Heartland Canadian Indie Rockers The Sarandons Deliver Resilient New Album

The Sarandons return with their second full-length album Drawing Dead, a raw and reflective collection that embraces life’s challenges with a mix of electrifying intensity and grounded resilience. Recorded largely live off the floor, the album captures the essence of a band transitioning from “holding on tightly to letting go lightly,” as lead singer Dave Suchon describes it. While the record delivers plenty of memorable moments – from Craig Keeney’s soaring guitar solos to Damian Coleman’s melodic bass lines – its true strength lies in its emotional core, as the band explores the complexities of middle adulthood with their trademark defiant optimism.

Drawing Dead dives headfirst into the fragments of a life once whole but now scattered into memories. It’s an album that moves fluidly between reality and fiction, stitching together a patchwork of reflection, loss, and renewal. Much like viewing snapshots through a View-Master, each song offers a fleeting glimpse into moments that once defined us but now linger as ephemera. As Suchon leads the listener through this journey, the lyrics resonate with themes of reckoning, processing, and the eventual release that comes with accepting change.

The album’s title track, Drawing Dead, serves as the centerpiece of this exploration. It’s a poignant yet hopeful meditation on confronting futility and finding purpose even in moments of defeat. Borrowing its title from a poker term that implies an unwinnable hand, the song channels a stoic resolve, transforming loss into an opportunity for growth. Glossy synths and bright guitar leads, reminiscent of Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, lend the track an uplifting quality that hints at rebirth. Beneath its surface lies a story of acceptance and resilience, offering listeners a chance to see defeat not as an end but as a transition into something new.

In creating Drawing Dead, The Sarandons collaborated with producer Will Crann, whose fresh perspective brought a dynamic energy to the project. “We’d worked with Will on previous records as a mix engineer and knew he understood our sound,” explains Suchon. “Before recording, we talked about capturing more live energy, so that’s how we approached it. We wanted to simplify arrangements, focusing on one or two melodic elements at a time, and leave room in the mix for things to feel big.” This minimalist approach enhances the album’s emotional weight, giving each note and lyric the space to resonate fully.

The album balances its introspection with moments of raw power, as Keeney’s guitar work and Coleman’s driving bass lines deliver the electrifying energy fans have come to expect from the band. Yet, for all its intensity, there’s a palpable sense of restraint and thoughtfulness in every track. The Sarandons aren’t just playing songs – they’re telling stories, crafting a musical experience that feels deeply personal yet universally relatable.

Throughout the album, the band’s signature optimism remains unshaken, even as they confront life’s wreckage head-on. It’s this ability to find beauty and hope amid chaos that makes Drawing Dead such a compelling listen. Whether it’s through the hauntingly introspective ballads or the anthemic choruses that burst with life, The Sarandons prove once again that they’re masters of capturing the human experience in all its complexity.

For fans of indie rock with heart and soul, Drawing Dead is a must-listen. It’s an album that doesn’t shy away from the hard truths of life but embraces them with open arms, finding strength in vulnerability and power in reflection. With its mix of live energy, thoughtful production, and emotional depth, Drawing Dead solidifies The Sarandons’ place as one of Canada’s most compelling indie rock bands.

Stream the album in full or watch the official music video for Drawing Dead to experience the journey for yourself. Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering The Sarandons for the first time, this is an album that will leave a lasting impression.