If you’ve spent any time wandering through the world of YouTube stardom, you might well already be familiar with Against The Current. The trio—singer Chrissy Costanza, guitarist Dan Gow and drummer Will Ferri—trade in a brand of upbeat pop-rock that, thanks to a few timely covers, has attracted millions of social media followers and a legion of die-hard fans. Now on the verge of their first full-length album, and with some extensive touring under their belts, their next big leap in popularity looks to be just around the corner. Before that happens, though, here’s 10 things you should know about the band.

The Band Members Go waaay Back 

Gow and Ferri have been friends since their elementary school days in Poughkeepsie, NY. Indeed, they’ve been playing in bands together since the third grade. The fast friends went through a parade of acts and ever-changing lineups, but it wasn’t until meeting Costanza four years ago that the pieces all fell into place. “We got our awkward, weird years out not really in the public eye” says Ferri. “Which is nice!” 

You Might Already Know Them for Their YouTube Covers... 

The band carved out an early niche as YouTube stars, with early takes on songs like Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Good Time” and Justin Bieber’s “Beauty & A Beat” racking up the band more than 100 million YouTube plays. And while the band is mostly focused on originals now, it continues to post a new cover every few months. “We did a cover of ‘Uptown Funk’ live on the last US tour we were on,” says Costanza. “It’s not a song that we would write, but it was a song that, when we played it, everyone in the room was having a great time singing and dancing and hanging out to it.” 

…But They Never Set Out to be a Cover Band

Before the band began posting covers to YouTube, Against The Current was a scrappy-but-ambitious group of kids raised on pop-punk, playing local shows and festivals around Poughkeepsie—and as far as they’re concerned, they’re still that band. All the band members consider themselves songwriters, and since their YouTube success peaked, the band has released two EPs of originals, Infinity and Gravity, which show them growing by leaps and bounds. Ultimately, as Costanza puts it, covers don’t “define us, but [they’re] definitely a part of us.”

The Band Recently Signed with Fueled By Ramen... 

In March, after being courted by a number of labels, Against The Current signed with Fueled By Ramen, the label responsible for everybody from Paramore and Panic! At The Disco to upstart world-beaters Twenty One Pilots and Fun. They’ve got the smarts and muscle to take a great album and bring it to the top of the charts, so you might be hearing a whole lot more about Against The Current in the near future. 

...But That Doesn’t Mean They’ve Lost Their DIY Drive

The band just kicked off a leg of touring that will take them across the United States for the next month. It’s the final piece of their Gravity World Tour, which brought the band to the UK, mainland Europe and Southeast Asia for an extensive series of shows—and it was all booked independently by the band.

There’s a New Album Coming...

The band recently spent three months traveling back and forth to California to write and record their upcoming debut full length. The band spent most of that time in LA writing, but the process culminated at an isolated recording studio near San Francisco, where the band holed up with producer Tommy English, formerly of FBR alumni Powerspace, and producer of the band’s Gravity EP. “It’s on a mountain overlooking the beach,” recalls Costanza. “It was beautiful. We ran onto the beach a couple of days. It was awesome.

...Sometime

“We really have no idea right now,” says Gow when asked if there’s a release date on the horizon. “We’re still in the final stages of actually finishing the record—mixes and all of that good stuff.” As Costanza says, “we like to keep it a surprise—even to ourselves!”

In the Meantime, Lead Single “Outsiders” is a Peek at What’s to Come

Released at the beginning of October, “Outsiders” takes Against The Current in a new, pop-forward direction full of modern, EDM-influenced production. It’s a new look for the band. More than that, it’s a preview of what’s to come—Gow describes it as “definitely a key track” on the album. “Things are definitely progressing more poppy,” he says. “On paper, the melodies are pop melodies, which is great, because we love catchy, awesome hooks. We’re definitely progressing. The record is definitely a big step in the right direction. And it’s definitely different from anything we’ve ever done. 

Indeed, That Willingness to go New Places is Part of the Band’s Ethos

Change, as far as Against The Current is concerned, can only be a positive for the band. It’s all part of the process of finding themselves as artists—a process that requires experimentation. “I feel like going in with some kind of vision is good,” notes Costanza, “but you have to be open to the possibility that that vision is going to change and it’s going to be different. It seems like every time we write a song, it sounds different than the last song we wrote.” 

Still, the Heart of the Band Remains Its Live Show

For Costanza, playing live isn’t just about showcasing the songs the band has recorded, it’s about taking her audience with her on a journey, one they experience together. “We want them to have a fun time,” she says. “But there are songs that are sadder songs, darker songs—just heavier songs in general—and we want them to feel the full weight of that song as well, in a way you can really only feel when you’re being a part of that song. We’re playing it live in front of them, but they’re also singing along, so they’re part of that in a live way. It’s not the same as just listening to it on headphones. [I] want them to go through all of the emotions that we went through writing these songs—with us.”