The indie-rockers are back with a new sound and a revitalised outlook
We’re just going to come out and say it: we flippin’ adore Sunset Sons. If you’ve never heard of them, then they’re an indie-rock three-piece who write the kind of infectiously catchy-arena rock anthems that Jon Bon Jovi wishes he could still pen; and, if you have heard of them, then you’ll be acutely aware that they’re one of the few bands who can manage to both write smart and sophisticated pop-rock songs and look like they’d be a good bunch to go for a pint with.
We’ve got all the time in the world for these guys
We may not have been able to grab a pint – after all, it was the early afternoon – but we did manage to corner Sunset Sons frontman Rory Williams for a chat at this year’s Barn On The Farm Festival; and let us tell you, dear reader, are we ever glad that we did.
Despite the turmoil of the band’s last two years – a couple of years that included losing a guitarist/founding member and wondering whether they’d even be able to carry on doing this by the time their next album cycle was due to come around, no less – we found Rory to be on top form, and more than willing to chat about any (and all) of the issues that have faced the guys last twenty-four months. Don’t you just love it when they’re like that?
So, sit back, dear reader, and prepare to devour a nice, long, and thorough interview with not only the front man of one of our favourite bands here at One on One HQ, but also one of the nicest blokes we’ve ever had the pleasure of chatting to:
We hate to be awkward, but… What happened to your old guitarist?
‘We just got a better one! We were like ‘right, we’ve had enough of him – everyone, send in your video tapes… Na, I’m kidding. It’s simple, really: we were writing the new record in September, and it had come to a point where we basically had to get it done. It took a little longer than we expected; we experimented, then we ditched half of that material, and all that kinda shit.
‘He [Robin Windram, former guitarist] had a family, and I think the pressure was on him, so he had to make a decision as to what he wanted to do moving forward. It’s always going to be difficult with girlfriends and stuff, but it must be really hard when you’ve got a family, y’know? With this game, you’re either in it or you’re not, and his mind just wasn’t in it at the end.
‘So, that happened in September, and it’s fair to say that we kinda went into panic mode. We hadn’t done anything in ages, and you kind of think ‘…fuck. What if this is it?’. Then, we just started writing. We pretty much wrote our new EP in September, and the entire thing just seemed to flow out of us. It almost felt like now we knew where we were with Rob and that entire situation, we could just go back to focusing on the writing, and then before we knew it these four new songs had just come out of us.
‘Then, in November, we saw that a band called VANT had broken up. I’d always been a fan of theirs, and had seen them at a few festivals, so I was like ‘Guys. VANT just broke up. Can we see if we can get their guitarist, Henry…?’
‘I didn’t think he’d be into it – hell, I just figured that he’d have already been snapped up. We were making different styles of music, too: they were a punk rock band, and we’re… Well, we’re not punk rock. But, he joined, and he brought his own style to the band, and I think it’s a match made in harmony, man. It’s beautiful. I love what he does, and he loves what he’s doing, so he’s basically come in and smashed it. He came in to our first rehearsal and he already knew the songs! In fact, he probably knew them better than us…
‘I’d seen him perform, and I knew that playing with him would make me want to up my game as well. He’s just slipped in, and it feels like it was kinda meant to be. It was a blessing in disguise, really – as much as we were sad to see Rob go, there was a bit of worry when all that happened that the band might be over, so it feels good to just be still going and have Henry along for the ride.
It must be nice for you guys, coming back after a couple of years and the crowd still being there and knowing the songs.
‘Yeah, man. That spins me out. I am a ‘musician’, but I still find that term quite funny as a term of employment, as you will. But I’ve never been one to expect the crowds, or expect that people are going to want to come and see you.
‘We’ve just played two shows – one in London, and one in Manchester – and we sold them out in three hours. We’d been away for two years, y’know?
‘It was scary, and there were definitely times when we thought we might not still be able to carry on doing this. I think we might’ve taken it for granted for a while, and then as soon as we stepped away from it for a bit we were just like ‘shit’. I mean, you see bands who step away for a bit and then they just fucking vanish, y’know? And there was definitely a fear of that happening to us. It’s especially scary when you’re doing what you love to do, too: I mean, this isn’t fucking working, is it? You get tired, and you might have to gig on a hangover or whatever that might be, but you’re not digging holes in the ground. So, yeah, it’s nice to have come back and for people to still be there to listen to us.
‘And then we’ve just found out that our new single, Love Lights, has got like 100,000 streams on Spotify, in just one day.
‘That’s absolutely mad, y’know? I think it’s like, if you put any band or any artist into a position where – if they want it to be – it could be over, then they’ll pull their finger out of their arse. This album… Man, am I excited for people to hear it. I was excited for them to hear the last one, too, but it was very easy. We’d been signed, and we were in this massive studio in Nashville, and we were a bit like ‘that was simple’. This time, we’d lost a member, and we didn’t have anyone’s interest, and all that shit. We just got in the studio, and we just wanted to write songs that would (hopefully) reach a few people.
‘Hell, at this stage, we just want to impress our manager… We’re sure that a lot of bands may well have a yes-man as their manager (ed. – a yes-manager?), but not our Steve. He’ll sit there with you while he listens and then just be like ‘what the fuck’s this?’. Good old Steve.
Is the album written? Recorded? Finished?
‘Written. We basically set up a studio in my room, and I started YouTubing videos to learn production – and asked a few mates a few questions – and then we just started churning them out. It was a different way of writing for us: usually we do them live, but this ended up being the way to go. You find that you concentrate on the songs more; you end up focusing on each individual part, rather than just the overall noise you get when you put each part together.
‘With the last record, I think you could tell that we had a ‘Sunset Sons sound’, whereas for this one we’ve tried to mix it up a little bit.
‘Obviously, we don’t want to alienate anyone who liked any of the last stuff, but we’ve evolved a bit since the last album came out. I’m excited for people to hear it. We’ve worked with a producer called Catherine J Marks, who’s done some absolutely banging stuff – she’s worked with Foals, The Killers, Wolf Alice, The Big Moon, and done a bunch of other amazing stuff on top of all that, and we felt very lucky to have her back for this record after all the success she’s had over the last couple of years…
‘So, yeah, the album’s written, and then we’ve only got four more songs to record before we can move on to the mixing and mastering stage. That might sound easy, but we’re still mixing the four-track EP that’s getting released in less than a month, so it might take a bit of time yet… Let’s just see how it goes, eh?