Sarah and the Sundays on a Sunday
I vividly remember the first time I heard a Sarah and the Sundays song. It was this past August, right after I’d moved into my dorm at school — an emotional, overwhelming, and exciting time in any 18-year-old’s life. I was sitting on my bed folding laundry and listening to music when Spotify started throwing new songs at me. Their latest release at the time, “The Cue,” is what spotify decided to hand me in that moment, and I just remember thinking, Who are these guys? The song was incredible. I’m a sucker for emotional songs, and this one hit the spot.
Naturally, I did what I always do when I find a great new song: first, send it to my mom and sister, and second, dive into the rest of their discography. What I ended up finding was a band whose music seemed to narrate the uncertainty I was going through at the time.
As I listened more, their songs continued to hit home with everything I was feeling at that point in my life. At the time, they had two albums out: So You’re Mad About the Cups and The Living End. Both are solid, but I connected more with The Living End. It’s vibrant, fun, catchy, and full of a raw kind of emotion that any 18 year old navigating young adulthood will resonate with.
And then this past February, they released Like A Damn Dog. This album marked a significant shift in their sound- letting go of that colorful indie pop vibe they had built up in their earlier work, and embracing a more vulnerable, grungy, slow-rock feel. Although the album was different from what I was expecting, I ended up loving it just as much. I’ve always appreciated when artists aren’t afraid to experiment with different sounds. It gives us listeners the freedom to lean into whatever matches our mood, whether it’s something fun and upbeat, or more introspective and heavy.
Like A Damn Dog is a beautiful, raw album that works through the complexities of grief, change, and the strangeness of getting older. After this album, Liam Yorgensen, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, officially became one of my favorite lyricists. He has an incredible ability to put words to emotions a lot of people can’t even explain. Music has always been my go to for processing my emotions, and Liam’s lyrics make me feel like he understands what I’m feeling more than I do. His songwriting is the kind of writing that sticks with you.
And on top of all of this, let’s talk about their music live. WOW. I finally got to see them live (on a Sunday) , and the show was absolutely amazing. These guys not only know how to make good music, but they’re incredible performers. They work very cohesively as a band, and you can tell that they love every second of being up on that stage. They all had a very confident and energetic stage presence, which is so crucial to putting on a good show. They sound just as good live as they do recorded. It was incredible to get to hear these songs, the ones that have meant so much to me over the past year, performed five feet away from where I was standing.
I’ve only been listening to this band for 9 months, yet I feel like their music has grown with me. Finding their music at such a pivotal point has been a very meaningful experience. I’m so grateful for this band. I cannot wait to see all that they have in store for us and I’m eagerly awaiting the next time I get to see them live.
