As they prepare to release their debut album, For the Sake of My Love I Hope I Make It, The Bankes Brothers reflect on the sacrifices behind pursuing music, the evolution of their sound and what success really means when the dream becomes your life.
Your debut album, For the Sake of My Love I Hope I Make It, arrives in February 2027. After everything you’ve experienced together, what does this record represent for you, both as musicians and as individuals?
Morgan: Everything has felt like a milestone up to this point. Our first gig ever in our school theatre, then busking on the streets of our town, moving on to pubs and larger clubs, then tours and EPs, and now this. The debut album, which once felt so far out of reach. It feels like a culmination of everything.
The album title feels deeply personal, almost like a confession. Where did it come from, and what does the idea of “making it” mean to you at this stage of your careers?
Nelson: I think “making it” would mean being able to sustain ourselves solely through music. Making enough to not have a day job, buy a house, build a life with our partners, etc. This album definitely touches on that from different angles. There’s a lot of anxiety about whether we’ll be able to sustain this forever, and I don’t really know what else I’d be doing if not this.
You’ve described the creative philosophy behind the album as simply wanting to “serve the song.” Was there a turning point when you realised that trusting your instincts was more important than trying to create a particular sound?
Morgan: I think that evolution happened over the course of making this record. Some of these songs were written concurrently with tracks on our previous EP a few years ago, and that energy can be felt. But I think you can also feel the shift in tone at times, which is where that philosophy kicked in. It became less about trying to jam as much excitement in at once and more about being intentional with where we were supposed to be, and where we weren’t.
Your new single, “Georgia Peaches,” has an intimate, almost nostalgic quality. What inspired the track, and why did it feel like the right song to introduce this new chapter?
Nelson: This song was the first one where we felt a tonal shift. It was our first session back with Gus after a full year, and we’d grown up a lot in that time. Our writing style had changed, as had our approach to arranging songs ahead of going into the studio. The result was “Georgia Peaches,” and it felt like a new era for us. So I guess we’re just hoping that’s how it gets interpreted.
There’s a wonderful detail about Gus van Go capturing the sound of rain outside the studio and incorporating it into “Georgia Peaches.” How did working with him challenge your creative process, and were there any unexpected moments that completely transformed a song?
Morgan: Gus challenged us a lot. I’d say our approach to making a song completely changed while we were there. He has no problem taking a half-finished idea or a preconceived notion of how a song “should be” and completely turning it on its head.
I remember there was one song on this album that I had no idea what direction it was going to take. I could feel myself getting a little moody, so I took a walk and got pizza. By the time I came back, he’d somehow turned it into a laid-back, summer-drivin’ folk-rock tune (think “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac vibes). It was one of the best surprises to come out of the sessions for me.
The album explores the uncertainty of adulthood, from relationships and ambition to the fear of making the wrong decisions. How much of this record came from personal experiences you were still trying to make sense of?
Nelson: I’d say a lot of this record comes from personal experiences, and we’re still trying to make sense of it.
“Risk It All” explores the frustration of pursuing a dream while working to financially support it. Have there been moments when the sacrifices involved in building a music career made you question whether it was all worth it?
Morgan: Every single day.
The title track explores the complicated relationship between love and ambition. Do you think pursuing something you believe in inevitably means sacrificing other parts of your life, or have you learned to find a balance?
Morgan: I think you do inevitably make sacrifices in that pursuit. You sometimes get so caught up in it that you don’t even realise it’s been months or years since you last saw some of your best friends or family. I think that sacrifice plays a big part in the meaning of this album, for me anyway. There’s a lot to unpack there.
Being brothers adds a unique dimension to the band. How has your relationship evolved as your careers have grown, and does that closeness make it easier to be creatively honest with one another?
Nelson: We get home from all of this and typically just go back to being normal siblings. Our mum mediates any lingering squabbles, and then it’s business as usual. But I do feel that, as time has gone on, we’ve grown to become best pals too, which might just be a byproduct of getting older.
“Way Too Far” was the first song you all wrote together and helped convince you that the band could become something real. Looking back, what has changed most about your approach to songwriting, and what have you deliberately held on to?
Morgan: That song was one of the first to be a collaborative effort from the very first chords. We then made that our writing style for a little while, which influenced a certain sound. Since then, there’s been a lot of Nelson bringing his ideas to us to take across the finish line, and that difference can definitely be heard from one song to the next.
Coming from Victoria, British Columbia, how has your upbringing shaped your musical identity? Do you think growing up away from the traditional centres of the music industry gave you a different perspective on success?
Morgan: I think the bar felt a lot lower at first. It’s easier to climb a ladder, though, if it’s a shorter ladder. There were a few artists who were actually doing it pretty big-time, and as we grew, we got to know those people and receive their guidance outside of our little Victoria ecosystem.
You’ve spent the past couple of years touring internationally, including performances at the Isle of Wight Festival and Reeperbahn. What have those experiences taught you about yourselves, and have you noticed a difference between Canadian and British audiences?
Morgan: British audiences go crazy for it. They also always show up and sing along at maximum volume. I’m still trying to crack the code on how and why that phenomenon happens, how we can be a part of it, and maybe even bring that culture home with us.
In an industry increasingly driven by streaming numbers, social media and algorithms, how do you maintain your creative identity without feeling pressured to make music that simply performs well commercially?
Nelson: We just make what we make. Obviously, we feel pressure to create content to keep up with the times, but we’re pretty lucky that our team doesn’t really push an agenda on us creatively.
There’s a recurring tension between uncertainty and optimism throughout the album. Has making this record changed the way you think about failure, taking risks and the pressure to have everything figured out?
Morgan: This record was made in a couple of different sessions over the course of two years, and I think our perspective shifted dramatically during that time. We’re not necessarily risk-averse now, but we’re definitely more calculated in our approach to everything, and that goes for the recording process as well.
Finally, if you could go back to the beginning of The Bankes Brothers and speak to your younger selves, what would you tell them about the journey ahead? And when you look towards the future, what would genuinely make you feel that you’ve made it?
Morgan: I would tell them that they need to power through it all. Personally, I’d tell myself to ease up a bit. The amount of pressure I put on myself, spinning my wheels without direction, led to burnout at times, which was entirely unnecessary.
Nelson: Looking to the future, if we could be playing venues the size of those we play here at home, all across the world, and our music was bringing in enough revenue for us to build lives, I think that would be the bar for success.
