Interview | Oregon alt-pop trio We Three on their fourth album 'Love Me'
Siblings Manny, Bethany and Joshua Humlie are ready to spread the love and bring theatrical energy to their massive European Tour.
Hailing from Oregon, the dynamic trio known as We Three has already established a passionate global following through their powerful, anthemic, and emotionally resonant tunes. They have a staggering million-strong following on TikTok, a community cultivated amidst the pandemic, and have racked up an impressive 250 million streams.
Their latest masterpiece, ‘Love Me’ dropped just last month, delivering a blend of tracks that effortlessly sway between dance-worthy rhythms and songs that tug at the heartstrings. The album perfectly embodies their identity as vibrant creators who know how to embrace the joyous moments, yet infuse a touch of depth into their songwriting. Lead vocalist and chief songwriter, Manny, coins the album’s title as a "tiny phrase" that unlocks the "enormous insights" woven into the album's theme.
In a recent chat with the trio, I delved into their standout picks from the fresh album, what they're eagerly anticipating as they hit their tour, and why staying authentic remains paramount to the songwriting process.
Lauren: Congratulations on your new album ‘Love Me’, how's the reception been?
Manny: It’s been pretty good. There's some hard hitting songs on this record that we were a bit stressed about. But, people have proved to us again that they can they can take the depth and it's been pretty cool.
Bethany: We obviously haven’t got to play the songs in person yet which I feel takes the record to the next level […] but as far as online right now, it’s been an emotional reception which is always cool…and intense.
Is it a relief to finally get it out there?
Manny: Oh yeah, definitely.
Josh: It always is!
Manny: We finished it two months before it actually came out, so we got to take a break from it. Then it's fun when it comes out to listen to it again for the first time and experience what people are experiencing.
It's very scary to finish it and know you can't touch it.
There are some bands who wouldn’t want to listen to it at all
M: I’ll listen to it right away right when it comes out and then I can’t listen to it for years. Sometimes I'll go back just to reminisce.
There’s a lot of personal songs on there, especially for you Manny. How do you think it’ll feel to play them live?
M: There's certain songs that until you play it you're like ‘I don't really want to play this one right now’. But when songs are released they’re kind of given to everyone else, they’re not mine anymore.
Certain times we play to the crowd and the energy in the room brings you back to the simplicity of how it felt when we wrote it. But that's not all the time, that’s a special thing. I love watching people and how they’ve interpreted it. It doesn't feel like my story or our story as much anymore except for those special performances.
B: The fans will connect to certain lyrics in songs more than others ones. And you’re like wow they give a new meaning to the songs —I look forward to that!
Are there songs that your fans connect to that surprise you?
M: Definitely, and I'm very curious to see what it is on this record. On the last one there were so many that I was surprised by. They knew so many lyrics to the majority of the songs, even like the deep cuts, I was just like, wow.
We wrote one that's five minutes long called ‘Daydreams’ and I just didn't really think it would translate that well, but they went nuts.
Do any of you have a favourite from the new album?
B; I have favourites from listening [to the album] and I know they're going to change when I get to perform them live. The ones that I just like to listen to are ‘Ex’s Flowers’, ‘You Space and Time’, and ‘God Things’. I think to perform it's going to be a mixture of ‘Bad Ass Bitch’ and then whatever the fans react to.
M: I think ‘You Space and Time’, I really like that song, it just feels good. Feels like a lullaby even though it's really sad.
That's my favourite one as well actually!
J: Oh! I think we're all kind of on the same page there — it's the same for me!
My head is in the ‘live zone’ right now, getting ready for tour, so ‘Ex’s Flowers’ is a blast.
Were there any particular musical influences behind the album?
M: Usually I feel we would but this one happened really quickly […] a lot of these songs were written along time ago and then we pulled them out and basically did twenty songs in two weeks.
In that amount of time you end up having to make each song sound completely different or else you get bored and it’s very easy to see if they’re too similar and stuff like that. But I didn't really feel like I had time.
Bethany, you’ve mentioned in the past that there’s no structure when it comes to the creative process, is that the same for the track listings? The album rounds off so well with ‘Hell As Well’ then ‘In Therapy’
B: Definitely when it comes to the track list and the title, but it just organically gets to that point. There’s no stress around those decisions […] the start and the end very much dictates everything else but the start and the end for us is like ‘what do we want people to feel the second they put this on?’
M: Someone mentioned it was a bit more of a theatrical record and I think that's where we decided to just dive head first and go with ‘Hell As Well’ as this intro that's out of character for us.
J: We don't usually go into a project thinking ‘oh this is the theme and this is what we want to do’, it’s really what are the songs trying to say and what's the common thread that's going between them. We noticed that a few of the songs actually have that phrase, “Love me” in like different ways. And it was pretty clear that this is the theme of the record.
Did the title ‘Love Me’ happen as a result of finding that theme?
M: No, it came before we had any order because I wrote ‘Love Me In A Circle’. I was super plastered one night writing this and I just started screaming ‘Love Me’, ‘Love Me’, ‘Love Me’. And so we just felt like that desperation in screaming for love in whatever way that is for you. It wasn't even a very substantial part of the song, but I just think it kind of whacks you over the head no matter what.
You mentioned ‘Hell As Well’, do you think fans were prepared for such a hard-hitting song at the beginning of the album?
B: We did give a trigger warning before the record came out. We wanted to be respectful to people who that’s not a place where they need to be.
M: Nothing’s where it should be, but that's why it worked […] I watched one video of a reaction of someone listening to it for the first time and it was weird, it was almost my reaction again. Like I was reacting the same way with them. I was like that shouldn't work. Why is it going there? That it just feels good.
We were definitely scared because it’s a hard topic, but you know what? We're gonna say it loud and proud.
You’re becoming well known for your openness and seem to have formulated a nice community off the back of it, would you agree?
M: I hope so. I mean it was so unintentional and every time we go and do a show [the fans] say ‘it's you guys, you're creating this environment’ and I’m almost like ‘there's only three of us. There's five hundred of you’. We've just had a bunch of amazing people that have gravitated towards our music. People are very hungry for honesty even if it does hurt and makes you uncomfortable.
Do you feel there’s a responsibility to talk about certain topics as your fan base grows?
M: I definitely have felt that. At times l've sat down and I've written twelve love songs or twelve self deprecating songs and then I'm like I probably should write something about mental health. But then I just stop and go just let it happen. You can try but it's never going to be as good as the organic things.
B: We want to make sure that we’re doing what we can to help make the world a better place. Whenever we try to force things for the sake of things it's just not as authentic but we've got hearts that want to make that better for sure.
J: I think that's part of what the art is about. It's just the human experience and what we're going through. We're not at all saying this is the answer. It's more what we’re experiencing it and hopefully we're not alone in feeling the things we’re feeling.
I guess a lot of that comes down to the authenticity you spoke about earlier. So speaking of your community, you have your huge European tour starting in September, how are you feeling?
B: It’s a big one: twenty-eight shows. I still can't believe it.
M: That’s a lot of running around.
J: I can’t wait to experience what we talked about earlier with everybody there. We get messages all of the time like ‘forty-eight days away’ — the fans are counting down and it’s super sweet. It just peaks when we get to do that with everybody. Take it from this little room to the other side of the pond.
What’s the atmosphere like when you play live?
B: We’re into the theatrics, we like to give them an experience.
M: Yeah, the theatrics I would say just to make them think —hopefully in a good way. Bringing emotion out [for] a song you maybe weren't as into on the record. Hopefully it takes you somewhere else because of how we're doing it and the way that we’re saying it.
I hope that people walk away and go like wow they gave a 110% and that's super cool. That it doesn't look like we left anything on the stage because that's never our goal — which is why I'm running about!
That's what we love to see. Last time you guys were here you played Heaven in London right?
B: That was wild. We got to see the pictures and videos of the queue during that show. And I was just like it’s so cool. It's in the middle of the city so like this line had to go through the train station and all around and it was wild.
Well we’re super excited to have you back and I look forward to seeing you in October!