By Candace Parker-Dickerson
Beautiful, lush, soul-stirring, and powerful are all accurate descriptions of the folk-pop sounds of Seryn. The 6-piece outfit released their debut album This Is Where We Are in 2011. And since then, the band has been listed as one of Paste Magazine’s “Best New Bands of 2011” in addition to being featured on NPR’s “All Songs Considered” list of “Bands That Should Be Bigger.”
Now, after a recent move to Nashville from their hometown of Denton, Texas and adding two new band members to their roster, the band is back and ready to release a brand new sophomore album titled Shadow Shows, due out in February this year.
I had the pleasure of speaking to guitarist, Nathan James Allen, about everything from the band’s relocation, the new album, and how he feels about the bands growing success!
Be sure to check out Seryn’s album release show at Proud Larry’s on Thursday, January 22nd.
First of all, Seryn is such a cool band name! How did you guys come up with that?
Well, since we’re musicians, we just like to make sounds. And the band name is just another sound. But we wanted something that sounded cool. And it didn’t evoke any other context. So for instance, I don’t know if you’ve ever thought it, but what is Coldplay? I don’t know what a Coldplay is! Coming up with band name isn’t really fun, but we were able to have fun with it.
I have thought about what a Coldplay is, and like you, I still have not figured it out! But let’s talk about the band’s sound. You have a very distinct sound, and each band member has such a strong presence. So when it came to forming your collective sound, did you come together with an initial idea or did your sound develop as you guys played together?
I think it was a mix of both. We weren’t saying let’s get together and be a bluegrass band or a rock band. But the sound we’ve been going for has evolved since we started. We didn’t start out with electric guitar, so it’s changed over time. When people get the new record and compare it with the old record they can see where the transitions have come in.
What would say the biggest transition is between the first record and Shadow Shows?
Jenny’s vocals are a big difference, because she’s not the same girl that sang in the band on the first record and this record is more electric. Also, we just tried to go a little harder on the songwriting.
You guys released your debut album back in 2011 and have garnered so much attention and success since then. How has it been to watch the growth of the band over the last few years?
It has just felt like we’ve had this tempo and momentum the whole time. It really feels like there is always something good happening with the band. Like one day we’ll write a new song and the next day we’re able to afford a new piece of equipment and two weeks later someone says some really nice stuff about us. But anytime anyone says something, we’re just really grateful that they took notice and that we connected.
What has been the highlight of the band’s career so far?
The highlight of our career was probably performing at Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colarado!
Everyone in the band recently moved to Nashville. What lead to that and how has it been for you guys so far?
It’s really hard to tour out of Texas. And geographically speaking, Nashville is neatly situated almost near everyone on the East Coast. Also people kept telling us we needed to move here. So we started thinking seriously about it a year and a half ago. I told everybody after we put this record out, I’m moving to Nashville. Come with me if you want. And everyone moved, so we’ve got the whole band here! And it’s been awesome!
Great! And speaking of new experiences, you worked with producer Mckenzie Smith for the first time on the new record. How did that all come together?
Mckenzie is fantastic. We were talking to him about where we should record and he said come over and record at my place. And we thought, “That’s a great idea!” And owning the studio, he inevitably got involved in the sessions and worked with us most of all on the bass and drum tracks. He didn’t come in from the top to the bottom of the project, but he did offer some guidance. I think the drums were what we realized was really weak on our first album and so for this record we wanted that to be better.
What inspired the title, Shadow Shows?
After we wrote the record and came back to look at it, there were really a couple of themes in the album. A lot of it has to do with trying to make sense of what is actually is going on in your life, what’s important and what’s just a distraction. It’s about shifting priorities.
And last but not least, what do you hope to share with your listeners through your music?
I guess we’re just trying to share experiences and ideas. And I think what’s so cool about music is that it’s open ended. People can get something completely different out of a song than what we put into it. But I just hope people enjoy it. All we’re really trying to do is write good music and connect with other people.
