Echosmith
For over a decade, multi-platinum-selling alt-pop trio Echosmith have built an unbreakable bond with their audience by sharing true-to-life songs that immediately brighten the heart. Since the release of their acclaimed 2020 sophomore album Lonely Generation, Southern California-bred siblings Sydney (vocals, keys), Noah (bass, vocals, production), and Graham Sierota (drums) have doubled-down on their mission of making music that radiates a purposeful joy—a move that's found them claiming total creative control for the first time and reconnecting with the DIY spirit of the band's earliest days, as heard on their most recent self-titled album. Driven by the effervescent energy shown on past hits like their iconic triple-platinum smash "Cool Kids" – which is once again resonating with a current trend on TikTok – Echosmith's latest output makes for a fascinating document of growth and self-discovery, graced with the kind of raw sincerity that in turn invites listeners to have their own honest experience with the music.
"This whole new era is based on being completely open about who we are, as opposed to presenting a surface-level version of that," says Sydney. "We gave ourselves permission to explore and be creative in a way that we'd never been before, and to write without worrying about being the most perfect, clean versions of ourselves. There are moments when I listen back to these new songs and feel almost scared to put them out—which just makes me want to dive even deeper. Because if I'm nervous for people to hear it, then that means it's real." As Noah points out, creating such a fearlessly personal batch of songs began with a prolonged period of sometimes-painful self-interrogation. "There was so much questioning and asking ourselves why we're doing this," he recalls. "We kept coming back to our love for the music and our love for making it together, which led us to simplify the whole process and work on our own for a lot of the songs."
Much of their new material reveals the band's commitment to warmly candid introspection and emerged from heart-to-heart conversations between the Sierotas – the kind that only siblings can have. "Our songs often come from us explaining what we're going through, laying our burdens down, and then comforting each other," says Noah. "Communicating with and caring for one another has become so integral to how we function as a band."
Mostly recorded in Noah's home studio, Echosmith's new body of work includes their first-ever song written with no outside collaborators: the summer-ready single "Hang Around," a gorgeously airy yet unapologetic track that marked a major breakthrough for the band. "Noah sent me the track, and as I was driving to L.A. to meet him I came up with an idea for a song about how I believe that my husband and I were meant to be with each other—that God put us together, and it wasn't just happenstance," says Sydney. "I know that's how Noah feels about his wife, and it felt so natural to write this very open song that lets that show without holding back or apologizing." With its delicate collision of sonic details (glistening guitar tones, hypnotic harmonies, a breezy yet propulsive rhythm), "Hang Around" also catalyzed a profound shift in sonic direction for Echosmith. "A lot of these songs came from recording high-quality sounds and then messing them up by experimenting with different tape machines, cheap guitar pedals, and vintage pieces of gear," says Noah, who produced the track with their brother Jamie (Echosmith's original guitar player). "It helped give everything more of an edge, rather than letting it be too on-the-nose or clean-sounding."
Echosmith's stardom skyrocketed as they came of age together as both a family and a band with a mission to spread love, positivity, and self-acceptance. They cemented themselves as an inescapable presence in music and pop culture with their triple-platinum hit "Cool Kids" and their double-platinum single "Bright" as their full-length debut, Talking Dreams, went gold. Simultaneously, Sydney stood out as a positive cultural force, whether acting as a brand ambassador for Coach, designing a line for Hollister, or duetting on stage with Taylor Swift. They scored another hit with their bold, synth-driven single "Over My Head," joined for King & Country on the powerful hit "God Only Knows" (Timbaland Remix), and released their acclaimed sophomore album Lonely Generation in 2020. Along the way, the trio has garnered over 1 billion streams, captivated crowds worldwide, toured with twenty one pilots, Pentatonix, and Owl City, collaborated with Steve Aoki, Zedd, For King & Country, Audien, Hunter Hayes, and Mat Kearney, earned major media praise, and performed on numerous national TV shows including Live with Kelly & Ryan, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, TODAY, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Artists Den.
Echosmith treasure every live show as a one-of-a-kind chance to deepen their connection with their fans. "Our goal has always been to make an impact with our music, to comfort people and to help them feel loved," says Sydney. "That goal has only become more real with the subject matter we're exploring in our new songs. I hope it inspires people to look within themselves and gives them the courage to have those tough conversations."
"When we're writing songs, we get to discover so much about ourselves," Noah adds. "We're discovering our fears and strengths and a whole spectrum of emotions we maybe wouldn't have been able to access otherwise. It's a vehicle to understand ourselves better, and then people get to take those songs and have that same experience. That's something that means so much to me, and really makes me cherish the power of music."