L.S. Dunes are still the most powerful “supergroup” on the scene.
Made up of My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero, Coheed and Cambria’s guitarist Travis Stever & bassist Tim Payne, Thursday drummer Tucker Rule and Circa Survive, Saosin & The Sound of Animals Fighting vocalist Anthony Green, this is a group of musicians who have been around the block, but still have fresh new ideas.
Speaking backstage at Slam Dunk Festival 2024, Frank and Anthony were just a couple of hours away from playing their first UK festival – but being a “newcomer” to the scene is where the band fins a lot of the excitement, Frank explained.
“There’s something special about all different types of shows,” he exclusively told Express.co.uk. “Bigger ones, bigger festivals, smaller club shows, arena shows… you find different things to latch on to at all those different settings.
“And that’s my favourite thing about being in bands: starting them, and figuring out what it is, and how to build it up from beginning to the end.”
The group of alternative music stalwarts only started L.S. Dunes back in 2022, releasing their debut (and only) album Past Lives in November.
When I spoke to Frank and Tucker last time, they confessed how excited they were for the project. Now, two years after the band’s inception, things haven’t changed.
“I think we’re still [giddy about the band],” Frank confessed. “I’m very fortunate to be able to do it again with my friends.”
“I think it’s gotten more giddy,” Anthony laughed. “And there’s a support in this band that I’ve never felt in any project I’ve ever had. And I think it just comes with that freedom of not having to like… this is something we’ve picked to do. It’s just fun!”
Thankfully (for fans), the fun has also been productive. Two years after Past Lives, L.S. Dunes’ new album is on its way.
“We just finished it,” Frank announced. “New music will start to happen this year, and the new record will probably happen next year.”
Frank continued: “I think it’s my collective favourite thing that anyone in the band has ever done. It shows a definite progression. It’s weird to come out and start playing these festivals and tour because everything we’re playing right now feels so old. Because we’re in this new realm.”
Anthony agreed: “I cannot wait to start talking about the new songs and playing the new songs.
“The last album ends with me saying: ‘I’m sorry that I wished I was dead.’ And the new record is about trying to live. It’s about trying to get into a different mindset of apologising and wanting to be dead – it’s about wanting to live and take accountability.”
With a smile, he added: “It makes me excited to be in that stage of my life, and it makes me excited to have something to talk about that I can sing every day and not make me want to kill myself.”
Listen to L.S. Dunes on Amazon Music here.
