BREAKING OUT
Sun June tour takes Austin-based band out of Texas for first time
The members of indie rock outfit Sun June enjoy one another’s company off the road.
And they’re getting a lot closer on tour.
The band is touring in support of its latest album, “Years,” released June 15.
“We’ve been working on the songs longer than we have been recording them,” Laura Colwell says. “We started recording last January and spent about 10 days in the studio. We were working on the songs the year prior. So it’s been about 2½ years of working on this album.”
Colwell is joined in Sun June by Stephen Salisbury, Michael Bain, Sarah Schultz and Justin Harris.
The band was formed by Colwell and Salisbury while working long hours in director Terrance Malick’s editing rooms. The two practiced in the office whenever Malick was out of town.
They worked with Dan Duszynkis and Will Patterson on the first set of demos before Bain, Schultz and Harris joined the band.
Sun June recorded “Years” with Evan Kaspar at Estuary Recording Facility in Austin.
Colwell says the process is a collaborative effort and each member contributes to the songs.
“Sometimes we’ll have disagreements on something and we’ll have to work them out,” she says.
“I feel like the song ‘Homes’ went through the most transformation during the writing and recording process,” Salisbury says. “We continued to peel away layers from the song. It was a great exercise in how to fully execute a song. The process helped the song become much better.”
Sun June makes a stop in Albuquerque tonight at Launchpad.
Colwell says “Years” has a much more chill vibe to it than the band’s previous music.
“We want to take the opportunity on this tour to play whatever we want,” she says. “We really have no expectations of what the vibe might be like. When we play in Ausitn, we know exactly what each venue is like. This tour is an experiment for us. We’re going to have to read the crowd well and give them what they want.”
The tour also marks the band’s first time out of Texas.
“I’ve been to Albuquerque before, but never to perform,” Salisbury says. “There’s something beautiful about the high desert.”