Sonnder | Photo by Christopher Young | via facebook.com/sonndermusic

Philadelphia alternative rock quintet Sonnder have slowly been garnering a solid music collection as they continue to release a single every month this year. Today they dropped another track, though this one stands as a key to understanding the birth of the group. “Late October” is a dreamy, emotional anthem that focuses on one of life’s biggest hardships- letting go and moving forward. Lead vocalist and frontman Ryan Weidman explained to The Key that this piece held a lot of weight for him:

I wrote the lyrics and melodies pretty much exactly two years ago…I had just gone through a really heavy mental breakdown situation of sorts and went out to San Francisco for a little while to get away from it all, to experience, to live, and to feel something new. It ended up being a crazy trip for creation, leading to the inception of this band.

The track was hashed out with local R&B singer Jay Adim but was never entirely completed, and wound up on the back burner until the single-a-month project began this year. Collaborating with producers Robby Webb and Tyler Lyons, Weidman was finally able to produce the song with his vision in mind. He elaborated the concept behind “Late October”, saying:

In the end, the song really is about someone changing themselves for the better and pleading with the one they love that they have become better, yet the loved does not believe them at all and thus remains lost. So it really is a positive and a negative at the same time. Accepting that life can’t always be up allows one to begin to become content with the low times, knowing that things inevitably will always go up and down. Contentment over happiness.

The track feels complete upon first listen with synths fading in to be joined by Weidman’s vocals and prodding piano lines, laying out a soft yet powerful flow. Snares join the mix to build it up, eventually letting loose in an oh-so-catchy melody, one you’ll want to join in with as he sings “Let go of these past lives, new has begun.” The track is available to stream and download on Soundcloud, and the band celebrates with a single release party on Friday, April 10th at Siren Records. Get more information about the show on Facebook, listen to “Late October” below and stay tuned for future monthly releases from Sonnder.

Photo: Greg Gardner Photography
Graphic Design: JohnFtheArtist
Model: Ryann Ess