Q&A: Sweet Spine’s Creative Evolution Shines in New Era of Music
SWEET SPINE’S JOURNEY IS ONE OF EVOLUTION AND INTENTION – The electrifying three-piece alt-rock band – composed of Fox Haynes (singer, guitarist), Brannan Crook (drums) and Taylor Priola (bass) – is cementing their status as the brightest new faces in the shoegaze and alt-rock scenes with the release of their latest single, “Lights Out.” This hauntingly bold track not only showcases the band’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of alternative music but also blends grunge nostalgia with contemporary alt melodies, creating a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly innovative.
“Lights Out” serves as a tantalizing preview of their highly anticipated sophomore album, BREAK // NECK, a record that signifies a significant personal and creative evolution for the band. While staying true to their roots, Sweet Spine ventures into daring new sonic territories, marking this album as a milestone in their burgeoning career.
For the first time, the band has collaborated with external producers, enlisting the talents of Joel Hamilton from Studio G Brooklyn and August Axcelson from Animal Farm NJ. Each producer has imparted a unique influence, adding depth and new dimensions to the band’s already dynamic sound.
BREAK // NECK is characterized by its deliberate intention and eclecticism, held together by an emotional authenticity and a profound sense of unity. The album’s diverse range of ideas and sounds are a testament to Sweet Spine’s dedication to growth and experimentation.
“We really made it with the intention of it being listened from front to back; if you do that, then you’ll understand the risks we took, and the story that we were trying to get across,” says Fox.
Removing themselves from the outside world, Sweet Spine focussed on what truly mattered – the songs, and each other. “The only thing we can do is focus on the art,” Fox says. Taylor adds: “The best parts of the album are the moments where all of us were like, you know, this isn’t mine. It’s Sweet Spine.”
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna. For any readers who aren’t familiar yet, what kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
FOX: I think something that's been super important to us more as of recent than it has been in the past is wanting to aim to connect with our listeners in any way, whether it's helping them through a tough time or making them think about something that’s not cliche, but something that encapsulates heavier emotions like love or hate. It’s really about getting to the bottom of why we feel certain things and very thought provoking aspects.
TAYLOR: Foxes does this a lot at our live shows too, about being in the room and when you're in this room, nothing else matters outside of the room. So if our music can be a safe space to distract yourself from work or any stress, that's what we strive for.
FOX: I think creating a sense of community within our listeners, like that sort of environment where they can play Sweet Spine and forget about everything else that’s going on. That's the only thing we could ever really ask to achieve.
LUNA: You are about to release your single “Lights Out” which is a sneak peek into your upcoming record and I absolutely adore how it pushes boundaries within your sound. What is the inspiration behind the single and what did the creative process look like?
FOX: It's a cute story. I've always been into music production and making music. I have been like that since middle school. Me and my little sister were sitting down at my computer making little beats and stuff. One of the ideas that spawned from that night was “Lights Out” and we recorded little vocals and it's really really cute. She was nine at the time. It was just an idea that I had sitting on my phone forever. I eventually brought it to the band at some point and we really liked it and wanted to see where we could expand upon this. I think the even greater part of that process was handing it over to Sweet Spine and us all collaboratively working on it in a studio setting.
TAYLOR: It was also our first time that we've ever worked in a studio together. We traveled from South Carolina to New York to do the song and it was very nerve-wracking going into it, but it was overall a really good experience for all of us.
LUNA: You are about to release your sophomore record BREAK // NECK. What is the inspiration behind the record?
FOX: There's so many things that went into the writing process and into the thought process in general of the album. We've reached this point in our career where we're acknowledging the reality of social media, and the fact that it's such a great and useful tool, but in the end, we started realizing that the way we were promoting our art was a little bit demeaning to it and not really respecting the true quality of what art is and what music is. We came to this crossroad where we were like, we can keep doing things the way we're doing them and grow in a very artificial sense, or we can slow down completely, like full stop on the brakes and go brick by brick by brick. BREAK // NECK is ultimately one brick in that big wall. That's really all we're trying to do is just get our foot in the door and start building that wall.
LUNA: This is your first big project since your C-Section record in 2022. Have you experimented more or taken any risks – either lyrically, sonically or emotionally – with BREAK // NECK since your previous releases?
FOX: BREAK // NECK is a huge, massive jump from C-Section. I think our next album is going to be an even bigger and an even more massive jump from BREAK // NECK.
TAYLOR: This is also the first album that the three of us have worked on together. C-Section was prior to me and Brannan being in the band, so it was our first collaborative piece of work on a song.
BRANNAN: An album is always like a snapshot of where you're at creatively at time, and C-Section is great because it definitely sounds like a first album through its infancy. With BREAK // NECK, we really took a lot of time to make sure that it sounded like it was made in the studio, but there's still an aspect of what I think is the most important part of our job, which is the live performance. It's not a complete build from live performance or live sound, but there's definitely a lot of really cool elements that we added in the studio that I'm super proud of.
FOX: Thinking back to something that Brandon said during the “Lights Out” studio sessions where he was like, ‘I'm not really sure that we can even call this rock anymore,’ and I really liked that. I think that completely speaks for everything BREAK // NECK is about. It is a rock record, but I think it's going in a direction that's very far from our traditional sound, which I'm really excited about.
LUNA: BREAK // NECK is still grounded to your roots, but still explores new sounds. You collaborated with Joel Hamilton from Studio G Brooklyn and August Axcelson from Animal Farm NJ on the record’s production. Can you share more about your creative partnership and how it influenced the overall sound and direction of BREAK // NECK?
FOX: Overall, it was a great experience. It was very new for us because up until this point, it's been completely DIY and independent. So to all of a sudden be in a big studio in Brooklyn, New York, it's a little bit overwhelming, but also very gratifying. It's cool to go in there and see other people help you bring the songs that you've written come to life. It was a great process creatively. They all had really good ideas and were very invested emotionally into our product, which we couldn't really ask for anything more.
BRANNAN: I think the biggest thing to overcome with that, at least for me, was putting ego to the side until we joined the band. It was mostly Fox, so Fox having to hand it over to us and then all of us having to hand it over to a producer is a really hard string of events. Emotionally, it's way easier said than done to hand over something you care so much about to someone that you didn't even know a month ago. We had a great time and I think having producers on the record only helped it. I'm very grateful for them.
LUNA: What is your favorite song from BREAK // NECK and why do you love it? Is there a certain lyric or message that stands out to you the most?
BRANNAN: Every time I listen to the record, there's a new song that's my favorite, which speaks to how much we really put into this record and how much those little moments really matter. The one I keep coming back to the most is the closing track called “Dead Sarah,” and it's just piano and vocals all recorded live. It's Fox playing a piano and singing and it's definitely the most bare bones and raw track and there's not really anything attitude at all. I think that it's just super beautiful and it makes me cry every time he plays it live. My favorite lyric is, “Your soul hit the ceiling / Your body, the floor.” It's a super heavy song about depression, suicide and the fallout of that. It's super heavy and it's definitely going to have a lot of emotional reactions from people.
TAYLOR: I want to say “In My Blood.” When we talk about BREAK // NECK, I feel like us as a group would most describe it as alt-rock, and that is something that I loved a bunch in middle school that I've been trying to seek out in music recently and I haven't found something that works. Specifically in “In My Blood,” I feel like it’s something that I would have heard in middle school and been like, ‘this is the best thing I've ever heard.’
FOX: I think my favorite and honestly an underrated track amongst us is “Take A Breath.” It doesn't take a whole lot of risks. It's pretty straightforward, but the meaning at least to me is very personal. It's a step into that stride of being really in touch emotionally with our listeners. It's a very emotionally vulnerable song and very similar to “Dead Sarah.” The lyrics will make you want to cry, but the music's really fun.
LUNA: What are you most excited for listeners to experience with this new era of music?
BRANNAN: I think personally the live performance aspect is super cool and to have this all on a record. It's definitely exciting for me. I think it'll be more exciting for the listener just to hear it translated, and we've got backing tracks now so our live performance has become more of a cross between the studio and just a DIY performance.
FOX: We're a new band, and BREAK // NECK is a very, very new record and it's also in its infancy as far as our long term career goes. If people come out and see us live like there's no show like it. I'm excited for new listeners and new fans to see that.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
FOX: We have a big tour in the books. It's called the “BREAK // NECK” tour. It's supposed to be going from September 12 to October 5. We're really, really excited about it and super excited to hit the road again. I think after that we might even do some more touring. We're excited to hit the road.
