SPRINTS

There’s a palpable flurry of momentum surrounding SPRINTS right now. The Dublin band have enjoyed a whirlwind year: in a blur of back-to-back wins, they unveiled their Top 20 debut album Letter To Self, opened for IDLES and Pixies, and delivered feverishly talked-about sets at Glastonbury, End Of The Road and All Together Now. All of this has led to them becoming an essential new name in contemporary rock, building a reputation for urgent, compassionate songwriting blackened by personal tales of trauma and resilience.

Since the January release of Letter To Self – which received 5* reviews from NME, DIY and Dork, plus acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan – the four-piece have taken their visceral live show across the globe. Harnessing the adrenaline of non-stop gigging into new material has resulted in Feast, an intriguing introduction to SPRINTS’ next era and a window into a bold, transformative stage of the band's ascent. 

Drummer Jack Callan describes the single as a “true full-circle moment”, having recorded it at Dublin’s Sonic Studios, also the birthplace of their 2021 EP Manifesto and its follow-up, A Modern Job. Produced by Dan Fox of Gilla Band and penned by guitarist/songwriter Karla Chubb ahead of an extensive festival run, Feast glows with conviction. Inspired by the literary subgenres of gothic fiction and body horror, as well as the subversive poetry of Mary Oliver, it uses pummelling riffs to communicate all the frisson of desire and queer possibility – a sensation bolstered by Chubb’s rich, full-bodied vocal. It’s the type of track that leaves you reeling.

“With all the touring and many changes in our personal lives has come this rediscovery of ourselves, almost like a rebirth,” says Chubb. “But I also like the idea of pursuing passions really unapologetically and what that looks like to other people. It’s like us, as a band, being quite greedy with our ambitions.”

It was there, amid the adrenaline-jolted rhythms of touring life, that Feast was born. This surge of fresh energy was boosted by the introduction of Zac Stephenson (guitar) to the band, now a fully-fledged member of SPRINTS.

“It’s like we've burnt everything to the ground, and we're building it back up again exactly how we want to,” Chubb says. “I feel like a completely new person to who I was at the start of the year and Sprints feels like a totally new band. We're fully committed to each other. Since Zac joined, we've turned a page and now we're ready to write an entirely new story. We had to ask ourselves, ‘Where do we want to go next?’”

The answer came through reinvigorating SPRINTS’ vision entirely. By leaning into Stephenson’s dynamic playing style, as well as the genre-bending tendencies of recent albums from Feeble Little Horse and punk scene-leaders Mannequin Pussy, the band’s forthcoming material has been set into motion. The early recording sessions have been all about sonic experimentation and tuning into the same frequencies; Callan says he considers his bandmates family, a connection that doesn’t necessarily connote blood, but “collaboration, or most importantly, trust”.

SPRINTS will make good on this mission statement in the coming months, returning to the states to follow up their fully sold out debut US headline tour, which includes a date at Chicago’s iconic Riot Fest. A UK and European leg will follow, with their biggest show to date at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town in the diary for November – another major milestone for a band in perpetual motion, always pushing themselves to level up. 

Letter To Self resonated deeply with a fervent, diverse audience for its dark and deeply introspective songs, allowing SPRINTS to light up international stages and see their passion reflected back tenfold. It’s an energy Chubb hopes to carry forward into album two, while also looking to create music that is more concentrated on acceptance and her sense of self.

“The best part of sharing our debut has been speaking to queer adults, or parents with trans kids, and seeing how they connected with our music,” she says. “The key preface to that album was my struggle with my identity, which remains a constant battle. But knowing we’ve inspired people to pick up instruments and start their own bands has made it all worth it.”

It’s this goal of forging a purity of musical expression – one which arises from community and connection – that is shaping this enormously exciting next chapter for SPRINTS. As Chubb concludes: “We are working our asses off, but we are doing all of this with compassion for each other and the people we play music for. That's something to be really proud of.”