Across a decade of quiet evolution, breaks, reinventions, and deeply felt returns, Strawberry Blonde have always found a way to make vulnerability feel vast. The New York–formed collective, born out of the rigorous hallways of SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music, have long thrived in the tension between delicacy and ambition.
Their early work, a heady collision of R&B-laced rhythms, skybound brass, and introspective pop sensibilities, drew comparisons to Foxing and Bon Iver, but Strawberry Blonde never sat comfortably in a single genre. Their songs were emotional ecosystems, wide open but intricately arranged.
‘Enemy’, the band’s first offering ahead of their debut album ‘No Past to Live In’, arrives as both a nostalgic echo of their earliest instincts and a quietly momentous turning point. Built from a lo-fi demo recorded by vocalist Liam Connors in 2023, the single retreats to the more direct emo-leaning architecture that once anchored their sound, but rather than rewinding the clock, Strawberry Blonde use that framework to push somewhere new.
We sat down with this unbecoming trio to learn all about ‘Enemy’, the plans for the debut record and much more, here at Music Crowns!
—
Congratulations on your new single ‘Enemy’! What drew you back to this earlier sound of yours?
Thanks so much for featuring us, hope all is well! We’re doing okay and we’re really excited to be talking about new music. Our lead singer and guitarist Liam started listening to more 90’s indie rock, shoegaze, and power pop while writing this record, so the influence is definitely felt a bit. Our last EP was a departure sonically, so “Enemy” does feel like a return to form stylistically.
We’ve always had an affinity for midwest emo guitars so that’s definitely present on the new album. Our early music was a bit more raw and energetic so there was probably a subconscious desire to make something like that again too.
You’ve described ‘Enemy’ as musically uplifting despite its darker themes. How do you approach balancing those emotional contrasts in your songwriting?
I think some of our favorite artists/bands like the Smiths or American Football use a similar approach, for example. The music almost inevitably ends up being the foil to their vulnerable lyricism.
Liam’s approach to songwriting seems to be different each record cycle but the process can be therapeutic and cathartic, especially with this album No Past to Live In. Lyrically it deals with heavier subject matter like childhood trauma, loss, and depression. The music in contrast seems to be brighter and energetic this time around. We’ve always enjoyed saying that we write sad music that makes you want to dance simultaneously.
You tracked most of your upcoming album in just one week, what was that experience like creatively and emotionally?
It was actually super intense to do all of the principal tracking for the album in just one week in June of 2024 at Hilda Music Co. We were all commuting from our various apartments all over NYC and putting in 12 hour days at the studio on Long Island. It was an exhausting but very fun experience that felt both bittersweet and new all at once. Working with Joe allowed for things to flow more in the studio, so each member could focus on their parts.
Liam had a very specific vision for this record and Joe really fostered new creative possibilities that were necessary to push the boundaries with this new batch of songs. Everything had to be just right but also not labored over too much. The making of this album was also an exercise of restraint, there was a deliberate effort to keep things simple.
What’s the significance behind the album title ‘No Past to Live In’?
Over the last few years so much has changed for everybody in the band. Liam’s father passed away in January 2020 and he was forced to make the difficult decision of selling his childhood home. Sometime after his grandparents’ home would also be sold, it felt like all of his childhood memories were gone in an instant. Growing up is definitely hard to do, but when it happens at an accelerated rate, it can be especially disheartening. So thematically the album deals with reconciling with the past when in actuality, there isn’t much of it left to live in.
The band has also gone through a reasonable amount of change over the past few years. For the first time ever we were able to reflect on the last 5 years of being a band and the lifetime-long friendships that would be forged but that also became slightly strained over the last couple years.
After the recording of No Past to Live In, co-founder and guitarist Sam Barna would amicably leave the band. Previously bassist Sean Power departed after the release of the band’s last EP Somebody Hold Me, so bass duties were left up to co-producer and mixing engineer Joe Rom and bandmate Sam Barna with Liam’s input on the parts and general direction. The biggest intention is always to preserve the friendship over everything for us, so even though we’re bummed to move on without some of our favorite people in the world, we’re very keen to keep pushing forward with the help of some friends both new and old.
With Sam Barna’s departure after this record, did that add an extra layer of meaning to the sessions?
Absolutely! Although we didn’t really know it would be the last record we’d make together for a while. It does make the recording process all the more bittersweet in retrospect. Sam had a huge impact on all of our recorded music thus far, engineering and co-producing almost every release up until this point. So his absence will definitely be felt artistically moving forward and during our upcoming live performances.
How do you feel the album captures where Strawberry Blonde are now, compared to the early EPs ‘Better Still’ and ‘Calling’?
We do believe there’s a bigger emphasis on the lyrics with “Enemy” and most of the songs on No Past to Live In. In the early days, the music sometimes felt overly wrought with ideas and leaned more into a math rock territory. Although we still love to push ourselves musically in that way, the songwriting seems to be a little more direct with this record but without feeling premeditated. The shortest song we’ve ever written is on this release and we’re not complaining about it, the first single “Enemy,” is literally under 2 minutes long.
Sonically and spiritually, this album feels cohesive with Better Still and Calling. We really wanted to capture all of the different sides of our sound on No Past to Live In and even though it sounds new and different in a lot of ways, it feels like home at the same time.
You went on hiatus for a few years before returning with ‘Somebody Hold Me’. What did that break teach you about yourselves and the kind of music you wanted to make?
Taking a few years to write this album was beneficial for the writing process because none of these songs felt forced. There was a deliberate attempt to scale back the production on the album as well. We worked with Joe Rom at Hilda Music Co. to capture more raw performances and less overly-produced drum sounds. Liam wanted to make “our emo-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” so there was an aim to experiment more. Even though Liam and the band co-produced and additionally engineered, having Joe co-produce and mix the record was a very new experience that had a really positive impact on the sound of No Past to Live In.
And finally, With ‘Enemy’ leading the way, what do you hope listeners take away from this new chapter of Strawberry Blonde?
We hope this music breathes new life into the band and that people enjoy and find peace within the new record and the first single, “Enemy.” We hope it inspires people to come out to more shows too! The more people go to DIY shows and support live music in general, the longer we can keep doing it! We’re sincerely so thankful to be playing together after everything we’ve been through, so we can’t wait to continue to make and share more music in the near future!
