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Was there any obsession, fixed idea, or image that guided the creative process of the album, even if it’s not obvious to the listener?
There wasn’t an actual concept behind the album, except that I really wanted to do a full length album rather than put out another single or EP. We tend to get sick of our own music quickly and move on to writing new songs before we have a chance to put them out into the world.

How did you decide which songs would be included on the album and which ones wouldn’t?
It was really based on our own performance during the recording sessions. Did I sing well enough? Do we even like the song? I can be pretty critical of our music so if there’s a song I don’t like or I don’t think it’s coming together very well during the recording process, I usually let it go. We’ve left a lot of songs on the cutting room floor over the years. 

What changed in your way of writing, recording, or producing this album compared to previous recordings?
When we started CHAD — it was just the three of us, Sarah Lane on guitar/keys and vocals, Trevor Greely on drums and Zach Whiton on bass. Later we added Alex Widner on synth. More recently, Zach started playing guitar and we added Josh Lambe on bass, really filling out the sound. 

It was also the first time we recorded at Portland’s Jackpot Recording Studio — one of the best studios in the Pacific Northwest. We also worked with Zach Bloomstein for the first time, who produced much of the album and mixed the entire record. The record took a while to finish because we would write a new song that I couldn’t let go of and then I’d make the band go back into the studio to track a new song. That happened multiple times before I was satisfied with enough songs on the record to finally finish it. 

Was there a song that was especially hard to finish or let go of? Why?
It took a while to finish the song Park n’ Ride. We actually recorded that song during the pandemic years ago and never did anything with it. We ended up re-recording the track with Zach Whiton on guitar and changed the entire atmosphere of the song from an 80s synth tune to more of an indie rock song. I knew I really liked the original vibe of the song and Alex’s synth melody so I didn’t want to give up on it. 

What role did intuition and error play in the process?
Not sure intuition or error played much of a role in the writing and recording process. Usually what happens with our songwriting process is Alex or I (Sarah) come to band practice with a new melody we wrote on guitar or keys, and we all just start playing it to see if we vibe with the song. And if we do, boom, we have a new song! Many times I will write the lyrics as we’re working on a new song during band practice, so I usually just go off of a feeling and freestyle the lyrics while we’re workshopping the instrumentation. 

Was the track order conceived as a narrative? How was the order decided?
The track order on the album is similar to how our live shows are. We usually start by playing guitar-driven songs before diving into synth-led songs. I also really wanted to end the album with the song, “Rule the World” – it’s a pop anthem about false leaders who lie to people to gain power and influence. It felt like a really timely song considering what’s going on in the world. 

Photo taken by Whitney Delk