Austin's fave indie-rock band chats with FLEX about their new EP "Half Way Home," where the band's name came from, and more.
Please tell us about the process of writing and recording the EP!
We started writing the EP just as the pandemic first hit. Liam would come to the rest of the band with little melodic ideas, lyrical ideas, and even fleshed out demos. When it was something we all really liked, we would then start demoing (or re-demoing) the song as a full band. We continued to hone and tailor the songs to our liking over the next couple of months prior to going into the studio. When we finally got to work tracking the EP in Nashville, we let go of any expectation and just tried to have as much fun as possible.
What’s a typical studio day like for you guys?
Tracking this EP was our first true studio experience. We spent twelve hour days fuelled by an unhealthy amount of coffee, Redbull, and sandwiches. In terms of working at home, a studio day looks like whatever we want it to; it could be all day long, or just a couple of hours.
Where did the name for the band come from?
In high school, we called ourselves The Sundays because we would practice every Sunday. After learning there was already a band from the 90’s called The Sundays, we had to make a change. We took a photo with Miles’ little sister Sarah at our first gig and captioned it “Sarah and the Sundays”. When it came time to change names, we always ended up coming back to Sarah and the Sundays so we decided to go with it.
If you guys can each remember, what’s the first record you each bought?
Brendan: London Calling - The Clash
Liam: Is This It - The Strokes
Quinn: Echos, SIlence, Patience & Grass - The Foo Fighters
Declan: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning - Bright Eyes
Miles: 1 - The Beatles
If you had to describe your music in 3 words what would they be?
If we had to distill our music down to three words, they would probably be exciting, pensive, and nostalgic.
What’s the song ‘Take Your Time’ about?
Take Your Time is a song that originated in Liam’s attempt to quit cigarettes, but expanded to represent the overall theme of giving up bad habits and wishing you could get back time you spent on something regrettable.
We're assuming the EP was recorded last year throughout the pandemic — what did you guys learn about each other and as a band during that time?
Honestly, very little of the actual musical process was affected by the pandemic, other than the sheer amount of time we had to write and record. We learned more about each other through living together and spending all of our time together throughout the pandemic. Through thick and thin, we learned that we are a family and we can get along in harmony in any situation.
What are you guys looking forward to this year?
We are most looking forward to getting back on stage! We’re also excited to get back out into the world and have new experiences and meet new people.