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Photo by Lucy Black

The Army, The Navy never expected being put in the position of pondering single choices or marketing their music on the internet. They’re just best friends who enjoy singing in beautiful harmony from their bedroom, so much so that it landed them the opportunity to make a debut record. Fake Brave Life is full of mysterious twists and turns, inspired by nature and its many complexities. We spoke to the dynamic duo about their favorite harmonies, the intriguing visual language of the album, and what it felt like to assume the role of recording artists: 

OnesToWatch: What was the process for making your debut album? 

Maia: Our first EPs were like sisters. After that, we had a vessel of music that we needed to work on, grow and polish. That's when Fake Brave Life came into the world. We revamped all of the songs that we had in our pocket and they slowly became our favorite songs that we have ever written. There's obviously a pressure behind it because you're releasing something new into the world and wondering if people are actually going to listen and connect with it. But, Sasha and I are just really passionate about these songs. Being able to put them all in one cohesive little chapter book is so satisfying. 

Sasha: It came about pretty organically. We were always thinking about the next step. When we were writing our first 2 EPs, we had the name for the album already done. The one rule that we made for ourselves for this album was just to make sure that we're absolutely in love with every single section of each song. 

It’s fascinating that you had the name of the album before even starting the album process. 

Sasha: We have this long list of random names that we like. There’s hundreds. 

Maia: We probably have our next 7 album titles in there. [Laughs]

Wait, that's so fun. It's like a baby name list. 

Maia: Literally. And we have those lists for everything. We have them for band name ideas, project names, pet names. We're big on lists around here. 

If you have so many names to choose from, why Fake Brave Life? 

Sasha: We have a big track record of finding names that we think are aesthetically cool and then assigning meaning later. That's kind of what happened with our band name, too. 

It’s so cool to then be like, “What does it mean?” 

Sasha: Somebody told us that Fake Brave Life sounds like something that's already in the world. It sounds like an entity, it's familiar. 

“Becky” is an interesting way to start this record. Why did you choose it as the opener? 

Sasha: The intro to that song has a long, drawn out instrumental drum part that we don't really have on the rest of the record. So, it felt like a really good introduction that warms you up to the music. We played around with a lot of songs, but ultimately that one just felt the best. It’s a good transition also between our old stuff. 

Maia: Someone who’s listened to our music before will hear “Becky” and still hear The Army, The Navy, but then it propels into something bigger, but familiar. 

Harmonization is like a third member of The Army, The Navy. How intentional are you when writing the music to include moments for harmony? Or does it happen naturally?

Sasha: When we write the songs, we aren't thinking about harmony ever. As they're finished and we're playing them through, the harmonies come up or maybe they don't until we record. Recording the vocals for this album took one month because of how complex the harmonies are. We went insane. 

Maia: It does totally feel like a third member. It feels like a third instrument, at least. The harmonies in this album are definitely the most complex, difficult and funky harmonies we've ever done. When Sasha and I write songs, we're really in the moment and just letting whatever feels natural come out. With the harmonies, we're so intentional, almost scientific. 

How does performing live factor into the complexities of the harmonies? 

Maia: We were just talking about that! It's hard. It takes a lot of practice and we just have to sit down every single day, run the new songs and practice the harmonies. Once we have the rubric, we just drill them until it feels 2nd nature. But it's tough. We don't make it easy for ourselves, that's for damn sure. 

Are there any artists with harmonies you admire? Little Mix’s harmonies used to gag me. 

Maia: I loved Little Mix. 

Sasha: Beyoncé, 100%. 

Maia: Tiny Habits. 

Sasha: Caroline Polachek has really good harmonies. 

This record is very soft, but intense. Is maintaining that balance something that you’re conscious of? 

Maia: I don't feel like we're super conscious of that, honestly. We just sort of follow our hearts in the way that the song needs to be. I think about “Walls” and how, for me, that song feels more insecure and unsteady than “Fake Brave”, which is mad and angry. 

“Fake Brave” being the album closer is so important to this record. How did you decide that?

Maia: We always knew we wanted it to cap the album, honestly. It felt way too intense to be the opening. 

Sasha: Fake Brave Life was born out of Maia and I being thrust into a career in which we really didn't think about the fact that our art would be out there and be open to criticism. We never really had an intention of doing this career, which is so cool and we're so lucky. I think it takes a certain kind of bravery to share your art and to put it out there. That's something we've had to reckon with because songwriting was always so personal to us. We never thought about anybody else and it was never about sharing it really. It was just an outlet. 

Maia: It’s fake it ‘till you make it for us, every single day. 

Ending on this note, it makes the album feel incomplete. But, in a purposeful way.

Maia: In a lot of the album, we are putting on a front. “Fake Brave” is when we're like, ‘I'm faking it. This is not even reality.’ 

It prompts someone to go back and listen to the full thing again, with more context. What’s your songwriting process as a unit? 

Maia: Sometimes we’re in such a writing phase where we're just constantly bubbling with new ideas and other times we're in a practicing phase. Other times we're in a fuck music phase where we need to have some separation from it. It's so collaborative. The majority of the time we start by writing a melody and then the lyrics just find their way to each other. Most of the time we just start with a guitar part and a dream.

Sasha: Recently we wrote a song, which is not on the album, about this musician that we follow on Instagram. We just made up a whole life for her. We don't even know her, but we ended up writing 2 or 3 songs about her. It’s fun to not write about yourself. 

That’s such a positive way to use social media as an artist. It can be so toxic, but instead of comparing yourself to this girl you’re drawing inspiration from her. Were there any sonic inspirations for this album? 

Maia: There's a song called “Robber” by The Weather Station, which was the overarching inspiration for the entire project. It has a long drawn on intro and it's very mischievous. There’s a bunch of cool auxiliary instruments. It’s very unique and complex. We wanted to emulate a similar vibe of mischief and darkness and depth, with a little bit of lightness and love. 

Sasha: We're always drawn to dusk, stars, fire, mountains, and nature in general. I think every single song has stars and fire. We’re always inspired by nature. Other artists that we were really inspired by are Ryan Beatty, Dora Jar, and Adrianne Lenker. Also, Helena Deland’s album called Someone New was a big inspiration. 

The Fake Brave Life visuals are so strong, where did these ideas come from? 

Sasha: Lucy Black, my cousin, does all of our visuals. She's such a creative person. Her brain thinks about everything so differently. She always has a bunch of crazy, kooky ideas. It was a big family project to make these ideas come true. We knew we wanted it to be in nature. The idea of Fake Brave Life came from us writing songs in bed and then putting them out into the world. So, she had the idea to be on a bed in a precarious situation in the sky. My mom's boyfriend drove the forklift and they built the whole contrast together. 

Maia: She is just a creative wizard in the best way. 

She was like, “Okay, now we're going to need a forklift.” [All laugh] 

Maia: The majority of our visual world stems from whatever she can muster in her brain because it's an endless cavern of ideas.

The bedroom and nature are so important, but this mechanic thing puts them together. 

Maia: It doesn't go together. The weirder the better. 

Sasha: It's not cozy out in the woods. 

The bed looks so cozy, but I wouldn’t want to be in it. 

Maia: It was scary! I’m notoriously afraid of heights. We had to do a test before we actually shot anything to make sure that we'd be able to stay chill. I remember so clearly being in the forklift being like, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. We couldn't stop giggling. We were so high up. 

Who are your OnesToWatch? 

In Unison: Ella Woosley. 

Maia: Ella is a very talented creative. She's such a good songwriter, such a good guitar player, such a good voice. She’s very magnetic to watch and listen to. I resonate a lot with her music. 

Sasha: We love Anika Bennett’s songwriting. So good. 

Maia: Jacob Alon. Their album In Limerence is one of the best albums I think I've ever heard. It is so haunting.

Sasha: And Clara Mann “Stadiums” to finish. 

Listen to Fake Brave Life below: