Indie rock duo Messier is making waves with their haunting and emotionally charged new single, “Baskervilles”, a striking preview of their upcoming album, Stream of Guilty Consciousness. Exploring the deeply personal yet universal theme of catastrophizing, the track highlights their signature atmospheric soundscapes while showcasing a more mature and layered evolution from their debut album, On Malaise. Written and developed amidst the introspection of Northern Finland, “Baskervilles” reflects Messier’s dedication to meticulous composition, dynamic arrangements, and bold experimentation. As they gear up for their 2025 album release, fans can expect surprises, live performances, and the promise of even more boundary-pushing creations on the horizon.
Your new single, ‘Baskervilles,’ delves into the human tendency to catastrophize. What inspired you to explore this theme, and how did it shape the song’s lyrics and sound?
As usual, the music itself came first. Since the music has a lingering and ominous quality which I tried to match in the theme of the lyrics, the topic itself seems to be a reoccurring theme in my writing as well as myself as a person and I will probably circle back to it sooner or later. – Lauri
The track is described as haunting and emotionally charged. How do you go about creating such an atmosphere, and what role do the instrumentation and production choices play in achieving it?
As I said, the music was the first thing that I laid down for this song and for me, at least the looming character is already present in the composition of the song no matter which way we would’ve arranged it. I remember coming up with the core of the song by myself on a guitar while staying over at my mom’s in Northern Finland. Once I got down to the main idea which you can hear in the intro, it wouldn’t leave me alone for a couple of days or weeks and eventually, it turned into what it is now. Usuall,y that is how I stumble upon ideas and I like to wait long enough until an idea persistent enough comes along. With the arrangement, we always focus on getting the groove just right and making sure we have different levels on dynamics in order to keep the music interesting throughout the song. – Lauri
‘Baskervilles’ is a preview of your upcoming album ‘Stream of Guilty Consciousness’. How does this single set the tone for the rest of the album?
Baskervilles was one of the first tracks that we finished writing after our debut and to me it feels like a more mature and developed approach. It is still quite aggressive but I feel it leaning less towards the previous punk rock influences to be heard on our debut. It clearly has our signature all over it, but we have managed to bring more depth, weight and width to our sound. -Lauri
Your debut album ‘On Malaise’ earned you a reputation for pushing boundaries. How has your approach evolved with this new project, and what lessons from your debut have carried over?
With On Malaise being our debut album and personally the first album I have ever worked on, the lessons learned were countless. With our second album, we were demanding towards ourselves and rehearsed very carefully before stepping into the studio. We also tracked each of the songs live during a single week of tracking and did the overdubs later. With our debut, we were forced to record in several locations over a longer time span. Luckily we also had much more time to polish the arrangements and also learned to communicate our ideas much better than before. We learned at least as many new tricks than with our debut and we are all the wiser now looking towards our next releases. – Lauri
Messier is known for its emotionally intense soundscapes and bold experimentation. How do you balance maintaining your signature style while continuing to innovate and surprise your listeners?
With present times there is an infinity of new music and influences to explore and I am all for incorporating new influences into my own writing. However, I think my taste and style as a composer and lyricist are quite distinct, so most likely my work will always sound like my work no matter what. For me, the priority is in the composition of the music and I think it always will be. That being said, the instrumentations and methods of production can and should be thought of again every now and then. I’ve always had a sort of a love-hate relationship with the guitar as an instrument, which means that I am always searching for new ways to write. – Lauri
The theme of catastrophizing feels deeply personal and universal. Did writing ‘Baskervilles’ lead to any personal realizations or changes in how you approach these tendencies in your own lives?
That tendency was very present in my life the I wrote both the music and the lyrics so I must have been a pressing issue to discuss in the music I was writing. I think there were realizations but as usual, those came much later. As cliche, as it is, my realizations and ways to cope with things is to focus on what is present at the moment and simply just cross one bridge at a time since that is ultimately the best you can do. – Lauri
As an indie rock duo, your collaboration is key. How do you and Antti approach songwriting and arranging? Has this dynamic changed since you started in Oulu in 2017?
Back in 2017, the process was more straightforward since the songs and arrangements were kind of already set in place so that we could start rehearsing them together with a drummer. Some things have changed, nowadays it’s usually still Lauri who brings in an idea of a composition and we talk through what we like and what needs more work. The ideas often sound pretty good right off the bat so it’s easy to build upon a ready theme or a feeling. – Antti
Your debut was released via the iconic SideOneDummy Records. How has your experience in the indie music scene, both in Finland and internationally, influenced your creative journey?
The release of the debut album through S1D was a lot of fun and we appreciate everything they did for us. The indie scene in Finland sure is small but there are some inspirational artists here and there. However, it is mostly written in our native language. – Antti
With ‘Baskervilles’ and the singles from ‘Stream of Guilty Consciousness’, you’ve teased a more expansive and layered sound. Can you share any insights into the recording process and how you achieved this evolution?
The way Stream of Guilty Consciousness differs from our debut album is the fact that we had more intricate ideas and the time and the budget to work on the songs. The last four years have been a huge learning process on how to become better at producing ourselves and getting the sounds we want and how we want to present the songs. – Antti
Looking ahead, what can fans expect leading up to the 2025 release of ‘Stream of Guilty Consciousness’? Are there any surprises or special plans you’re excited to share?
The new album kicks ass so we’re eager to share it with everyone at last. A few live renditions of the songs are also up and coming. We’ve already hit the studio again after the holidays and started recording our album #3 so there are a lot of good things going on. – Antti
