SUNDER

Writer: Joseph Maranta

Photographer: Lucas Holl | @lucashollphoto

Seems like everything has gone to shit lately. Toll roads have begun to feel like another rent to pay each week, the best banh mi place this side of Marrickville just shut down and the Rabbitohs are still woeful. Glory Glory my arse.  

The days of finding a good gig in any given venue in Newtown are no more, DJ’s cosplaying as someone from Naarm cosplaying as a poor person are ruling the inner-west with an iron fist. After paying the cover fee and drinking a Young Henry’s, you’re down $25 and stuck in a manky pub as the dulcet tones of Chaos in the CBD are played by a PPE student in his final year at USYD.

But then again, the best things in life often reside right past the pitfalls of negativity. The sunk cost fallacy of the outrageous cover fee may prevent you from trying a hole in the wall pub where your soulmate is drinking by their lonesome. Or perhaps after the derivative DJ set comes the next big band ready to announce themselves to the world, or in this case the 40 disinterested patrons – most of whom have found solace in the smoker’s area.

Regardless, perspective matters. When one Banh Mi joint closes, another may take its place. Despite coming 16th in 2024, Wayne Bennett is coaching the Rabbitohs in 2025. Toll roads still suck, but maybe next year you’ll move closer to the East. The uncertainty of life is what makes it worth living and if you assume the worst – the worst is likely to come.

This is Sunder. 

Formed in Camden, Sydney - another world away from the hustle and bustle of the eastern suburbs, the punchy alt-rock quartet are comprised of Laila Campbell (Vocals), Dylan Watson (Guitarist, Back Up Vocals), Rhys Canty (Bassist) and Jarrod Osborne (Drums). 

Sunder places a heavy onus on storytelling, their deeply personal and introspective lyricism separates them from contemporary acts. A combination of conventional rock soundscapes with soul-inspired vocal performances, the music of Sunder is complex but ever so approachable.

JOE: Sunder! Thanks for having a chat today guys. Your last release cycle was about 18 months ago, how do you feel about your own new era of music?

RHYS: We’re definitely way more keen on it than our other songs. 

LAILA: It’s nice to have music out that I am actually happy with, our new music feels more true to us, like we’re a single entity. I feel like these tracks are more concise, I think our older stuff was a bit more like a noodle, there was just a lot going on at once. 

RHYS: Some of these songs were pretty fresh in the studio, but the progression was there not necessarily in terms of what we were releasing - but in what we were writing and playing live. We’ve had a lot of songs that we didn’t record, but those songs have pushed us to where our sound is now. 

JOE: Your lead single for the EP was Looking Glass . Why did you choose that song as the lead and what can you tell us about its creation?

LAILA: I wanted to know what it would be like to see life through someone’s literal looking glass, their glasses - their eyes. My Dad passed away when I was young and he used to wear glasses, and in its essence the song is about trying to connect with someone that’s no longer here. I wrote it crying at Tamarama Beach one day, and I was in the same place my parents would hang out together in their 20s, I wanted to connect with him somehow by being in this particular place. I didn’t have the best relationship with my dad, so in that song I talk about stories I’ve heard from other people and adapt them as my own so I can try to better understand him.

JOE: Have you felt a different energy within the band since you’ve completed the EP?

JARROD: Our sound has definitely clicked now, we’re all enjoying playing the music live too. We’ve been talking about an EP for years and there were so many times we just discarded songs that weren’t good enough, it’s so good to have something finished that we’re proud of. 

LAILA: I think this EP has been exciting for me especially because I’ve made a mini magazine to go along with the project, it has art, lyrics and press shots etc. With the music though, like Jarrod was saying, before Entwined we’d write songs and say that we’d put it in an EP, but realistically I don’t think we’d progressed enough as a band at that stage to release a project. But now it’s our body of work, it’s what we want to say and it’s what we want to put in the world.  

RHYS: Before this it just felt like we had to drop singles to remind people we still exist. Just putting it out for the sake of it. 

JOE: Do you have any plans for touring on the horizon?

JARROD: Yeah we’ve got a little tour booked for February. Central Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong and maybe Port Macquarie or Canberra, pending our manager looking into stuff. It’ll be great to get some new ears on us, see if anybody is out there. 

JOE: You’re very active in the Sydney music scene, have you got a favourite venue from all the different gigs you’ve played?

LAILA: Fuck no. 

RHYS: The Lansdowne was cool. 

LAILA: Yeah, it was cool, but we played to like six people. You know what, I really love North Gong because they give you food on the rider. But also Mosh Pit, they’ve got a great sound guy.

JOE: Outside of your own music, who have you guys been listening to lately?

LAILA: I’ve been listening to a lot of Ani DiFranco. She’s amazing, a poetic writer and an incredible storyteller.

JARROD: I’ve been listening to the same stuff for years, anything goes. We all listen to different stuff. 

RHYS: I think we were on the 90s stuff during recording. 

JARROD: Ether I think was inspired a bit by Violent Soho, with that double chorus. 

JOE: This question is more so directed at Dylan, you’ve recently started playing with a new band called As People, do you think that's allowed you more creative freedom with Sunder?

DYLAN: 100%, definitely. 

JARROD: I’ve noticed that as well actually. 

DYLAN: I feel like there’s a part of me which is getting fulfilled with As People, I can sort of go batshit crazy with them, I can do the dumb shit I want to do - riff and scream, but with Sunder I can go “oh I can just play a couple chords if I want to”. 

I’m probably writing for Sunder a lot more, it’s satisfied some part of my brain. 

LAILA: The process used to be that Dylan would write and record something, then send it to me and I would do lyrics and a melody then I’d present it to the band. But this time around it’s been all of us in a room contributing to a song. 

This image is part of the zine completed for the Entwined EP by Laila Campbell, @lailsyourpal on Instagram

JOE: Not to kill the vibe but 2024 has been a pretty sad year from genocides, elections and everything else. Outside of music, where have you all found joy in your lives this year?

JARROD: Riding my bike, drinking beers with the homies. 

LAILA: Painting. 

RHYS: Looking forward to seeing the Rabbitohs play next year. 

DYLAN: University, I’m doing audio engineering now. 

JOE: What’s one goal that each of you have for the band in 2025?

LAILA: Having people show up to our shows, who we haven’t seen before - just frothing our music. Creating a connection between our sound and people, a big thing for me when I listen to music, is listening for a feeling. I listen for stories, I’d love for people to feel as if I’m telling the stories of their emotions. 

DYLAN: Honestly just nailing down a setlist. 

JARROD: The setlist is pretty fucked. We need less time between songs where we drink beers. 

DYLAN: Once that’s good, it should make Laila’s dream come true. 

UPCOMING SHOWS: Moving Different Festival, Marrickville - TICKET LINK

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