An Interview with Sunsleeper
Written for Tongue Tied Magazine, April 2022
Halfway through touring with their debut album, Sunsleeper, like the rest of the world, found their lives halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even in the most uncertain of times in modern day history, this indie rock group solidified who they were, not only as individuals but as a group.
Their latest single, "In the Clouds" also comes with a music video, via Rude Records. Both the song and visual are reminiscent of the early MTV days, where our TV channels were filled with emo music and vintage-looking recordings.
“In the Clouds” Artwork
"I have a tendency of getting stuck in my head, recounting all the things I wish were different. ... Due to the nature of the pandemic and the civil unrest of 2020, many people's true colors bubbled to the surface. I found myself longing for simpler times a lot while processing the stark shift in many of my relationships during that time frame. This song recounts the realization that many people I held in high esteem in my life ended up not being the people I thought were, including myself." - Jeffery Mudgett of Sunsleeper on ‘In The Clouds’, for Tongue Tied Mag
While I would never imagine repeating the last two years, there is something to be said about realizing our true selves, and the true nature of those around us. The visual for "In the Clouds" repeats a written message stating 'Hey, Get Out Of Your Head", and while we all need that reminder once in a while, we find ourselves falling back into the harsh reality the world has thrown at us. Sunsleeper added themselves as characters into the music video of "In the Clouds" to serve as a visual nudge for the main character to let go of her negative subconscious that was keeping her in the clouds.
In July of 2019, Sunsleeper had released their LP, You Can Miss Something & Not Want It Back, they were in the middle of an album cycle, on tour, and living their lives as normal when the pandemic brought everything to a halt. In their newfound free time, these Salt Lake City natives took the opportunity to explore a new world of sound and songwriting, finding this to be the only upside at the time. Writing is just one of the ways this group used to cope with the unknowns of the world.
"In the beginning, everyone was being told things would clear up within a month and we were hopeful that we'd get to finish the album cycle, but that obviously wasn't the case. With everything at a standstill we decided to focus on writing." - Jeffery Mudgett, for Tongue Tied Mag
Going back to the idea of reminiscing on our true selves, we all learned a thing or two during the pandemic. Sunsleeper found the importance of being more present. Vocalist, Jeffery Mudgett, mentioned that the nature of being in a band is to always be busy, pushing onto the next step, and thinking about the future. The pandemic forced them all to take time and focus on the past and present, allowing them to worry about the future later. This then turned into a new theme they found within their music. It took sixteen months until Sunsleeper was able to safely return to the stage. Like the rest of us, they were even more appreciative of their ability to perform.
I really enjoyed the feelings of nostalgia and theme of self-realization within Sunsleeper's "In the Clouds". I hope to see the single become part of a bigger project. I really think Sunsleeper have a great foundation started for themselves and could evolve their era of their music into something that is truly memorable.
Sunsleeper
Listen to “In The Clouds” here.