SPRINTS

"ferocious"

The foundations for Sprints were laid when singer, guitarist and lead-songwriter Karla Chubb met guitarist Colm O’Reilly and drummer Jack Callan – childhood friends who’d been playing music together since the age of 10. Recruiting bassist Sam McCann to complete the line-up, the quartet found their sound after seeing Savages play Electric Picnic in 2016. No longer second-guessing their sound, by 2019 the band were naturally gravitating towards abrasive punk-rock, synthesising influences ranging from early Pixies, Bauhaus and Siouxsie Sioux to King Gizzard, IDLES and LCD Soundsystem.

For their debut Letter To Self, the band dug even deeper than in their previous EPs, transforming so-called “negative energy” into an opportunity for communal catharsis and healing. Recorded in 12 days with Daniel Fox at Black Box Studios, in the Loire Valley, Karla describes the process as “an amazingly positive experience.”

The album goes straight into those feelings of fear and shame. Between songs recreating the sensation of spiralling or being paralysed by anxiety, and others delving into sexuality and Catholic guilt, the entire project feels immensely intimate. The inspiration comes directly from Karla’s experiences as a queer woman suffering from internalised homophobia and her recent diagnosis with ADHD. The darkest point of the album is undoubtedly ‘Shadow of a Doubt’. Recorded in three takes, it features a strikingly vulnerable vocal performance punctuated by jagged breaths, and details suicidal thoughts emanating from past trauma. “Can you help me stop the screams?” Karla begs at the song’s climax, as searing guitars crash in waves around her. And yet, with the title track, the album ends on a note of acceptance, seeing Karla celebrating her autonomy in lines like, "I don't have to take the path that was carved out in front of me."

As she explains, that message lies at the very heart of the album. “No matter what you're born into, or have experienced, there's a way to emerge from this and be happy within yourself.” It’s a hard-won truth that the band hope others will be motivated by, inspiring listeners to use pain as fuel for growth, ultimately unearthing a path to seek contentment. For though the route to self-acceptance is anything but easy, with pain, passion and perseverance Sprints are proving that anything is possible.