Q&A: sundayclub Explore Small Town Nostalgia on New Self-Titled Album
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY ALEAH ANTONIO ☆
Photo by Evie Maynes
COURTNEY CARMICHAEL AND NIKKI ST. PIERRE ARE FROM THE COLDEST CITY IN CANADA—Winnipeg, Manitoba infamously has some of the coldest winters in the province; even though their debut record SUNDAYCLUB comes out while North America endures grueling heat waves, the record still strikes with winterish melancholy.
Carmichael’s and St. Pierre’s joint project sundayclub first released EP Bannatyne on Halloween last year, followed by their cover of “Last Christmas.” Taking inspiration from Alvvays and Metric, sundayclub’s dream pop reignites their nostalgic daydreams into sparkling reverberations. Their record SUNDAYCLUB, released last Friday via Paper Bag Records, is a collection of a meticulous four years of songwriting.
After writing the record’s third single “Sad Summer,” sundayclub felt like they finally figured out their footing. “Nothing can stop me from being down / Not 35 degrees or the circus in town… I'm down when I should be high / Sad summer,” Carmichael sings on the track. It’s as if the heat doesn’t mean a thing—each of their music videos are tinged with greens and blues as if straight out of Twilight.
The album plays with poppy melodies thanks to St. Pierre, while Carmichael’s vocals are a soft, dreamy doppelgänger to Pale Waves’ Heather Baron-Gracie. Luna spoke to the duo about pre-nostalgia (the feeling of missing a feeling before it’s even passed you), putting their album together and their Canada tour that starts this Monday. Keep reading below.
Photo by Evie Maynes
LUNA: Nice to meet you guys and congrats on the release of your new record! How did you two meet and when did you form sundayclub?
SUNDAYCLUB: Nice to meet you too and thank you! We met in university and produced some demos together and just never stopped. sundayclub was slowly formed during the pandemic through the process of trying to find our identity as musicians. We created the sonic palette of the band when we wrote "Sad Summer" and that kind of turned into sundayclub.
LUNA: What is the music scene like in Winnipeg? Has growing up in Manitoba informed your sound/taste/process at all?
SUNDAYCLUB: The music scene in Winnipeg is incredibly supportive and uplifting. It’s the perfect place to hone your skills as a new band/artist because, even if you’re not ready, you’ll be given opportunities to get better. The pressure is low but the talent is high—there is so much good music here. We made the record during the pandemic when we were really isolated from everyone and everything so there wasn’t much of an active scene to draw from. We didn’t get involved or know about the local scene until after that period of time, so there wasn’t any exposure to have influenced us.
LUNA: What are your individual music influences and where do they blend together?
SUNDAYCLUB: We both were introduced to indie/alt music at the same time so our tastes really grew together which created a really strong bond musically where we’re pretty much always on the same page. We started out with Metric, Alvvays, Car Seat Headrest, Snail Mail, etc.—that 2010s era stuff.
LUNA: This record was four years in the making. When did you start writing this batch of songs? Which is the oldest and most recent track?
SUNDAYCLUB: Late 2021/early 2022. "Sober" was the first song written, but "Sad Summer" helped us find the vision for what the record could be. "woym?" was the last.
LUNA: One theme of the record is something you call “pre-nostalgia.” What does that mean to you? Is it hard to feel in the moment most of the time, or is it only in certain scenarios or with certain people?
SUNDAYCLUB: Yes and no. Sometimes it’s easier to reminisce or escape to the past than deal with what the moment is throwing at you. We’ve wasted and ruined a lot of moments by not being in the present. The present holds a lot of weight and it can feel pressuring and intimidating. But at the same time, you kind of have to stay in the present if you want to get anything done.
LUNA: “Sad Summer” is one of my favorite tracks—I can’t tell you the amount of summers that I just spent moody in my room when I could have been outside. Where did this track come from? Do you have any specific memories or stories you associate with this song?
SUNDAYCLUB: An overall feeling of lethargy and apathy mostly. It was a period of time when we wanted to write and create but couldn’t; felt pressure to socialize and put ourselves out there, but constantly reneged on plans. Sabotaged ourselves like that while making the record, but we also couldn’t help but feel bound and restricted by some weird imaginary forces keeping us from creating.
LUNA: “Camera Shy” is also a great song. Are either of you normally shy or quiet IRL? Do you ever feel that way performing live?
SUNDAYCLUB: We can be. We wouldn’t say that we’re shy, but we seldom will be the ones to introduce ourselves. Live is completely different, there’s something that takes over when you’re getting ready to go on stage.
LUNA: Speaking of performing live, tell me about your listening party you had a few days ago! How did it go?
SUNDAYCLUB: The listening party went really well. We invited a very small group of people to No Fun Club, a recording studio in Winnipeg, to experience the record on vinyl through the speakers that the album was made on. Being so immersed in what we do, it’s easy to forget that most people don’t get to step foot in a recording studio so we wanted to be able to give that experience to others who would otherwise not get that.
LUNA: How does it feel to have songs that took so long in the works to finally be out to people?
SUNDAYCLUB: Leading up to release, we were conflicted. These songs have been ours for so long that we felt that releasing them was like letting them go, so it was both bittersweet and cathartic.
LUNA: After this record release, you guys will tour Canada in July. Are you excited to be on the road? Any cities you’ve never played before?
SUNDAYCLUB: Yes. We absolutely love Montréal and over the last year Toronto has become a second home to us. But we’ve never been to nor have played Hamilton or Ottawa.
LUNA: Finally, what’s next for sundayclub?
SUNDAYCLUB: We have some yet-to-be-announced touring coming up in the fall and will be spending a month in the studio to get a handle on our next record… but most of all, I think we want to make sure that we take it all in. You only get to release your first record once and everything can go by in the blink of an eye if you don’t take the time to appreciate it.
Photo by Evie Maynes
