The Backseat Lovers Share a "Supernatural" Connection

The boys in The Backseat Lovers are finally getting a chance to enjoy life on the road, even if it’s been a bit of an adjustment from their regular routine. After the pandemic canceled the band’s first-ever scheduled tour in 2020, the members of the Salt Lake City four-piece found themselves sharing a home and writing music incessantly for what would eventually become their sophomore album, Waiting to Spill. 

Released in October 2022, Waiting to Spill immediately landed on the Billboard charts, settling into the top spot of the Alternative New Artist Albums chart and ranking second on the Heatseekers Albums list. The album also appeared on the Current Alternative Albums (fourth), Current Rock Albums (sixth), Vinyl Albums (ninth), Internet Albums (ninth), Current Album Sales (eighteenth), Billboard Album Sales (21st) and Billboard Top Alternative Albums (24th) charts.

Such a reception naturally laid the foundation for regular touring, which has been a new experience for the band, says vocalist and guitarist Jonas Swanson. But the Backseat Lovers are still making time for writing, even if it’s just a jam during soundcheck or in the greenroom.

“We’ve been touring so much and trying to write in those in-betweens. It’s definitely shifted the way that we operate in that way, and we’ve been constantly learning to adapt to the lifestyle of being on tour,” he says. “The biggest thing is just rolling with the punches and realizing that there’s really not anything that’s in your control.”

He laughs at the thought, but adds that the perspective has given him a new appreciation for what being in a touring band entails.

“It’s living life a little more like it’s happening to you,” Swanson explains. “That’s helped me keep my feet on the ground and be a little happier with the craziness that sometimes happens. Obviously, touring is super fun, but sometimes it can just be a little stressful or chaotic.”

Luckily for the band, the current run kicks off with two hometown shows before the Backseat Lovers visit Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Monday, May 15. Free Range is also on the bill.

Life away from the road has also changed for bandmates Swanson, Joshua Harmon (vocals and guitars), KJ Ward (bass) and Juice Welch (drums), especially since they don’t live together anymore.

“Usually we get home and we go do our own thing,” Swanson says, adding that songwriting has subsequently become more singular. “I think we’re expanding on a lot of similar things, but not living together has definitely changed how frequently we can write lately and the way we do it.”

As a guitarist, Swanson is inspired by more ambient sounds, which has shaped what he brings to the Backseat Lovers. Currently, he’s been writing tunes “that calm me, like self-soothing songs,” he says.

“Playing our music is genuinely pretty loud; it’s guitar-driven. I think it makes me crave being a little bit quieter and sitting on my own with an acoustic guitar,” Swanson explains. "I know Josh has been doing that a lot more, too. It feels like there are two ends of our writing, that as a band, we continue to find ways to get louder, and then in our own little spaces we continue to expand into this even more introverted style of writing.”

While writing Waiting to Spill meant the bandmates got to know each other more intimately after officially forming in 2018, their time alone has also allowed the members to “know ourselves a little bit better,” Swanson says.

“I was talking to Josh about this the other day, that it feels like writing in a band is so much about getting to know each other continually deeper and deeper. I think that’s what’s really beautiful about doing it together,” he adds. “I also feel really lucky to be able to contribute to a song that Josh has written that was more in close quarters to himself. You just get to see someone in a deeper way than you can in any other way.”

But the result is the same, as the Backseat Lovers still specialize in acoustic folk-influenced indie alt rock. Songs like “Snowbank Blues” from the new record and the previously released “Kilby Girl” (When We Were Friends, 2019) have been streamed millions of times at this point and have made the band one of the fastest-rising stars in the genre. The Backseat Lovers have performed “Slowing Down,” “Know your Name” and “Growing/Dying” on CBS Mornings and made their late-night TV debut this past fall on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

"It’s been a little different,” Swanson says, but the quartet plans to revisit the previous process “where we can hunker down together for a little while” and write a new record. There’s some type of magic in that, he adds.

“We really just want to be making music that is exciting to us. We just love to make music together and share it with people,” Swanson says. “That’s the thing that we have our sights on right now. … It almost feels psychic that we can pick up on each other’s energy. It’s just super natural.”

The Backseat Lovers, 8 p.m. Monday, May 15, Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street. Tickets are $35-$80.