TRACK-BY-TRACK: MIAMI HORROR TAKE US THROUGH 'WE ALWAYS HAD TOMORROW'

We Always Had Tomorrow is out now!

Image: John Liwag.

Australian-born, LA-based act, Miami Horror have dropped their new album, We Always Had Tomorrow. To celebrate, they are taking us through the collection of songs track-by-track.

“This album began all the way back in 2020. During that time, I was contemplating life a lot…I think we all were," shares Benjamin Plant, "At the same time, I was also learning to play the piano. These two things came together at the right time, setting the melancholic mood and the themes of the album. I wanted to find our own artistic space and approached the album as if it would be my last. And truthfully, you never really know when it will be.”

AURORA/DEAD FLOWERS

I love epic album intros—they set the tone for how much a record can mean. This one began as two separate tracks that we eventually joined together for the sake of streaming.

Early in the album’s process, I had these beautiful chords lying around, and within a day, layers of textures had formed around them. The lyrics “Look how far we’ve come, back to where it all begun, like dead flowers in the rain, back into the earth again” came just as naturally. They set the tone for the entire album, capturing a central theme, lamenting the cycle of life. It felt like the perfect way to open the journey.

ANOTHER TIME

Coming out of Dead Flowers, this immediately gives a sense of warmth and uplift. The key change between the two felt naturally progressive, making them feel intertwined. Another Time captures that feeling of standing on the edge of something new, like the last day of high school, when excitement for the future is laced with the quiet ache of knowing a chapter has closed. No more after-school hangs by the river, just the memory of them. Sonically, it felt like an outlier on the album, and I wasn’t sure if it belonged. But something about it resonated with everyone, so it stayed, perhaps like those fleeting moments we hold onto, even as time moves forward.

(BEYOND US)

We always knew we wanted interludes throughout the album, moments that set the scene, deepened the themes, and connected the songs. They gave us the freedom to explore ideas beyond the lyrics in a song. Which gave us more breathing room on the songs themselves to not have to be so direct. There were so many thoughts and moments we wanted to capture, and in this particular movie scene, we managed to weave quite a few of them into a short interlude. 

TOGETHER

After hearing the Beyond Us that ends with "Here we are together," the album moves into the first song that feels distinctly Miami Horror. It was inspired by the idea of unity in a time of division, tying into the album’s underlying theme of cosmic resolution, a reminder to step back, see the bigger picture, and appreciate the sheer luck of existence and togetherness.

We discovered an incredible song to sample with Stylaz Fuego, who helped with production: Spaced Out on Your Love by Errol Stubbs. The original, at its natural pitch, is something everyone should hear. Initially, we planned to keep the instrumental light on vocals, with just a few subtle hooks. But in true Miami Horror fashion, we got carried away and never quite found our way back. :P

GLOWIN’

We were listening to a lot of soul in the early days of the record while digging for more samples. We were inspired by an old song we heard and noticed a chord progression that was very common across the genre. So we used this as our chance to create something nostalgic to us and a tribute to that sound while flipping it into a new space. 

DON’T LEAVE ME (IN THE SUNSHINE)

This sample is a Smokey Robinson loop, production-wise we were throwing back to some of my early 2000s inspirations that were more brash/loose & sample heavy. Like the Go Team and early Avalanches, so this a bit of a homage to that. Vocally our friend Tim Ayres jumped on and we were able to bring a beach boys element to it which I also loved. For some reason this song seems to have its own magic, it wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out to be some peoples favourites. Tim and I had a lot of fun working on these 3 songs, meeting up in Sydney every 6-12 months to add a little more. Our MO was to just have fun and see what came of it and you can hear it in all of them (This, Glowin, and Remember)

REMEMBER

We hadn’t made a full-blown disco track in ages—if ever—despite it being such a huge influence and one of my most-played genres. Since we were already leaning into nostalgia, we decided to go all in.

For the vocals, I initially wanted to take a different approach rather than going for a somewhat obvious French touch influence. Tim laid down some ideas, and tongue in cheek, I threw some autotune on top. The next thing we knew, it was too catchy to change and we had to keep it. 

(OBLIVION)

This interlude was about life and its impermanence. Another core theme leading into the next song. Inspired by many different movies we pieced together parts that told the story of the album. 

WE’RE ALL MADE OF STARS

This may be my favourite song on the record. I think it explains so many themes in one song and the feeling is magic. Its about loss, losing people we love and wondering if we’ll ever see them again. It also hammers home the idea that ‘we’re all made of stars’ and one day we will return. Which is the idea of cosmic resolution i mentioned earlier. We never really come or go, we’re always part of the same universe. A huge part of the song is the beautiful vocal. There was no better person to get than Ange from Telenova. We got to have a full circle moment with working with Josh’s new project as well. 

(CHILDHOOD)

This interlude feels like looking back at childhood to me, nostalgic, wondrous and free. I focused more so on the feeling of the chords than any idea or production. Something we did across the album where feeling became so so important. Consequently I decided not to question things stylistically as much and just focus on where it takes you.

LOST SEASONS

I had the chords for this song for about 3 or 4 years before we decided on the direction. I was umming and ah-ring about whether to go for a indie vibe or something new- then I jumped into the studio with RAC and it started to decide for us. We both came from the indie dance days so it was a good opportunity for us to revisit that for a euphoric outro of the album. 

We Always Had Tomorrow is out now!