Candlebox ‘Created Something Pretty Special’ With Final Album ‘The Long Goodbye,’ Says Frontman Kevin Martin (Exclusive)

Iconic grunge rockers Candlebox are bringing their 30+ year run to an end, and they could not be going out on a higher note. The band recently released The Long Goodbye, which will be their final album, which premiered three decades after the band’s multi-platinum self-titled debut project. PopCulture.com had a chance to speak with Candlebox frontman Kevin Martin about The Long Goodbye, and he told us that he believes the band “created something pretty special” with their swansong album.

Notably, Martin clarified that the band went into the studio with the intention of writing and recording what would be their last collection of original music together. “We discussed this as a band,” he said. “We were out on tour last spring, and I said, ‘I think I’m going to pack this up on the 30th anniversary, and I want you guys to make the last record with me the way that we want to make it without any outside influence. It’s just ours.’”

Martin continued, “They were all keen to do it. It certainly was not an easy process or easy thing to process that we were going to do that, but the actual process of writing the songs in the studio was easier than I’d ever imagined, and I think it was because everybody knew that we were making the last record, and so we weren’t going to stop ourselves if it didn’t have a single. If there’s no single, it doesn’t matter anymore anyways to me. But it’s one of those things when you know that you are doing something, the finality of it, you really put everything you can into it, and I hope that you hear that on the songs that you’ve listened to, that it’s a different direction for the band. It’s obviously songs that we love and inspirations that we’ve had from other artists that we’ve turned into songs, and I think we’ve created something pretty special with this record.”

Further elaborating on the Candlebox’s approach to their final album, Martin said, “Your goal is to constantly make records that people appreciate and an allowance of yourself to move forward as a band, and I think we’ve done that with every record we’ve made since Into The Sun in 2008. The difference is there’s a freedom that you give yourself when you know that it’s the final, when you know that it’s the end.”

The singer then offered an interesting sports comparison. “It’s like if Tom Brady were to go out, he would’ve gone out on top a couple of years ago. Instead, his ego gets in the way and he doesn’t go out on top,” Martin said. “He will always be considered the guy who lost the Super Bowl, whatever it is, or didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. That’s no skin off of Tom. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to recognize where you’re at and let it be what it is.”

He went on to say, “With this record, when we got into the studio in Baltimore for the first writing session, I just was like, ‘Guys, do not hold back. This is literally whatever you want to bring to the table, bring to the table,’ because I want a record that people remember us by. I don’t want a record that people go, oh, ‘Is this another Candlebox record?’ This has got to be the one that people go, ‘You know what? Their last record is better than their first.’ And that’s obviously just my opinion, but that’s something that you hope happens.”

From just one listen through The Long Goodbye, it is clear that Candlebox profoundly elevated their sound for their musical curtain call. Martin made it clear, however, that even though they knew what they crafting was special, they never waivered in knowing this was the end of the line. “It was always, even in the studio when we were actually tracking with Don and the guys, because we recorded the record live here in Nashville,” he said, “I just kept saying, ‘This is your last performance with Candlebox. Is that what you want on there? If that’s what you want, then leave that. If it’s not, let’s keep going and get what you want out of it.’” 

Martin continued, “Because I said, ‘When my vocals come, when it’s time for me to sing these songs, I guarantee you that I’m going to be no holds barred. So if you’re holding yourself from doing something, don’t.’ And I think that that gave the guys the freedom to be as progressive as they are musically.”

“There’s some solos on this record that are so brilliant from both Island and Brian,” Martin said, praising his bandmates’ performance on The Long Goodbye. “There’s some drum parts on this record that are just so ridiculously solid that I haven’t had in a while, and then Adam’s baseline’s on songs like ‘Cellphone Jesus’ and a song called ‘Washed Up,’ which I don’t know, you probably didn’t get Washed Up. I think that’s only on vinyl, but this was me pushing those guys as hard as I wanted to be pushed.”

Finally, Martin gave credit to Don Miggs, the album’s main producer, for helping motivate the band. “He would turn around and say, ‘Is that your final decision? Because this is your final.’ And in that, I think what that does is that tells the band that we’re behind you 100%. It’s not just my band. This is yours, and if this is what you want to do, then you should do it as proudly as you possibly can.” The Long Goodbye is now available, from Round Hill Records. Click here to order or stream.