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mosphere that reflects how we all feel about perp
etually being on the uncertain precipice of tomorrow. “This kind of felt like a rebirth, a new beginning,” Karla says, explaining the concept. “A beginning of what? We don’t know, but it did feel like the end of something, for sure, and I think a lot of people, maybe, feel that about the world; is that we’re not quite sure where we’re going. We probably know that it’s not heading somewhere good.” “A lot of the liberal and positive social change that we had in the last few years are very quickly being reversed, and we’re not quite sure what the future we’re barrelling towards is, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be good for a lot of us, so all we can do is come together in community, and I think the arts are super important for that. It’s super important for us to stay in touch with that humanity and that empathy, and it’s the only thing that’s gotten us through, and continues to push us through, all the crises, and it’s something that we’re always going to come back to. And All That Is Over is supposed to reflect that; that it is the end of something, but at the end of something is always the hope of the beginning of something new, and in the album there is a real thread of hopefulness; that if we survived what we survived in the last year in this world, that we can continue to survive, but we have to be using our platforms and our voices to be outspoken about it, because, otherwise, we’ll just fall into the abyss of… who knows.” On November 20th, the band will headline their largest Irish gig to date at Vicar Street. Anyone who has seen Sprints live will attest that the most memorable aspect of their shows is how they interact with the audience, including banter, stage-diving, and hopping into the crowd for a song or two. For Karla, she doesn’t envision their growth deterring this energy. “I’m really excited,” she says. “We’ve played big stages at festivals, and we’re a hands-on band, quite literally. If we don’t get the energy we need from the crowd, we’ll physically go into the crowd and get what we need from them. “Even though the venues are getting slightly bigger, there is still an intimacy there, because I think it does tie back to our advocacy, and the messages that we want to portray, and the music, and the passion and the rage in it all, I think it naturally pulls you in, and I would like to think of them as safe spaces for people who might not feel safe in the ordinary world all of the time. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a lot of fuckin’ fun!” The one detail that the band are not looking forward to in these larger venues? The imposed merchandise cuts. “We’re already making no money, let’s make even less!” Karla quips. “Yeah, that’s not great, is it? But, you know what? Maybe we’ll be one of those bands that sell our CDs in the boot of our car afterwards!” Sprints’ latest album, All That Is Over, is out now. The band will perform at Vicar Street on November 20th. Tickets can be found at sprintsmusic.com. 17