INTERVIEW: Sundrifter emerges from ‘An Earlier Time’
Photo: Sundrifter’s new album is called An Earlier Time. Photo courtesy of Small Stone Records / Provided by official site.
Sundrifter, a Boston-based desert rock band, found a dedicated and ever-growing audience with its first two albums, 2016’s Not Coming Back and 2019’s Visitations, but then the COVID-19 pandemic silenced the group — like so many others in the music industry. And it has taken the band members years to find the right time to release their third recording effort, An Earlier Time, which is set for release from Small Stone Records Friday, Feb. 16.
The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Craig Peura, bassist Paul Gaughran and drummer Patrick Queenan. They have been giving fans a taste of the new album with a couple of singles, including “Limitless,” which is the album opener, and “Begin Again.” On the tunes, they showcase their unique rock sound, which features several attributes at once: post-rock, heavy vibes, desert feel, melodies upon melodies and a rhythm that could only be achieved by a trio perfectly in sync with one another.
For the three musicians, who recently talked with Hollywood Soapbox, there’s a sense of satisfaction that An Earlier Time is finally being released and no longer sitting on a shelf and collecting dust. They want everyone to know that Sundrifter is back.
“We put out Visitations in 2018,” Queenan said. “We kind of self-released it. It kind of got caught up on some YouTube channels and forums and charts. Next thing you know we had people asking for vinyl, and then that’s when Scott [Hamilton] from Small Stone hit us up and offered us a deal for vinyl. And right after the release of Visitations, we were going into 2020, and we had a whole bunch of new music lined up. And we tracked the drums for it March 8 and 9 of 2020, and then everything got shut down. And we slowly reemerged here and then got this whole thing wrapped up. We finally are releasing it to the world.”
Peura still cannot believe the timing of those fateful days back in 2020. The tracking had finished at Futura Studios in Massachusetts, and the three bandmates started high-giving one another. They were making solid progress, and everything was gelling, like it had on Not Coming Back and Visitations. They had no idea that the unthinkable would soon become reality.
“After a while, when it became safe to be in rooms with people again and everything else, then we were able to track guitars and vocals,” Peura said. “It’s a crazy exciting time for us because we have been sitting on this music for a long time.”
Guaghran added: “It was a long time in between us starting the process and us finishing the process, with a lot of empty space in the middle through no fault of our own unfortunately. … I took it minute by minute. I didn’t really know what was going to happen, didn’t set my sights too high or low, just kind of waited it out, didn’t worry about it, and hoped for the best.”
During the pandemic, when the music industry ground to a halt, with virtually no live gigging, the bandmates tried to find the silver lining. They didn’t freak out; they didn’t think the days of Sundrifter were complete; they didn’t think An Earlier Time would remain a project from “an earlier time,” something they could talk about with teary eyes because it had never seen the light of day.
“For me, everybody was going through the same thing at the same time, so as much as we had to fight those feelings of, oh my God, what if we never get back to it, I guess I always try to stay hopeful,” Peura said. “Like, all right, we’re going to try to get through this, and at some point, we’re finishing this one way or another. We’re going to finish it. It was a crazy depressing, anxiety-filled time that we just had to persevere through and wait until it was right to begin again and keep going.”
Now, they find themselves in the position of hoping that people still remember their unique form of rock and want to reconnect again. Thankfully, there’s definitely interest in An Earlier Time, and the guys are getting the word out on these new tunes, which include the cosmically titled “Space Exploration,” “Nuclear Sacrifice” and “Prehistoric Liftoff.”
One of the songs they are most proud of is the second single, “Limitless.” In fact, the group believes this is the song that will break out and solidify in fans’ minds that Sundrifter is back and lost none of its musical chops. “‘Limitless’ is just a voice realizing that they’re capable of more, and they are striving to get to a better place,” Peura said when describing the song. “And I think everyone at one point or another has felt that feeling, and as far as starting the album, it’s a very exciting song for me. And Pat has this super cool drum intro, which is very sneaky and seductive, and then you get hit with the riff. I think that’s how it found its place first.”
Gaughran added: “I think this is one of the first tunes that came to fruition when working on new songs. … Everything kind of built off of that. I think it makes sense that it’s the kickoff just because it’s been in our heads the longest. I kind of associated the most with this new record beyond any other tunes that we did.”
Queenan felt that when “Limitless” was complete, they had a tune that could establish the vibe for the rest of the album. “It was the first song that came after Visitations,” the drummer said. “And, yeah, that drum intro, I’ve got to pat myself on the back for that. … We were originally going to release ‘Limitless’ first. When we tracked the drums for it, we shot a video for it, too, because even then we were really certain on this one being a prime song. … But the video couldn’t have been done in the time frame of the release schedule, so we just kind of opted to release ‘Begin Again.’ The term ‘begin again’ just kind of with us reemerging fit the whole vibe.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Sundrifter’s new album, An Earlier Time, will be released Friday, Feb. 16 via Small Stone Records. Click here for more information.
