Back in 2003, when former Taking Back Sunday guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left the pop-punk outfit, they formed indie-pop outfit Straylight Run. Now, the group – which includes Nolan’s sister Michelle on piano, guitar and vocals and drummer Will Noon – is searching for a label after two albums, its self-titled debut and 2005’s Prepare to Be Wrong. Aiming to release the project Straylight Run self-produced over the past year, Nolan spoke with The Diamondback before the group’s show at the Ottobar tonight about what the band has been up to.
The Diamondback: The single on your MySpace, “The Miracle That Never Came,” is quite a departure musically from your previous EP and LP. What caused the transition?
John Nolan: It’s not actually a single – it’s just the first song that we fully finished – but I think what caused the change is a gradual change in the songs we like to listen to and make. Every time we write a song, there’s a process over the next year or so that we go through that makes us like the song more and more or less and less. Eventually, you end up with a group of songs you like when they’re written but, down the road, not so much, which leads you to not write songs in that vein anymore.
DBK: Who does most of the writing, you or your sister Michelle?
Nolan: Whatever song we’re singing lead on, the basis of the song was written by Michelle or myself. Michelle originally had “The Miracle That Never Came” as an acoustic song, and we all brought it to where it’s at now, with the arrangement and the horns section.
DBK: What else can you tell us about the new album?
Nolan: We’ve finished about 15 songs, and we’re pretty close to finishing up mixing. We’re pretty sure it’s going to be called The Miracle That Never Came. We’re hoping it will be out in spring of 2007. We’re talking with labels now and trying to figure out who we want to release the record.
DBK: Did the lack of a label make an impact in the decision to produce the album on your own?
Nolan: I think that there’s a possibility that this record might be released on a major label, and knowing that might be a possibility, we wanted to go into that situation with an album that is made exactly how we want it and not with the input of whatever label we’re going with. We also wanted to make it clear that no matter what label we go with, we’re not going with them for their input on how we’re going to sound. We want to take our record to them and have them be excited about it.
DBK: What should people expect at your show tonight at the Ottobar?
Nolan: We’re going to be playing about three or four new songs, as well as a lot of songs from the EP, and then the rest of the set will be from the first album. The songs on the new album are more organic, so the mix of that and the tracks from the EP and our first album should work well.
Straylight Run will perform at the Ottobar tonight with openers Matt Pond PA, Kevine Devine and Street to Nowhere. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14.
Contact reporter Michael Greenwald at greenwalddbk@gmail.com.
