If you are like me and most die-hard fans of the So-Cal based Saosin, you’ve probably been patiently waiting, albeit on the edge of your seat, for the better part of a decade to hear the announcement that a new album is on its way. Their last full-length album Along The Shadow was released in 2016, and since then, the band took quite a lengthy hiatus. However, the wait may soon be over … after speaking with band founder Beau Burchell and Vocalist Cove Reber at Aftershock Festival, they hinted that they hope to put out new music sometime in 2025.
Saosin emerged during the growing post-hardcore movement in the early 2000s and will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the release of their self-titled album next year, which seems like the most fitting time to grace us with another album. Over the years, the band have gone through a wave of interchanges with their lead singer, and they have jokingly referred to that state as “member fluid.” Anthony Green and Cover Reber have switched off as honorary frontmen, but this year, the band decided to jump back into high gear and welcomed Reber back as the vocalist for a tour circuit for the first time in 14 years.
Through all the ups and downs, their dedicated fan base has not wavered in the slightest. Shows have been packed out since Saosin hit the road back in June, and they have been on the road ever since. They set off on an East Coast tour, have been doing the festival rounds all summer long, and just finished up with a West Coast/Midwest tour in early October. They were able to spare a few minutes of their busy schedule to sit down with me just before making their appearance at Aftershock’s Soundwave Stage on Saturday afternoon.
How are you all feeling today leading up to your set here at Aftershock?
Beau Burchell: So, we had a show last night in Orange County, and afterwards we had to load the bus and drive straight up here. That was the only way we could make it for a 7 a.m. load in so we could soundcheck. But we ended up being three hours late today because on the 5 Highway, a truck flipped over and exploded, so we were stopped for quite awhile.
I mean, I’m sure you’re aware, just behind the scenes, logistics get crazy for these types of things. When we finally got here and loaded it in, everything was great, but mind you, at this point, we are running on, like, four hours of sleep. I just feel like I’m in this sleep-deprived fog, you know what I mean, where it’s like you’re just existing, and I’m experiencing this right now, but I feel like I’m experiencing it through someone else.
So yeah, it was pretty wild, but all that being said, I’m very excited. We’ve already seen a couple of friends and a bunch of bands that we’re excited about seeing. So honestly, the hardest part about today is going to be staying awake for Iron Maiden.
You all have taken a bit of a break from Saosin for a while, and now, this year, you have jumped back into touring for most of the year and have done a bit of a festival run, correct?
Beau Burchell: Yeah, we’ve been doing some sprinkles around; we did Louder Than Life, and then we had, like, a couple small club shows in between, and then we did Furnace Fest right after that, and then we had a couple days off, and then we had the show in Orange County, and then this. We drive home tomorrow morning, and then I actually come back up here the next day to produce two songs for Middle Class Rut. Then I fly back home, and then Friday we go to Vegas to do a small club show before When We Were Young, and then we do Saturday/Sunday at When We Were Young and then we come home.
How has it been getting together and being able to play live as a band together again, after taking a hiatus for a few years?
Cove Reber: It’s been awesome. We feel the vibe of everybody in the camp right now, from the guys in the band, even to our crew. Every night we get off stage, and we’re just like, that was sick and we’re just high fiving each other. It feels really good to have that kind of energy.
When you’re doing this, and it starts out as something that was like, let’s just do this for fun, and then, like, to have it 20 years later, now it feels like we’re almost back to that point. So, yeah, it feels really great.
I think a lot of people right now are kind of in limbo, and fans are wondering, what does the future look like for the band? There’s a lot of unanswered questions with you guys.
Beau Burchell: That’s our vibe.
I do miss the days of mystique, you know what I mean? I loved growing up and not knowing any information about bands, like Slayer, for instance. It was like, “Dude, they’re satanic, and they sacrifice goats. It’s crazy.” But in reality, that’s not true at all.
That being said, the future of Saosin is …We are working on a new record right now. We’re making progress on that and hoping to have it out next year. If I had it my way, we’d be hitting it pretty hard next year. We all have our own individual careers, so that’s been a balancing act. I would like to kind of put that on hold next year and then go full on for Saosin for maybe the next two years. Try to grow it as big as we can and then see where it goes from there.
The last album, Along The Shadow, was released about eight years ago now. What did the band look like during that gap? Do you all still maintain a really close relationship and get together and play? Or was it a strict hiatus while focusing on other things?
Cove Reber: Nothing is normal about Saosin. That’s why we are member fluid. Everything just kind of rotates and is chill, and it just works like that for us.
Beau Burchell: From just my experience producing bands, I’ve met bands that have a full on three-year business plan with Excel sheets and are like, OK, these are our goals we want to reach by three months, six months, nine months, etc. And you’re like, oh my God, that’s insane.
When we started, it was like, maybe I’ll change my strings … Just wake me up as we go along. We’re still kind of that way; everything is about feeling driven and if it feels right, we do it. Apologies to the fans when we don’t tour as much as we would like, but just know that if we’re out here doing a tour or a concert, it’s because we really want to be here. It’s not because we need the money or anything like that; we do this as a passion.
Can you tell me a little about the live album you recently released earlier this summer?
Beau Burchell: We said we were gonna do those 20-year shows with both Anthony and Cove, which was a super cool experience. I think it was also good for the fans to see that it’s very casual and fluid, and there’s no beef, you know what I mean? So it was really fun to have both singers, and I think that the audience appreciates the album because we celebrate all the eras.
It became a thing where, in typical form for us, we decided to record it at the last minute as it continued to grow and agreed that we should probably get some cameras and film this. So, it just grew pretty organically.
I am curious because I know you all go back and forth between singers, you (Cove), and Anthony. So how is that going to work with the upcoming album? Is that something where you’re both going to be in collaboration, or will one of you take the lead on it?
Cove Reber: (Laughing) We’ll figure it out.
Beau Burchell: We all have our own visions for what it’ll be, and that’s kind of the exciting part. You know, my feeling today could change tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be pretty sick. From what I’ve been hearing so far, it’s going to be a pretty good record.
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