Tyler Glenn doesn’t shy away from emotional whiplash. In fact, he thrives on it. Whether it’s staging a theatrical exit from the Mormon church on his solo record Excommunication, stepping into stilettos for Kinky Boots, or reuniting Neon Trees after a six-year album hiatus with a song that sounds like summer but stings like heartbreak—he’s always threading the needle between pop joy and personal chaos.
“Let’s get back to what you used to like about me,” he sings on “Used to Like,” the band’s 2019 comeback single. It’s a line that feels less like a romantic plea and more like a meta-nod to fans, as if to say: remember when this band made sad songs that you could scream-dance to?
“I was writing it during the last-ditch part of a relationship,” Glenn says. “You’re chasing that spark, knowing full well it’s probably gone. That desperation felt good to write into something catchy.” Like much of Neon Trees’ best work, the track is slick, bright, and gutting if you pay attention—part 80s sheen, part modern-day ghosting anthem. “My kind of party is feeling terrible about myself,” he says, only half-joking.
That kind of cheeky melancholy is something of a signature. It’s how Neon Trees, once radio regulars with hits like “Animal” and “Everybody Talks,” carved out a space where pop music could be vulnerable without losing its edge. But after their 2014 LP Pop Psychology, things went quiet. A lone single appeared in 2017 (“Feel Good”), but it turned out the band was stuck in industry purgatory—label shifts, management changes, and a general sense of creative unease.
“Right after ‘Feel Good’ came out, we asked to leave our label,” Glenn explains. “It just didn’t feel safe to keep going under those circumstances. I think a lot of artists were being thrown at the wall around then. We needed to regroup.”
Regroup he did—first with Kinky Boots, where he took on a 10-week Broadway stint playing Charlie Price, a straight-laced British shoe factory heir. The challenge was real: “I’ve always been a pretty spontaneous performer, but this was different,” Glenn says. “It was about being precise, showing up eight times a week, sticking to the script—and doing it all in a British accent.”
The Broadway detour led straight to LA, where he began writing the new Neon Trees album. Of the 45 songs he wrote, only 10 made the cut. “There’s a story arc to it,” Glenn says, careful not to call it a concept album, but still hinting at thematic cohesion. Ghosting, modern love, codependency—familiar territory, but through a sharper lens. “There’s a purpose to each song. And I think we’ve earned the right to tell it.”
Glenn credits his solo work for helping sharpen his voice—literally and figuratively. “That album let me challenge a lot of things. I was leaving the faith I grew up in. I was dealing with the fallout. And I think pushing through all that gave me the confidence to come back to the band with something new to say.”
As for “Used to Like,” Glenn admits that fans and friends started interpreting the song’s plea as a reintroduction to Neon Trees itself. “That wasn’t intentional,” he laughs. “But I get it. I think I was also trying to get back to what I liked about being in this band.”
The timing works out, too: 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of their debut Habits. “We’re definitely planning to celebrate that in some way,” Glenn teases. “We’re not going to do a full 30-city nostalgia tour or anything, but it deserves some reverence.” Of course, the best way to honor a decade-old record is with a new one—which Glenn confirms is on the way.
“I’m not the kind of artist who wants to feel stale,” he says. “I want to keep evolving, keep surprising people—even if that just means writing a pop song about getting ghosted.”
And what’s more surprising than a heartbreaker you can dance to?
Listen to the interview above and then check out "Used To Like" below.
