Italy’s Six Feet Tall have returned with Daily Whistle, their third full-length and possibly their most immediate and unfiltered statement yet. Born from frustration, discarded ideas, and a hunger for authenticity, the record walks a fine line between instinct and precision. Their sound, shaped by post-hardcore, noise rock and a healthy disrespect for convention, has evolved into something leaner, sharper, and maybe even a little wiser. We caught up with the band to talk about creative dead ends, unexpected vocal cameos, and what it means to keep making music in a world that often feels like it’s working against you.

Six Feet Tall are back with Daily Whistle, a bold and raw statement after a long studio silence. The album feels urgent, instinctive, and full of life, yet clearly shaped by experience. What kind of headspace were you in while writing it, and how much of it was informed by the frustrations or reflections of the past few years?

“While we were writing the album, we were in an uncomfortable place. We had just released our second record and, due to COVID, we didn’t have the chance to play it live much. We felt annoyed and bored. This lack of stimulation and excitement led us to write a bunch of songs we didn’t enjoy at all. So we decided to throw everything in the trash and start over, but from a different perspective. Instead of trying to surprise the listener by sabotaging every good idea we had, we started to follow those very ideas. We said to ourselves: from now on, if we have a good intuition (a riff, a melodic line, a drum pattern), we stick to it and see where it takes us. That eventually led us to a much more solid set of songs.”

There’s something beautifully contradictory about the title Daily Whistle, it conjures up a mundane routine and a defiant act of expression at the same time. How does this image resonate with the themes explored across the album?

“The idea for the title is stolen from a Michael Azerrad book (Our Band Could Be Your Life). He wanted to describe the then extremely new sound of Hüsker Dü. I think he wrote something like “someone whistling a tune inside a steel mill.” We found this image incredibly brilliant, and that’s how we always wanted to sound.”

Your backgrounds as musicians span different genres and scenes, from heavier experimental stuff to more classic underground rock. How do those influences collide or coexist in your songwriting today? Does this diversity ever lead to creative tension, or is it more like a shared vocabulary?

“Oh, a lot of tension actually. But it’s the old thesis–antithesis–synthesis. It always works. So yes, I think it creates just the right tension. We see music and art differently, and the inevitable clash is what makes our writing interesting to us. It may be challenging, but it pays off. If nothing else, the process itself is fun.”

There’s a noticeable shift in the way you approach structure and dynamics on this record. Some songs hit fast and leave scars, others take detours before returning to the punch. Was this sense of movement intentional, or something that emerged organically during rehearsals or demoing?

“Sometimes intentional, sometimes accidental. Take, for instance, the single “Limits.” I wrote the whole verse/chorus part with a specific idea: a song that went one-two-three, one-two-three, with certain movements and particular openings. Then, during rehearsals, we realized it was missing something. Maybe a slow and vicious ending? Like what? Like this: DA NA NA NA. That must be one of the punches you’ve heard. The rest of the band wrote it — I would’ve never thought of it.”

Limits, your collaboration with Vespertina, adds a whole different texture to the album. Her voice feels both like a contrast and a complement to your sound. What was the spark for this team-up, and do you see yourselves experimenting with more features in the future?

“I had recorded all my parts, and the chorus just didn’t work. It wasn’t emotional enough or powerful. Vespertina, who, unlike myself, is an actual singer, happened to be there during that session, so I asked her to give this damn chorus the right spin. She just walked to the mic, recorded the same notes she heard me struggling with for hours, in one take, and the song was saved. I don’t remember why we decided to leave both vocal tracks (Lucrezia’s flawless version and my nice try) in the final mix. I think it was just because they sounded cool together.”

Lyrically, there’s a mix of the personal and the symbolic throughout the record. What kind of stories or emotional currents were you tapping into?

“It’s all personal. The symbolic stuff is there to mislead you, hehe. Joking aside, I think people write songs as a response to the inherent incommunicability they’ve struggled with since birth. In a way, they desperately try to speak the unspeakable — otherwise they’d just write an article or something. I’m no exception.”

Are there particular lines or moments that feel like they really capture the soul of Daily Whistle for you?

“Uh, that’s a tough one. I’d have to listen to the whole record again to give you a proper answer. OK, I’m back. I have to say, to me, the most enjoyable parts of the record are whenever we overcame the fear of sounding too “cheap” for having more than one chorus per song. It’s stupid, I know, but we used to think that one chorus was more than enough. I just found myself happy hearing every second chorus. It just felt right. I don’t know why.”

With venues disappearing and the live scene reshaping itself post-pandemic, how do you see yourselves navigating the future?

“We like to play in small places. We just don’t fit in big venues. Unfortunately, small places are lacking nowadays. As for the future, that’s a job for the Oracle of Delphi.”

Is touring still central to the band’s identity, or has your relationship with “being a band” evolved into something else over time?

“Time is a factor in every aspect of life, and “being a band” is no exception. We all have jobs, I mean, real jobs, hehe. Touring is fun, but being able to afford food, cigarettes, and shelter is desirable as well.”

Daily Whistle is available via Bandcamp and streaming platforms

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