In September of the previous year, Four Star Riot, the Tampa Bay-based band, unveiled their latest album, “Modern Living.” The sheer quality of the music immediately caught my attention; there was no need for countless listening sessions. The seven tracks are not only easily approachable but also possess a delightfully sharp edge. The band draws inspiration from Cheap Trick and Arctic Monkeys to define their sound, and it also brings to mind the vibes of Spoon. That level of excellence is what we’re discussing here. Singer Steve Alex shares insights into the making of “Modern Living” with the Sweet Sweet Music blog.

Could you share the journey of bringing this record to life? How did all the pieces come together to create the final product?

This is our seventh LP. We’ve done a couple of EPs and singles along the way as well. Our usual way of working is that I bring in song demos to the band, we arrange together, go through some preproduction/rehearsal, then book a studio for basic tracks, especially drums.

This time we went back to Zen studios in St. Pete. It was a nice surprise that they recently added a ton of vintage analog gear, including a Studer 2-inch 24-track tape machine. So we tracked all the basic tracks to analog tape.

From there, Finn and I added overdubs from our home studios, including guitars, keyboards, and vocals. The song “Modern Living” was actually written back in 2020; we intended to work on the album that year, but basically paused everything until last summer when we picked it up again.

The last song to be written was “Wire,” which began in the summer ‘23. It’s got a hopeful message, anthemic vibe, somehow recalls early ’80s. We were fortunate to be able to hire Roger Joseph Manning Jr. of Jellyfish/Beck to play synthesizers on this song, which was mixed by the local legend in our area, George Harris.

The remainder of the songs were mixed by Ian Vargo. We work pretty efficiently, though sometimes work/life stuff gets in the way and causes it all to take a little longer.

Next time around, I’d really like to start and finish an album in the span of a couple of months.

Within this collection, do you feel that the best song you’ve ever written finds its home? If not, what distinguishes this record’s essence from your prior work?

This is tough. And I always like to think the best song is yet to come. I’m definitely always most excited about the newest one; I think that’s common though. I really feel like the song “Modern Living” is an honest and powerful statement about where I feel like I am in the world today.

I don’t know who else relates to it, but I do read a lot of commentary on the younger generations, especially in America, getting burned out on all the nonstop social media and news cycles. When I see those TV shows about van life or tiny homes, I feel like the way they escape from it all seems like a pretty good way to do it.

So I would say that “Modern Living,” I feel, is one of the best songs we’ve done; however, it’s laid-back, Dad, rock, or alt, whatever you call it, and maybe not as engaging or energetic to our audience as some of our previous work. We’ve definitely gone through some phases over the years.

With the record completed and the music released, do you believe the pinnacle of enjoyment has been reached, or is this just the beginning of an exciting phase?

The necessity to now promote it is not something I enjoy, so no. Of course, there’s the hope that people will like it, but also not much you can do about it if it doesn’t resonate. It is cool to have new songs to play live, but now that it’s finished, I’m ready for what’s next. Not that we’re in a big hurry to start something else, but I like to get the ideas rolling around and anticipate what the next record will sound like.

How would you describe the evolution of your sound in this new album compared to your previous works? Were there intentional shifts in style or themes?

For sure. This one has several songs with hopeful, leaning lyrics. I’ve always tended to sort of lean melancholy with my words; this time I wanted to add some positive spins on things. Some of the albums in our past have homogenous styles. This one is a blend with some of our most energetic tracks and what is easily the slowest, most chill song we’ve ever made, “Lesson Learned.”

Where do you see yourself situated within the broader landscape of the music industry? How do you perceive your unique role and contribution?

Perpetually on the outside. When we started in the late ’90s, early 2000s, chasing record deals was the way to go. We never got too far with it, and, of course, over these past 20 years, rock music has become somewhat of a niche genre. Not too many people are paying attention to rock bands that aren’t at the forefront of the industry, other than the catalog stuff that we all grew up with and what we know from overexposure.

I think one of our problems as a band is that we’ve always been hard to peg into a specific genre. We have always floated in and out of various sounds and styles, just writing and playing what we want, without purposefully packaging it up too neatly. It may have added an additional hurdle in finding a larger audience. It’s OK though.

What I can say is that with each of the last four albums, we’ve said this might be the last one. Somehow we keep finding our way back to the next. One of the best things about our band is the chemistry and synergy that we have after playing for so long together. We can pretty much just pick up at the drop of a dime and play a good show, even if months have passed since we’ve talked.

My goal is to continue to add to the catalog and hopefully, as I said earlier, put out that song, the best one yet, and hope that someone, somewhere finds value in it all. I enjoy doing it; it’s very rewarding to create songs. I’d love for them to be discovered widely after I’m gone.