Social Order Showcase Dark Depths with New Single, “Waiting”

When Social Order debuted on the heels of the COVID-19 lockdowns, they leaned decidedly into their ’80s-tinged pop inclinations to combat the world’s general dismality with vibrant danceability. It seemed to be a natural foundation grounded in commonality for a supergroup that originally sprouted from the eclectic, intermingled roots of Metro Station, Parade of Lights, New Politics, and The Mowgli’s. However, now two releases into the piece-by-piece rollout of their third EP, Miss You, the band is only just curing the concrete of their sonic identity—and it’s on full display in their newest single, “Waiting.”

For anyone who hasn’t kept up with Social Order following their debut EP, How To Lie (2022), “Waiting” may feel like a significant departure. The neon haloes surrounding their hooks, though still evocative and catchy, have evolved into a shadowy ambiance percolating through a mesh of poignant, darkwave melodies. It’s the latest culmination of a progression catalyzed by the addition of guitarist and keyboardist Andrew Ward, who tipped the scales toward their transcendence into a darker realm.

Five years ago, when I spoke to the then-emerging group in support of their debut single, vocalist Mason Musso posited, “If everything’s falling apart, you can either be living in doom, fear, and gloom, or you can go out dancing [paraphrased].” While that sentiment still holds true, “Waiting” suggests a third option: all of the above.

I had the pleasure of connecting with Musso and Ward ahead of the release to discuss their ever-evolving creative process, the roles of “Waiting” and the forthcoming Miss You EP in their stylistic maturation, their observations on the modern music landscape, and more. Stream the single and dive into our conversation below.

 

Your first single emerged during quarantine. Now that the circumstances around your formation have changed, how has your creative process evolved? And Andrew, what’s your perspective on that having joined the lineup after that debut?

MASON MUSSO: In my opinion, yes, it has changed. It started out as a little side project. [Anthony Improgo] and I were spearheading it with [Louis Vecchio and Matthew Di Panni], who then started doing their own thing. Andrew was doing our music videos. It was really—Andrew, you’re gonna love this—it was really him who introduced me and Anthony to this scene we’re now a part of. He started playing me stuff like Drab Majesty and I think he introduced me to French Police. So when Andrew came on board, the sound changed, and the whole direction of the band changed. To me, it’s a new band. I still have veto power, but Andrew is guiding a lot of the aesthetics, sound, and visuals.

ANDREW WARD: I was going to bring up the whole music video thing, but [Musso] pretty much covered it all. I met them a long time ago, maybe 10 years now, when a mutual friend asked if I wanted to help shoot a music video. I was based in LA, so I ended up doing it. Then we [reconnected], and Anthony coerced me, saying, “Hey, do you want to play music again? Do you want to pick up the guitar again?” They kind of baited me into it, and it just clicked. It’s crazy, because I got one of those memory alerts on Instagram the other day, from one of our very first shows back in 2022. I was like, “Wow, it’s been three years, but it feels like ten.” Things are going really well right now, and we’re pretty happy with the direction we’re going.

You’ve started to touch on this already, but I’d love to hear more. The Tantalize EP marked a tonal shift from the How to Lie era, transitioning smoothly from a shimmery, pop-heavy realm into a place that’s downright broody and goth. What inspired this transformation, and how does the upcoming Miss You EP fit into the broader evolution of your style?

MUSSO: I’ve always been into bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, and OMD. That’s always been a big part of my musical taste. A long time ago, I would open shows by covering “Just Like Heaven.” So, it’s always been a big part of me. But with Andrew guiding us into this new direction and introducing us to this new scene, we’re slowly, luckily, and lovingly being accepted by bands like French Police and Haunt Me. We’re about to do a show with Cold Cave and we’re doing Cruel World. It’s definitely a little different, but I feel like I’m still [making] the music I love. I don’t feel like it’s such a cross where a lot of musicians will completely change their style and go country or something—and that’s cool. That’s great. But we’re still in the same wheelhouse. We’re playing a show with New Order, and I’m like, “This is amazing.” So, it’s the same style but matured, maybe.

Andrew, what was it like stepping in as the newcomer at that point and shifting things in that way?

WARD: Well, Anthony and I started working in the studio together pretty quickly. As we began to formulate ideas, Anthony would lay down a drum groove and stuff—because he’s kind of like our producer wizard—and I’d come up with some guitar licks. Then Mason would come into the studio. It was a bit of tough love at first, because Anthony and I were more in the darker realm, but Mason definitely had a little heavier veto power at the time.

MUSSO: I love pop music, it’s hard.

WARD: He does. He literally sh*ts hooks all day. It’s ridiculous. But yeah, coming into it at first, there was a bit of tough love. But as time went on, everything just clicked, and now we work on stuff non-stop and talk to each other multiple times a day.

While reading back through that previous interview from the Social Order debut, I noted a quote about the consolidation of your eclectic stylistic backgrounds. Anthony said, “I think when Mason sings on [something]—and this is a good thing—it makes it a little poppy. So even if we came up with a jam that’s more The Chain Gang Of 1974 or M83, he puts his voice on it, and it sounds like good pop.”

Mason, do you feel this observation still holds true? If so, how do you think it shapes the overall sound of your tracks? If not, how has your approach to integrating your voice evolved over the years?

MUSSO: It does. I think my voice still does that. We’ve definitely felt that. But interestingly enough, on this new EP—again, here comes the brilliance of Andrew—you’ll hear [a change] in a lot of the hooks. Instead of a big pop chorus, we’ve been trying to drop everything down. We’ll even go into lower octaves for more chill hooks instead of big, explosive ones. Usually, the verses are a little lower than the bridge, and the hook is the highest octave. We’ve kind of reversed that. That was Andrew’s idea. It’s still a pop melody, but it makes it darker. I think my voice does have a tendency to make things more poppy. And obviously Anthony agrees. So, we’ve tried to switch up how we structure the songs.

WARD: It’s something that we just implemented on this new EP. The first couple of early demos were really good, but then we’d go through and [they’d] be a little bit too poppy. So we’re trying to bring down the intensity of it. [Mason]’s a great lyricist, and his hooks are great, and he’s got a great voice. That’s why we were beating our heads over it. And then one night, I was like, “Why don’t you just literally flip it? Go high on the verses and low on the choruses to make it smoother and blend it a little more.” And it just worked.

Looking forward to the new EP, how do you feel that “Waiting” contributes to the overarching narrative and mood of the compilation as a whole?

MUSSO: “Waiting” is about a classic scenario in relationships [in which someone] has to make a decision between two people. It’s a sad song, but the beat is so fun. To me, it just really worked for that track.

WARD: It’s definitely my favorite one right now.

I appreciate the duality. I love tracks with a poppy beat and danceable sound paired with a dark narrative tone, or vice versa. Was that intentional? Did the lyrics come first, or did the music inspire the contrast?

MUSSO: Again, this is Andrew’s genius. It was definitely his idea. The first pass we had on it just didn’t make it. It just didn’t feel right. Sometimes, how I write can feel dated. And that kind of hurts me. I feel depressed even saying it. But with Andrew guiding me, I don’t feel like it’s as dated. A lot of stuff in this darkwave scene—or whatever you want to call it—can feel too ’80s. And we don’t want to feel too ’80s. I f*cking love the ’80s, but it can feel a little cheesy sometimes.

You want it to be reminiscent, but not a recreation.

MUSSO: Yes, it’s got to feel new. And I think, with Andrew guiding the structure of these songs, it doesn’t feel dated. That’s really important—it feels new.

WARD: Yeah, I think the first couple passes were a bit too wordy, so we cut it down a little. That’s why, through the hook, you get the little guitar lick and can hear the music a bit more before it comes back. You’re able to listen to the music without getting pounded with lyrics the entire time. It lets it breathe a little more.

It definitely lends itself to that darkwave feel. You’ve got that atmospheric component rather than being entirely lyrically-driven. On that note, what would you say is the cohesive thread throughout your catalog that gives each song its unique “Social Order” feel? From “Going Out Dancing” to “Waiting,” what are the elements or characteristics that tie them all together?

MUSSO: It definitely feels different. I think someone listening to our older stuff and then this new EP—or even Tantalize—will notice the difference. This new EP is such a departure. I can’t help but [give it] a little catchiness, so that’s one thread. You’re gonna get some earworms. You’re gonna be like, “I hate that I’m singing this in the shower…”

WARD: All the hooks are still there, but I feel like the music itself has matured a little. It’s definitely a departure … It’s happened naturally, to be honest. When we play right now, we start with “Boys,” and then the second song we play is “Dreams,” which is one of our oldest songs. They still flow together. The third song we play right now is “Miss You.” So, in the first three songs, we cover the span of our music since we started, and it still works.

It’s so funny that you say that. When I was prepping that question, I had “Dreams” and “Boys” written down as two examples of very different songs. But you’re right, it works.

MUSSO: I had an argument about this with Anthony the other day. We were discussing Depeche Mode and he was like, “Depeche Mode is dark. If we’re gonna do something like that…”

I said, “Bro, have you listened to ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’? That’s the most poppy song.” So, I think, yeah, it’s different. But there is that thread of, you know, it feels like the same style to an extent.

That’s kind of what makes the greats so great, right? They’re able to create this mass sort of appeal in a way that’s not really pandering to anybody.

MUSSO: Yeah. Everything can’t be dark all the time.

WARD: Then it all sounds the same, you know?

MUSSO: Yeah, some of my favorite Cure stuff is on their poppy side. [Songs] like “Friday, I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven” or “The Lovecats“—that’s super poppy.

They do nice whimsical-to-dismality jumps—and that goes back to the idea of contrast, right? You can’t appreciate the highs without the lows. To that point, you’ve mastered curating EPs that flow seamlessly while allowing each song its moment. Can you share a little about your strategy? Do you write the entire EP first and then release each song individually? How do you ensure each song shines independently as a single?

MUSSO: Yeah, they’re all written. We wrote this EP and [initially planned] for five songs, but we added another one because we thought it was really good. So it’s gonna be six songs. They’re all done, mixed, and mastered. We’re slow-rolling it because it’s kind of a singles world. There’s so much content nowadays. If you’re super big, it doesn’t matter—you can release an album. But for us, in our infancy, if we just put out an EP, people will still ask, “When’s the next thing?” So, slow rolling it with singles helps keep the momentum up.

WARD: It’s kind of like an “every six weeks” sort of thing, just to keep it going. That way, in between, you can preview, promote, then release [each single]. Then you’re immediately on to the next one. It continually keeps going, and you can stretch it out over a few months. We’ve had all these done and played a handful of them live. And we’ve already started on the next batch.

With “Waiting” being your first single of the year and the second ahead of the EP, what do you hope listeners will take away from its message? What does this track represent for Social Order’s identity as you roll into your fifth year?

MUSSO: We’re finding our sound, for sure. I think bands are always finding their sound, but I feel like we’ve definitely come into our own with this darkwave, new goth scene. We’re so lucky and honored to play with some legendary acts. What I love about Cruel World is there’s all the new stuff, like Mareux and Actors. Getting more involved in this bubbling scene, which I think is on the cusp of bleeding into the mainstream, has been amazing. We’re really finding our sound, and “Waiting” is a good single for people to hear that.

WARD: It really feels like [we’d previously been] practicing and demoing ourselves to find out how we really wanted to sound. This batch of songs feels like our first real [one] because we finally found the formula. It’s hard to explain, but now we’re writing the stuff we wanted to get to when we were doing the other stuff.

With darkwave rising in popularity again, has your audience changed? How is your audience evolving, and what trends are you observing in the current music scene?

MUSSO: There’s a bit of a difference, I guess. As we’ve watched the new punk thing come over, if you look at the history of it, it’s kind of cyclical. You see punk come and then a post-punk thing happens. I think something like that is happening again, and we’re also seeing nu metal coming back. Things are getting a little darker music-wise. Artemas is a good example of someone coming from the pop realm. His song was very much darkwave. I hate labels, but whatever this new thing is, there’s a lot of crossover with the punk world. Even [looking at] The Cure, a lot of their stuff was very punk in their [early] stages. It’s interesting to see this music recycling.

All the Alt Things prioritizes shedding light on emerging artists. Are there any smaller bands or artists you’ve been vibing with recently that you’d like to shout out?

MUSSO: Closed Tear, who’s over here in LA, is really good. And his brother, Wisteria—he’s on Cruel World too. We played with him in Vegas back in October. We also love the stuff Korine have been putting out. [Trey Frye] has been producing, mixing, and mastering all our songs, so we’re really tight with him. He’s a genius and has been great to us. Mareux is kind of big already, but I love his stuff a lot. Drab Majesty, for sure, is a big influence on our new stuff. Their guitar work is so great. We love our friends, French Police. We’re very excited to be [playing] with those guys. It’s gonna be great.

Tour Dates

Social Order will be heading out on tour with French Police this spring. Catch a set at one of the shows below.

Wed, April 30 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
Sunday, May 4  – Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall
Tuesday, May 6 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
Wednesday, May 7 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst Atrium
Thursday, May 8 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone
Friday, May 9 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Saturday, May 10 – Bakersfield, CA @ Temblor
Saturday, May 17 – Pasadena, CA @ The Rose Bowl (Cruel World)