Interview: Fetch Tiger Talks Past, Present, and Future … and “Much Melancholia”

Lorenzo Montali of Fetch Tiger chatted with Afterglow about how the band’s sound and aesthetics have evolved over the past five years and offered a glimpse of what the future holds for the upstart act.

Written by Zachary Bolash

Photo courtesy of Savannah Lauren

Brooklyn-based indie-rock duo Fetch Tiger, composed of Lorenzo Montali and Tanner Davis, weaves pop and acoustic sensibilities to create a sound of “much melancholia.” The duo has toured across the continental United States and the United Kingdom, with its latest stint in Austin for the South by Southwest Music Festival.

Afterglow: How are y’all liking South by Southwest so far? How is Austin treating you? 

Montali: It's been great. It's our second time in Austin. We played here for the first time maybe, like, a year and a half ago. But this is our first time at South by, so it's been a cool experience. We didn't really know what to expect, and so we luckily had, like, some days with shows, some days without. Then the days that we didn't, we just kind of wandered around and went to shows and met people.

Speaking of shows, you recently performed in collaboration with Afterglow for an unofficial SXSW showcase. How was that? 

Yeah. People had great, great energy. Sometimes our songs are on the slower, sadder side, but we played more of the higher energy stuff, and yeah, it felt really good … it was definitely a highlight of the week. I think it was cool that people were really engaged and [were] down to listen!

As a group, you met in 2019, but you started producing music in 2020. Is that correct?

Yeah, exactly right.

You stated that your songs can be slower, and I’ve noticed that a lot of your themes revolve around mental health. It is a bit of an obvious question, but how was it making music during the pandemic? 

It was definitely an interesting time. I started writing for the first time [in] probably 2017 or so, but I didn't start the band until 2019. And we had just recorded the first two songs when we were in London. And we had never really released anything, so we didn't know how to do it or when to do it. I remember we put the first one out in December 2019, and then the pandemic hit. We were kind of like, “Oh maybe we should wait on the second one.” And so, we waited a month and then two months just for things to kind of normalize or to feel, like, more settled and have a more of an audience in a way. But, I think we just realized, like, there's never a perfect time, and so we just started putting stuff out … for the next couple years, we didn't really plan. [The process] was just to record two songs and then release them, record two songs, release some. So, it gave us a little bit of freedom to put stuff out there instead of over-strategizing, which I think now we probably do a little bit too much of. The pandemic provided that push to just get [the songs] out there. 

What are some takeaways from the alternative or indie music scenes in London compared to Brooklyn? 

I think it was weird because when we started putting out [music] around the pandemic time, it was a whole year of lockdowns in the UK. Every time we would get ready to play a show, there would be another lockdown. We had to reschedule [them]. And so we actually only ever played one show in London, in September 2020. In April 2021, I moved to Brooklyn, [and the rest of the band] moved in September 2023. I would say that we never had a chance to get too deep into [the London scene] because of the pandemic and we were just starting as a band … we didn't really know that many people. I think I knew some more of, like, people in the singer-songwriter community, but not as much like the indie band scene. But, I'd always heard that the Brooklyn scene was very supportive and obviously massive, and there's so many venues that you can play. It is definitely a pretty easy and exciting transition.

This interview falls one day shy of the one-year anniversary of your debut LP, Walking to Camera. What was the process of making that record, and what has the last year been like for you as a band?

We recorded that album in 2022 because Tanner was still living in London, and so he came over for six or seven days. We had a very defined set of time that we had to finish that album. In some ways, that was a good thing where we had to make decisions quickly and leave [out] some good stuff. You know, maybe some songs were not as perfected by the end, but I think all in all, it was a good time crunch as someone who will just kind of mull over and change things over and over if there's no deadline. It's been a great year since the album came out. We've done a lot more touring. I think we've done three week and a half long tours since then. It felt good to get an actual album out there because [up to that point,] we had really only done maybe 12 or 15 singles and an EP. I think as a band, you have to have that first album to act as the anchor for your sound and your identity.

What is the artistic process in designing or choosing album or single covers? 

I feel like as we've gotten older as a band, it's almost like we think about it less. At the very beginning, we just looked at all the photos that we had and started to pick out ones that we think have a cool aesthetic. And that's just because I think a lot of our earlier stuff was indirect in the way the storytelling was. [Our music] was more told through characters or fictional stories and stuff. And so [the artistic process] was more based on the aesthetic of it. I think since then, we've tried to be more direct and write more about, like, our personal experiences, instead of hiding behind a good vibe. [We] wanted to actually say something. And so because of that, we were a little bit more intentional. Like, with [Walking to Camera], each of the singles had vignettes against that same red background.

The official Fetch Tiger site describes y’all’s music as “teeming with much melancholia.” Can you describe to listeners what exactly that sounds like? 

So, a lot of times we do more upbeat, sparkly sounding stuff, but then the lyrics are more sad, somber, or introspective. I think we find we're more comfortable [with that contrast] versus sad music [having] sad lyrics or upbeat music [having] lighthearted vocals. We try to combine the two. With the new stuff, we’re maybe going to lean in a little bit more into one or the other. But, I think the melancholic element will come through either way … I think it's just also a reflection of who we are as people. There's a lot of [mental health themes] in there, and I think a lot of that is just being in the melancholic space. I think, especially with mental health, I have had to learn not to judge myself for how I’m feeling.

What does the rest of 2025 and the future of Fetch Tiger look like?

I think it's funny because we were saying that we put so much focus on planning South by Southwest that we haven't really thought of what we want to do [next], or what the rest of the year looks like. We do have an EP that we recorded last year that we're sitting on for a bit and waiting to see the best way to release it. We're also gonna record our second album in the spring, so that's kind of the big milestone. And hopefully do a lot more touring! We're kind of excited to see where the second album lands in terms of the themes and the music.

Listen to Fetch Tiger on Spotify and Apple Music.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.