Frontman Darren Teh summarised it best: “Finally, a new album! Fans can expect a journey. The album must be listened to from start to end. All 13 tracks.
“It’s like a little rollercoaster of emotions where it starts off being unsure and uncertain, then eventually comes to a moment of clarity and peace – where you are no longer angry or lonely anymore,” he told FMT Lifestyle.
Established in 2008, An Honest Mistake has grown into one of the most well-known English-language music acts in Malaysia, captivating listeners with their catchy tunes and irrepressible energy. The band currently comprises Teh on lead vocals/guitar, Tomas Tam on lead guitar, Sonny Wan on bass, and Eugene Gerard on drums.
According to Teh, their fifth album is different from their previous releases as it is “a lot more honest and mature”.
“We’ve had one or two tracks in the past that were more serious and aggressive, so this album is an expansion on that, with a modern twist: atmospheric guitars, hip-hop beats, lots of glitch sounds.
“It’s also thematically darker. In the past, our music used to be a little superficial: ‘Let’s run away, escape the world, no worries’; but with this album, we wanted to tackle real stories and real emotions.”
“The Lonely Hearts Club” features tracks such as “I Don’t Give A Damn”, “All Over Again”, “Bad Dream”, and the Anugerah Lagu Indie-nominated “goodbye, goodnight”.
Many of the songs are based on themes of disappointment and heartbreak. Crafting them was sometimes challenging for Teh, who describes himself as usually being a positive person.
As such, he said having to tap into his emotions while songwriting was sometimes difficult, but the album has turned out exactly how he wanted it to be.
One of the most emotional tracks is “there won’t be another you”, which Teh wrote after the passing of Cleo, his dog of 16 years.
Cleo, he shared, was a rescue who appeared at a time he was most vulnerable: his house had been broken into the night before he took her in. Cleo had tried to warn him, but he hadn’t realised it at the time.
“The first time I sang this live was at last year’s Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. I barely sang. I just cried. And I could see the audience tearing up, too, as I told the story of Cleo.
“This is probably the most emotional song I’ve ever written, and this is the turning point of the album where it changes.”
Fans of Malaysian music can look forward to collaborations with many local talents – including Jack from Bright Minder, Vinesh of Trophy Knives, Reshma, Reckless Escapades, Maruxa Lynd, Patriots, and LOGuitarist – on the album.
Then there’s “I Suffocate”, a collaboration with digital creator Amanda Love. The song tackles issues of depression and struggling with self-worth.
Speaking with FMT Lifestyle, Love explained: “It’s about how I had to put on a face every day to brave through a storm: putting out fires at work, in life, needing to provide for everyone except myself.
“I felt so suffocated by everything… and I thought, maybe I wasn’t the only one that felt that way.” A music video for “I Suffocate” is in the pipeline.
Teh and his bandmates are now busy promoting “The Lonely Hearts Club”, which was launched on Saturday, and there are plans for them to perform at a festival soon, alongside a string quartet.
As for the future, “we are planning a nationwide tour, so that’s going to be fun. Then, possibly booking festivals in the region.
“And at some point, an acoustic EP of reimagined versions of the songs would be something we’d like to put out,” Teh teased.
