The Reckless, the electrifying rock band known for their high-energy performances and innovative sound, has recently released a bold new cover of Justin Timberlake’s iconic R&B hit ‘SexyBack’. Transforming the pop classic with its signature rock edge, The Reckless brings a fresh and exhilarating twist to Timberlake’s platinum record. Showcasing The Reckless’ innate versatility, the band demonstrates their incredible ability to make any track their own. We talk to The Reckless about the sensational single…
Hey The Reckless! How are you all? We absolutely love your ‘Sexy Back’ cover here at Urbanista. It’s so great to talk to you about this release.
Thank you for having us! We are doing well thank you for asking. Thank you so much for that, it means a lot as we continue to try and promote the song and build our fan base.
Your cover of ‘Sexy Back’ is such a fiery rock version of the original. What inspired you to put your rock spin on this Justin Timberlake classic?
So it started out with me, Fritz Fayman, listening to the original and thinking, damn…I wish this had some electric guitars haha. As a huge rock guy I still enjoy listening to other styles of music but I find myself sometimes wishing there would be more real instruments or more distorted and energetic arrangements in many songs I listen to. Sexy Back was one of those songs. I pictured the song going exactly like how you hear it in the first verse and chorus but at the time that’s all I could picture. Riku, our drummer, was the one who helped me really expand the arrangement and make it what you hear today.
You’ve described the process of transforming ‘Sexy Back’ as intense. Can you walk us through the creative journey of re-working this song?
The song started out, like I mentioned before, as just the first verse and chorus we have in the final version. Although people still enjoyed when we played the song this way, when we tried recording it the same way, it came out as really long and boring. We decided to put a pin in it and work on the arraignment. Riku, our drummer, was the one who really pushed for adjusting the arrangement. He was the one who really pushed the idea of 3 different verses each with their own style. We started brainstorming ideas. Riku decided that for the 2nd verse we should take a lot more inspiration from the original itself. He created a very funky drum beat in the second verse inspired a lot by the original beat, even recording himself hitting his desk as a way to get the sound he wanted. The 3rd verse took a lot of inspiration from the ending of Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine. We wanted to make it the final culmination of everything where all the energy was brought out in force. For the bridge and solo, John, our guitarist, and I always switched off live on the solo so we wanted to do something similar but we realized we could also add some really cool harmony guitar parts. It also took a bit to find all the tones and record the vocals to find the sweet spot of good energy while still sounding on key and powerful. This whole process and then the editing of the song to get it exactly how we wanted took much longer than any of our other tracks but we are thrilled with how it turned out.
Your live performances are known for their high-octane energy. How did you manage to capture that same live vibe in the studio recording of ‘Sexy Back’?
In order for us to get the same energy we get live into the song we had to go over a couple of things. The first was the tones of the instruments, they had to be punchy but also distorted and the bass had to hit hard. Everything had to be tight, we couldn’t have any errors on what the parts were. In order to achieve this we actually changed the chorus a bit in order for it to sound better in the recording. The version we played live just sounded way too messy. When it came to the vocals I had to make sure my delivery was powerful and gave off a good balance of anger and passion, yet also almost a snarky arrogance that goes along with the lyrics. Took more than a couple takes to get it to a point we were happy with.
Fritz, your vocals on the cover are commanding! How do you approach adding your own flair to such a well-known song? Any rituals or practices you do before recording or performing?
I typically don’t have any rituals or warm ups. I usually just go right into it. I do come in with the mindset that at a live show I want to make sure people are having fun, so adding a little bit more pizazz or character to my vocals can help vary things up when playing live. In terms of recording I just go at it and adjust as we see fit after we have a demo. I always want to come into it trying to express emotion and make the listener feel whatever emotion I’m trying to express through the song, and that can vary.
John, Michael, Riku—your instrumental prowess really shines in ‘SexyBack’. How did you approach adapting the pop elements of the original into a rock anthem?
Michael-“Well we wanted to keep the core aspect of the song, a fun pop song, with a catchy chorus and interesting and memorable riff that gets stuck in your head, so we took the lyrics and a bit of the riff and beat, added some heavy distortion, rocking/driving beat, and made one change to the chorus where we have the riff play along with the “go head be gone with it” part of the chorus, to give it a new dynamic, added a cool solo battle/harmony, and a good well placed bridge drop. To give the wonderful and hard hitting rock version of Justin Timberlake’s sexy back. My goal with the bassline was just to make sure that the energy, beat, and power that I mentioned previously, came across as well as it could.”
John-“Since I’m the newest member of the band, the trio (Fritz, Riku, and Michael) had their parts established at that point, which honestly made it easier for me when I stepped in. I wanted to add my own flare to the chorus, while also still serving the song, so I came up with a lead that I play that generally follows the vocal melody, but also differentiates enough to stay interesting. As for the solo section, Fritz and I wrote the duel guitar solos/harmonies pretty much on the spot in the studio, and it turned out great! I’m very happy with how the final mix turned out for us.”
Riku “We had a lot of fun with putting new spins on the feel of the song. The goal was to make each section feel fresh and new, while still calling back to the original version. Another goal was to make the song feel like it’s building energy as it goes on by being more strategic about grooves and drum fills. My favorite section is definitely the guitar solo. That part is definitely the biggest departure from the original, but also makes a lot of sense in the context of the track. John and Fritz killed it with their parts and we’re all really excited about how the harmonies came together.”
With ‘Get Loud’ paving the way for ‘SexyBack’, what’s the next step for The Reckless? Any hints about future projects or collaborations?
Our next big goal, when it comes to new songs, is to release an EP sometime in the fall. We really want to make our releases better every time and we feel like we have been doing that. It has been a while since we have released a collection of songs and we finally feel that we have enough new ones to release in a larger release.
The Reckless has evolved significantly since you began during the pandemic. How has your sound grown and changed over the years, and what can fans expect from your upcoming releases beyond ‘SexyBack’?
Our overall skill level has just improved significantly. We have created a lot more dynamics in our newer songs. We have also created just overall more complex arraignments. We started with fairly simple songs that just followed one riff and then had a chorus and maybe a solo every once in a while. We wanted to make our songs using newer and more unique song construction and although we do use the traditional song structure we aren’t overly reliant on it. We hope that new fans can expect more of what they have heard with Sexy Back. A bunch of awesome energy, dynamic changes, and tight mixes.
Lastly, for aspiring rock bands out there—what advice would you give on staying true to your sound while also pushing boundaries, just like The Reckless?
Honestly I would say that you can’t please everyone so don’t try to. Perfect the sound you love and always look to improve it but never try to please someone else, you will find your crowd, it might take some time but if you work hard, put out the best product you can, and be open to critiques and improvements while still being able to trust yourself then that’s all you can do. This industry is not easy and we still have a super long way to go and we all need some luck in life but if you aren’t willing to give it your all then you will never get to where you need to be.
Listen on SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
