Roll of the Dice: 10 questions with Good Terms

Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.

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Good Terms thrive in the space where urgency meets melody… big feelings delivered with precision and purpose. Built on cathartic hooks and an unfiltered emotional core, the band has carved out a sound that feels both immediate and hard-earned. As they continue to sharpen their identity and push past easy expectations, Good Terms remain focused on connection over polish. We caught up with the band for a Roll of the Dice interview to talk growth, momentum, and what comes next.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! Congratulations on the success and upcoming deluxe release of Burnout
Thank you! We’ve been working hard on it, and it’s really gratifying for it to finally be complete and out in the world.

You’re releasing Burnout Deluxe as a celebration rather than a reset. What made you want to extend this chapter instead of immediately moving on to a “next era”?
The Burnout era has been the biggest transformation of our lives. When we started working on the first songs for Burnout, we’d barely played any shows, and we were still exploring what we wanted to do with Good Terms. By the time we started thinking about the deluxe, we’d really climbed a mountain in terms of musical creativity, played around 100 shows all over the country, had social media and music videos get hundreds of thousands of views and tons of comments, and just spent so much more time together. It really felt like this blurry vision we’d had of what Good Terms could be had become so much clearer. We’d also put out the song “Progress” about 6 months after the record, and people loved it way more than we ever expected it to. We started talking about putting the other new song on the deluxe, “All In”, which is the first song we ever wrote in the touring van together, and it felt like both “All In” and “Progress” were really part of the of the Burnout story, like epilogue, or a “where are they now.” Then when the idea of the Highway To Hell Yeah Brother tour, our first ever headlining tour, started to take shape, it all started to really make sense as a way to complete the era.

The word “burnout” is usually framed as something negative, but you talk about it almost affectionately. How has your understanding of burnout changed since living inside this record?
We picked “burnout” as the record title from a lyric on the record; it just felt like it had so many definitions that could apply to the record. Burnout in relation to overworking, burnout in relation to getting stoned and going nowhere, and even burnout in relation to showing off in your car. It all felt like the record we’d made. We’ve definitely kept all those definitions in mind since the record has come out. It’s hard to not overwork yourself; I’m sure lots of people out there resonate with that. We’re still walking a tightrope of trying to achieve our goals without burning ourselves out. Getting stoned is completely over for me after I realized some health issues were tied to it. We’re definitely still trying to show off though! Guitar solos, massive breakdowns, whatever it is. I think our relationship with burnout will continue to change forever.

The new songs on the deluxe edition were shaped directly by touring and fan reactions. What did the road teach you about yourselves that you couldn’t have learned in a practice space?
There’s nothing like playing in front of people. It puts it all on the line; every note matters. When you’re working that hard to nail every part, it starts to really matter to you how the audience reacts. There are some parts that we’d work really hard on, and then look out in the audience and go “I don’t think anyone out there really cared about that part.” On the other hand, there were parts that we could do with our eyes closed that definitely resonated with audiences. Figuring out things like “I want to play this kind of riff here because of these moments in our show that go really hard” or “this breakdown should hit this way because the audience will react this way” has been a really fun journey. One specific thing we’ve learned was about audience reaction – in the song “Progress”, there’s a section before the breakdown we call the “hoe-down” section because the kick drum kind of borrows from country music. We thought that would be a good time to get the audience to clap along, but we found that we don’t even need to tell them to clap – they clap at that section no matter what. Learning how to direct audiences musically like that is definitely a powerful skill.

The Highway To Hell Yeah Brother tour is your biggest headlining run yet. How are you approaching these shows differently than past tours?
We’ve had a fantastic time over the last two years on the road, and we’ve really been refining our show. This headline tour feels like a chance to put everything we’ve learned to work, and the first time people will get to see the full version of us. It kinda feels like we’ve been making short films and now we have a chance to make a feature length film. We’re putting a lot of moments we haven’t had time for in the past into these shows, and that shows up clearest in the set list. There are songs our fans love that didn’t make sense to play when opening for someone else that we get to play this time around. We also get to select all of the support bands, and we’ve put a lot of work into finding bands we think would be good back-to-back or would be fun for our audience to learn about.

“All In” opens Burnout Deluxe and the title alone feels like a mission statement. Why was it important for that song to lead the extended release?
We’re all in, baby. Even tho we’re extending this chapter with a deluxe, we’re always trying to move forward, and putting the newest song first feels like the way to do that. We explored putting the new songs in the middle of the tracklist, or at the end, but putting them first felt like the biggest statement. I think it also lets listeners feel the excitement of new songs first and then celebrate these songs that have gotten us where we are.

Burnout jumps wildly between moods; anxiety, joy, humor, sincerity.. without feeling disjointed. How do you keep that emotional chaos cohesive?
Dude I honestly don’t know. We set out to explore different sounds with Burnout, but when we were finishing the record, we were a little worried we’d gone too far in some places. But we’ve gotten this reaction that it feels varied yet cohesive so much, so I’m glad we trusted our instincts instead of our fears. I think one thing that helps keep it together is where we chose to experiment and where we chose to stay consistent. Most of the experimentation is in the sound, but the songwriting stays pretty consistent. Our specific perspective as songwriters is a foundational part of this band, and we found ourselves trying to maintain that specific voice more often than with the sound of the music.

Looking back now, what do you think Burnout revealed about Good Terms that you didn’t fully understand at the time of its release?
Well a big part of the experimentation with the sound was to see what stuck. We definitely saw what resonated with our fans and ourselves, both on a “does this song perform well” level and on a “what moments seem to hit the hardest” level. One of our biggest fans, Grace, says her favorite songs are “Mask” and “High Right Now”, which couldn’t be more different. One’s almost fully screamed, and the other one is almost an indie-pop song. So we’re trying to figure out what’s the common thread between those songs and all the songs in between. It really feels like our fans enjoy things about us that aren’t just “pop-punk band plays breakdown” or something; it’s more about musicality and quality, which is really freeing to learn because it makes us feel like we can do anything (not that we’re trying to abandon pop-punk!)

Burnout came out less than a year ago and already feels like a defining record for the band. At what point did you realize this album was connecting on a different level?
When fans started requesting the deep cuts at our shows. “High Right Now”, the song that’s almost indie-pop, was the song we were most worried about on release, but it was an instant fan favorite. They started requesting it almost immediately, and that told us people really were listening to it as a record, not just singles on a playlist or something. People also just talk about it like a record; we’d already had songs like “Cough” perform well, but when people started talking about Burnout as a release they liked, it felt like we’d stepped up as a band into a position where people would give us a full 45 minutes of their attention.

For a first time listener, which Good Terms track would you suggest to best demonstrate the band’s sound and intentions?
“All In”! It’s got it all, the lyrics, the melodies, the grooves, the riffs, the breakdown, the energy. As you said earlier, we can jump wildly between moods, but I think “All In” prepares you for the ride you’re about to be on when you start listening to Good Terms. It’s the front door.

As you head into 2026 with momentum behind you, what feels more important right now: protecting what you’ve built, or pushing yourselves into uncomfortable new territory?
We’ve got big plans for way in the future, but right now, it’s time to really live in house Burnout has built. And maybe make a few add-ons 😉

Thank you for taking the time with us today!