Halflives: Parisian Pop-Rockers With Unbreakable Determination

Halflives have turned adversity into opportunity. The Italian three-piece, who now reside in Paris, have been making a name as purveyors of catchy pop-punk. But then they lost their guitarist before beginning work on new five-track EP Resilience. Singer Linda Battilani decided that, rather than hunt for a new member, they could move forward by focussing on their remaining strengths.

“The line-up change means that the new material is a more minimalistic take on our sound,” she says. “But the result is a record that allowed us to truly experiment. There were no barriers put in place as to what Resilience could be, and because of that, our creativity really flowed.”

Whereas Halflives’ previous material was guitar-based pop-punk, Resilience is a record that’s harder to pin down. This fresh approach attracted the interest of Sleeping With Sirens vocalist Kellin Quinn, who appears on the song Time Bomb.

“It was amazing!” says Linda. “Within five minutes of us reaching out to him he got back to us and was like, ‘I love this track – just tell me what I need to do!’”

Time Bomb is the third in a five-song journey that Halflives – Linda, plus bassist Oscar Scantamburlo and drummer Fede Bernardi – take the listener on throughout Resilience. The record finds the singer embodying the main character of a story in which each song introduces a new challenge its protagonist must overcome.

“First comes the track Rockstar Everyday, which represents denial,” says Linda. “Then Snake, which symbolises anger. Time Bomb is about self-questioning, One Bad Day covers depression, and then the story comes to its resolution with Hard To Break.

“Resilience sees the record’s central character become lost before she finds herself again. It should strike a chord with anyone who’s experienced mourning.”

READ THIS: Sleeping With Sirens albums ranked by Kellin Quinn

Linda’s words emit passion, strength and determination. It’s this resilience that Halflives are now building their fortunes on, no matter how hard things can be.

“At times I’ve lost faith in what I’m doing,” Linda concludes. “But we have a lot to be positive about right now. Ultimately, as the last track on Resilience says, despite any adversity that comes our way, Halflives are hard to break.”

Halflives' EP Resilience is out now. They will play 2000trees festival this July – get your tickets here.