Take Five with The Alternate Side: Guards

Guards dives headlong into the deep end of the guitar rock pool on its expansive, brazenly hook-laden debut, In Guards We Trust. Led by former Willowz frontman and Cults touring member Richie Follin — the older brother of Cults' Madeline Follin  — Guards' evolution from EP to full-length album was a two-year process during which 50 songs were written (some of which will eventually surface as B-sides).

The New York band was actually a spinoff from Cults; both Richie Follin and drummer Loren "Ted" Humphrey, who were working with Cults, began collaborating on their own songs. They recruited Madeline and Chairlift's Caroline Polachek for their demos and posted the songs online in 2010 via Bandcamp. The blogosphere rejoiced and Guards became a band.

Guards are headed to SXSW next week and begin a North American tour supporting The Joy Formidable on March 21 in Hollywood, CA. They'll also play Coachella, Barcelona's Primavera Sound and London's Field Day.

The band — Follin, Humphrey, Kaylie Church and touring multi-instrumentalist John Fredericks — dropped by The Alternate Side for a session with Russ Borris which airs today at 11 a.m. ET on 91.5 WNYE and online. Check out more exclusive videos and highlights of the interview at The Alternate Side.