myself seriously. I definitely take making music and the position that I’m in as an artist and the fact that there are people out there, surprisingly, who will want to listen to my music and want to hear me sing or whatever – I take that very seriously, and I’m so incredibly grateful and proud.
“But what I don’t take seriously is who I am. I’m just shocked that I’m a real person existing in the world [laughs]. So, I think part of it is, as a person, I’m not a super, ultra serious, melodramatic person. It’s just not who I am. Like, all I want to do in my life is just be a kid.”
SIDEQUEST will be released on Friday, 25 July, via Hopeless Records. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.
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