Q&A: Sarah and the Sundays Is Just Getting Started with “The Living End”
BY DEFINITION, “THE LIVING END” MEANS SOMETHING — that is quite extraordinary. In just four years, Sarah and the Sundays has gone from a college dorm room to releasing a debut album that they are proud of, helping them find the light in the dark.
Released on Oct. 15, the band was heavily influenced by Peach Pit, Pinegrove, and Wilco while creating The Living End. As they explained, the album came together as a bunch of written-at-home demos, but in pulling from their influences, they hoped to bring a very “live feel” to the record. The band has succeeded: The Living End listens like very traditional indie rock, a sound that is entirely timeless.
Below we discuss everything from the new album, future dreams and more.
LUNA: First off, how’s life? Does it seem like things have sort of taken off with this record?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: Life is going pretty well. We’ve been super fortunate to be able to still make music throughout the pandemic. This album really feels like an encapsulation of all of the progress we’ve made over the past couple of years. Making this record and seeing it through to release has really informed how we look at the business side of the industry.
LUNA: The Living End listens like very traditional indie rock (I love it). Who were three of your musical influences for this record?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: Three of the biggest influences for the record were Peach Pit, Pinegrove, and Wilco. All three bands bring such a live feel to their studio work. As we started to arrange all the songs, we quickly realized that we were going to want our album to have that same feeling.
LUNA: Comparing 2017 Sarah and the Sundays to 2021, it seems like you guys have stayed pretty constant in your sound. In an era full of TikTok artists, I imagine it’s difficult to stay true to your own original intent as a band. What was yours? Making music that you love and relate to first?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: That’s exactly it! We’re beyond blessed that people can relate to the music we make. That being said, we have always made music for us. We want to make music that our fans will enjoy, and our recipe for that has always been to just make music we love!
LUNA: Can you give us some insight into what this album holds for you?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: Contrary to what it sounds like, the phrase “the living end” is actually very positive! It means something is the best or quite extraordinary, so moving to Austin and recording this album has really been the living end for us. The actual end for us is nowhere in sight — we’re just getting started!
LUNA: What was the creative process like for y’all? (I’ve always wondered — when an EP comes first, does that mean that the other songs on the record are just… hidden for now?)
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: Yes! We made the album all at once; we just wanted to give people a few songs to digest before we released the whole thing. As for the creative process, the album really started as a large collection of demos we made at home. From there, we brought our favorite ones to our producers Soren Hansen and Paulie DeVincenzo in Nashville and got to it!
LUNA: What is your favorite memory from creating this album?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: I think we all agree that our favorite memory is definitely recording it. Our producers Soren and Paulie are such amazing guys — we really felt like we built a family while recording this album, and we’re always going to look back on it and remember how much fun we had!
LUNA: What do you hope fans will take away from the new record?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: This album has been a light for us throughout the darkness that’s been the last year and a half. We just hope that it can provide listeners even a fraction of the relief it provided us in making it.
LUNA: What are you listening to lately?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, and Del Water Gap have all been on repeat lately, along with some great artists like Peter McPoland, Arlie, and Holly Humberstone!
LUNA: Someone told me recently that October is the month of visualization. Set some intentions: What are you hoping comes to fruition for y’all as a band for the rest of 2021?
SARAH AND THE SUNDAYS: If we could have anything happen by the end of the year, we definitely would want to get some sort of tour in place! It would be a dream come true if our music took us around the country.
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