This issue we once again sit down to chat with musicians Sam Anderson and Chad Walls of the Maine band, An Overnight Low, a band who have now made several appearances in pages of The Cud (most recently, HERE).

When last we caught up in May of 2021, the band were celebrating the release of Connolly, Part Two. Tell us how life has been for the band since then, emerging from what I gather had been a Covid-period ripe with songwriting and recording, but of course no live performances. Did the band find it hard to get into the groove of performing live again? How has that been in general for the band, and what can you say about the live music landscape that you’ve returned to post-Covid?

Sam: We’ve played some great acoustic live shows in the last couple of years, concentrating on smaller venues with more intimate settings. With the release of Holyhead, we’ll be transitioning back to being an “electric” act, replacing the cajon with a full drum kit.
Chad: It made more sense during the pandemic to focus on songs performed with a lighter touch in smaller venues, because it allowed us to focus on writing as a quartet in an acoustic setting, which is a scenario that has always worked in our favor.  That said, when you listen to Holyhead, you can almost hear a rock sound desperate to get out. The first time we heard these songs with drums and electric guitars was in the studio, which was thrilling and confusing. Is this a rock song or a folk song? "Chemistry", our first single, is a good example of this type of tension.

Could you share how the songwriting process has evolved for the band since your earlier efforts like Euston (2014) and Piccadilly (2015)?

Sam: The albums from Waverley onward have all included songs that are collaborations between Chad and me. On some songs, Chad will provide the lyrics and I’ll come up with the tune.
Chad:  On the first three albums, I had a clear idea about how I wanted the songs to sound. Since Connolly, Part One, the process has taken over, and we generally have no idea how it will turn out thematically and sonically, which has been the best part of making our music these days: we get to discover what it's all about after it's done.

Songwriting of course brings us to talking about your latest work, Holyhead. Tell us about the recording process. Any particular challenges that presented themselves this time out in terms of getting all of the personnel together you needed and wanted -and speaking here just of the band, but also of any previous engineers and such that you had worked with?

Sam: It's always a challenge coordinating everyone’s schedule. Having different band members record their parts on different dates can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Some contributing musicians “flew in” their tracks, which certainly helped to expedite the process.
Chad: "Archaeology", the opening song on Holyhead, is an example of each band member contributing to the song's overall sound, while the recording of "The Heretic" found us "flying in" our parts, as Sam illustrated.  "Archaeology" is very loose, while "The Heretic" is tight and precise.

Would you say the sound of the band itself has changed much over the year? Musicians have often shared with me that it’s hard to get perspective and out of the bubble of one’s own work, there’s such over-familiarity (perhaps that’s where those aforementioned engineers come in so handy). But do you think there are consistent traits and characteristics since your earliest music that ring true today as part of the character of the band’s sound? What might you argue has changed the most?

Sam: Over the course of six albums, the one constant has been Chad’s songwriting. Everything else has been in flux. You could likely listen to any one of our songs and figure out which album it’s on. That said, I sincerely love the sound of Holyhead. It has a real band sound, just as Waverley did, combined with the irresistible tunefulness of Connolly, Part 2.
Chad:  I agree.  But I might add that what separates Holyhead from our other albums is how dark it is.  Though it ends on a high note with "Step Into the Light", I find his record aching to resolve itself musically and lyrically.

Tell us a little about some of your favorite tracks on Holyhead and how they came to be both written and recorded.

Sam: In my opinion, the album’s strongest tracks are “The Exorcist”, “Chemistry”, “Christ, Jehovah, Pan, Aphrodite”, and “Step Into the Light”. Two of these were written by Chad alone, and two were collaborations between the two of us. The story of the recording process could be made into a full-length documentary. By my count, there were five different studios used to put those four songs together. I will say that we recorded “The Exorcist” and our 2022 holiday single “Rankin Bass” during the same session. THAT was a productive day!
Chad: I might add that "A Hundred Sundays" features one of Sam's best vocal performances and haunting harmonies from Ellie Osborn. "Millionaires" is also worth mentioning because it began on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (where I'm writing this now) with a field recording from a piper who seemed to be alternating between two chords. With his permission and a donation from me, I recorded enough audio to make a loop. Ted Warner tuned them up, tightened the pace, and voila!

What can we expect to be the debut single for the album?

Sam: The debut single, “Chemistry”, was released back in April and received a decent amount of local airplay. We’ve just released the second single, “Step Into the Light”, and it has already garnered some very favorable reviews.
Chad: We’re hoping to release another single before Holyhead comes out on October 8th.  "The Exorcist" would be an obvious choice.

Obviously, you’ll be busy promoting- what are your plans for the coming months?

Sam: The album’s planned release date just happens to coincide with a scheduled appearance as part of a big annual outdoor arts festival here in Maine. This will provide a great opportunity to sell some CDs and to generally promote the new record. In the meantime, we’ll enjoy some local airplay and continue to submit music for review.
Chad: We have also spent some time surfing the blog-o-sphere, which has been productive.  In fact, there have been reviews coming in from our latest release "Step Into the Light" that have compared us to Teenage Fanclub and a collaboration between The Pixies and The Seekers.

One last question: what can you share with our readers of what you as a band are currently listening to and enjoying?

Sam: Speaking for myself, lately I’ve discovered some archived recordings of Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour”, which include a lot of “old timey” music that’s a lot of fun to discover.
Chad: I'm listening to a new album from The Clientele that is really resonating with me.  I'm also revisiting all those bands I used to love from the Elephant 6 label from back in the day.

AN OVERNIGHT LOW will release their new album, HOLYHEAD on October 8th, 2023.

Visit An Overnight Low online HERE.

Lead photo by Tim Warner. Album cover by Rowan Bishop. Band performing live photo by Jessica Potter. All other photos by Karen Poulin-Anderson.

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