On ‘Pathways’: An Interview and Album Review with Meltt

Press Photo: Zachary Vague

There’s a moment in every band’s story when everything lines up — timing, vision, momentum — and they release the album, the one that launches them into a new stratosphere. With Meltt’s new record Pathways, it feels highly likely that this is that moment for them.

Meltt is a rising band from beautiful Vancouver, BC, made up of four friends whose history stretches all the way back to kindergarten. After years of friendship, growth, and playing music side by side, they’ve gone on to release three full length albums together.

Meltt’s website describes them as ‘A mind-bending alternative rock band with a love for heavy riffs, colorful instrumentation, detail oriented production, and under it all, multi-layered’ song writing.’

Meltt’s first two releases, Swim Slowly and Eternal Embers, lean heavily into their signature sound — lush synths, dreamy textures, and a touch of psychedelic rock that’s become unmistakably theirs. Pathways somehow manages to honor that identity while introducing the kind of polished, radio ready edge that can propel a small band into a much bigger spotlight. Pathways will have you feeling like you’re stretched out on a sun warmed towel, salt in your hair, watching the waves roll in as the whole world softens around the edges.

The opportunity to hop on a Zoom with Chris, James, and Ian from Meltt just days after the release of Pathways gave a rare opportunity to witness their chemistry up close. Their excitement was palpable, their energy contagious — the kind of buzz that only comes when a band knows they’ve created something special.

Pathways is your first fully self-produced album, how does it feel?

Chris: “Theres a lot to feel proud about I guess, we didn’t have anyone else to pull some slack, so to know that we made  all this, which took a lot of work, it feels good to know we can do that”

Ian: “Every micro second was stressed over”.

Now that’s it’s been out for a few days, what do you feel the collective response from fans is on the new album?

Chris: “We feel like it’s almost too positive”.

James: “It’s definitely overwhelmingly positive, and people seem to be digging it. Some nice comments on the ones that had yet to be released, we’re always worried that some of the album songs wont get as much attention as the singles”.

Speaking of singles, you guys released a lot of singles for this album

Chris: ‘Yeah 8, and we have 5 albums songs’.

Can you explain the thought process of releasing the majority of the album before the release date?

Chris: “The record label we’re with is a data driven label, they look at outcome and strategy. We joined forces with that label about halfway through the release cycle for Eternal Embers. We’d already released three singles at the time, and we’d only planned to do four before the whole thing would come out. But they changed the course for that. We noticed what they said was true, and the songs that are going to be released as singles, are songs that people are going to end up finding. Essentially discovery will be stronger with any song that’s a single. If our goal is for a lot of people to hear our music, releasing a lot of singles, achieves the goal better”.

James: “It does feel weird. Surprisingly little uproar from the fans about that”.

What is the song you guys are most stoked about from the new album to play live?

Ian: “We haven’t played some of these together yet, but for me right now it would be “The Huntsman”. Having fun with that ending especially”.

James: “I think I agree with that. That and “Never Let Go””.

Chris: “I don’t know if we’ll play it, but I feel that “Another Elegy” would be cool as well”.

How do you think being friends and together this long has reflected in your ability to write together?

James: “I think its helped a lot, I think not only because we’ve been able to develop our taste together. In our late teens we used to go to Chris’ house and spin all the records that were our favorites, and then kind of jam them out. I think developing our own kind of vision through that is a huge benefit. The other benefit I would say is knowing each other really well and being close friends helps when you’re actually creating something. We try to leave the ego at the door as much as possible”.

Meltt will take Pathways on the road later this summer and into early fall, bringing the new record to stages across North America. Check their website for dates and grab tickets while you can — this is a band you’ll want to experience live before the rooms get a whole lot bigger.

In the end, Meltt may still be climbing, but Pathways marks a clear shift in their trajectory — the sound of a band stepping confidently into its next chapter. Whether the album becomes their breakout moment remains to be seen, but the conviction behind it is unmistakable. What’s certain is that Meltt isn’t just evolving; they’re accelerating.

Songs of Note: “Up all Night”, “Hesitate”, “In your arms”, and “The Huntsman”.

Album Rating: 8/10