If you haven't heard of them already, meet senses, your new favorite band brought together by Craigslist.
Created in 2019 and signed to Hopeless Records in 2024, the duo of Madison Taylor (vocals) and Nick Sampson (drums) pride themselves on being "emo-friendly, punk-curious" and creating an inclusive environment for their fans whether they fit into those categories or not. They released their EP "onto something" last fall, which features the sizzling summer track, "tiptoeing." And more recently, the two lent their talents to a heavy-hitting cover of Simple Plan's "Perfect" in collaboration with Songs That Saved My Life on June 1.
I reached out to senses to talk about "tiptoeing," their cover of "Perfect," playing Warped Tour, and their plans for their debut album.
MSM: What does "Perfect" by Simple Plan mean to you? How did the cover come about?
senses: When we were talking about which cover to do, this one stuck out right away. It was something so nostalgic for both of us that we just connected to from so long ago. Growing up is such a weird time, and expressing how you feel can be so difficult, and sometimes there just never seems to be the right words. For those moments that feel so overwhelming, this was a song we could always lean on to just belt out and be as emo as we needed to be.
In addition to "Perfect" and "good luck, babe!," what other songs would you love to cover?
It's always fun to take a pop song and put our own "emo friendly, punk curious" twist on it. A Charlie XCX song would be so fun, or a Muna song. [It] would be so cool to even attempt a Sleep Token song. We love jamming older classics at some of our soundchecks like "Alone" by Heart. I love covering songs with male vocals because it gives us a little more room to put a different twist and perspective on it with a female voice.
It's been almost a year since you dropped "tiptoeing." What's happened in your lives since then?
So much! We've done a few tours, which were such a blast. We got to go to the UK for the first time to tour, and those shows were so amazing. We've been writing so much music, and we're just excited to make sure what comes next represents where we are at right now. We got to play MainStage at WeHo Pride and played for Pride at Dodger Stadium. [There have been] so many cool firsts that we've just been taking in all the moments.
You toured with The Summer Set last year when you both opened for Marianas Trench, and then supported The Summer Set on their UK tour earlier this year. What was that like?
They are so awesome. We got to know them really well, which was so nice. Usually when you show up for tour, you are meeting everyone the first day, and it takes a few shows to really even meet everyone and get to know everyone’s name and what they do. With them, it was just seeing our friends, and we had such a good relationship that it made it so fun. They are so talented, and getting to see them do their thing and learn everything we could from them was so great.
How excited are you to play Warped Tour Orlando in November? Did you grow up going to it?
We are so pumped; it's gonna be such a great time. We actually did not grow up going to Warped! We went to our first [Warped Tour] last year in Long Beach to watch some friends, but I remember following along every year to see who was playing when I was in middle school and high school. So even though I wasn’t able to go until recently, to be playing it now is so surreal.
What other artists are you looking forward to seeing at Warped Tour?
We can't wait to see some of our friends rip it. People R Ugly, rosecoloredworld, Honey Revenge, The Summer Set, Hot Mulligan, [and] of course Simple Plan! Bryce Vine will be sick, Daisy Grenade, South Arcade... Wow, there's actually so many that we want to see. We are going to be RUNNING!
What are some underrated songs or hidden gems that you think listeners should check out?
Definitely check out:
- "hanging on (by a thread)" by rosecoloredworld
- "Evolution" by Nothing But Thieves
- "The Smash" by Games We Play
- "WAKE UP!" by Diva Bleach and OUT IN FRONT
When you two connected on Craigslist, did you ever think any of this would happen?
I mean, I definitely dreamed it would, but no. If you asked me then what we'd be doing now, I would probably be so wrong. We've been building this thing little by little, and we feel so fortunate to be where we are now and are just so excited to see where this next year takes us.
What do you think makes you guys a great pair?
We're both gay. Lol, no, really, I think we are so, so different, but we really understand what the other person needs. And we've been digging through the trenches together for so long that you kind of just know pretty quickly if you'll be able to be partners for the long haul. We both want this dream and have such similar passions that we just really try to encourage the other and see the same goal and vision for where we want this to go.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year (or possibly even next year)?
We are so excited to be writing our first full-length LP! And of course we have some things in the works for next year, although we'll keep some stuff a bit of a surprise. We just are going to really keep our heads down right now and make sure this next wave of music is something we are so proud of and can't wait to show everyone.
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