Theres just something about beginnings. Fresh starts, new experiences, a certain simplicity or lack of baggage.

Its all very romantic, but what happens next? Downhauls new full-length, How To Begin, exists in that question: in the moments where the inevitability of change must intersect with the accumulations of the past. And fittingly its a sonic shift, a confident embrace of direct and hooky songcraft that somehow still feels of a piece with the intricacies that have made Downhaul so uniquely compelling. Its the kind of musical evolution that sounds natural and easy but is achieved through years of honed skill and creativityand its the bands finest work to date.

Since forming in 2016, Downhaulmade up of vocalist/guitarist Gordon Phillips, drummer Andrew Seymour, guitarist Robbie Ludvigsen, and new bassist Chandler Brookshave been intent on steadily growing their sound. Like new blooms springing from strong roots, each release has built on the last, taking the band from the scrappy emo of 2019s Before You Fall Asleep, to the sprawling post-rock of 2021s PROOF, and then the conceptual alternative of 2023s Squall. But when it came to writing How To Begin, the band found that the best way to build on their past work was to be willing to leave some of it behind. On our last couple releases I felt like wed really leaned into making the most of the studio and I felt like wed achieved that version of the band.

So this time I wanted to make something that really just focused on the songs, explains Phillips. When I was writing, I tried to hold the songs to The Campfire Test, which is basically the idea that a song works if its good when you play it alone on acoustic guitar, without the rest of the band or anything ornate you might do in the studio. Take one listen to How To Begin and youll know these songs hold up to any test, campfire or not.

During the writing process, Downhaul focused on streamlining each track, boiling away any potential excess and developing the songs using the streamlined urgency of their live setup. The band then decamped to Go West Recording with Mitch Clem (Young Scum, Blush Face, Big Baby) where they sought to capture that immediacy, avoiding heavy overdubs and allowing the tightness earned from years of shows to shine through. The recordings were then mixed by Matt Schimelfenig (Spirit of The Beehive, Golden Apples, Slaughter Beach, Dog) at The Bunk and the album was complete. We really wanted to just hear the sound of our band setting up in
a room and playing the songs, said Phillips. We used the same gear we use live, we didnt stress over perfection, and we kept it moving.

The result is Downhauls most flat out accessible output yet, drawing on the energy of their early work and the grandeur of their middle period, but applying it to a lean 25 minutes of crunchy chords and warm melodies. The songs on How To Begin blend the loquacious catchiness of songwriters like John K. Samson or Blake Schwarzenbach with the vitality and idiosyncrasies of bands like Piebald or The Wrens. Opener Blue Flame kicks off with a concise pair of drum hits introducing the bands new approach as they launch into Ludvigsens chiming guitar leads and build to one of the biggest choruses Phillips has ever penned. The song is followed by the juxtaposed moods of Off and On and Solstice, the former a sub-two-minute jangly punk song, and the latter a laidback cut of lush alternative that somehow threads the needle between Built To Spill at their most swooning and The Promise Ring circa Very Emergency.

This ability to connect disparate indie rock wavelengths is one of Downhauls greatest strengths. Longtime fans will be pleased to hear traces of PROOFs emo-inflected gravity in tracks like the winding Cold in the Morning or the euphoric build-and-release of Branch, while Sinker and Sleep In The Sunroom meld the uptempo exuberance of the bands early EPs to alt-country-tinged guitar licks and anthemic choruses bolstered by Brooks harmonies. The various elements and influences become a unified whole, all part of the familiar-but-ineffable Downhaul sound.

Phillips distinctive voice and conversational lyricism remain at the center of Downhauls appeal, bridging the sonic swings with his grounded explorations of the moment in life where youth is squarely in the rearview but adulthood still feels like a strange fit. I think a lot of the record is about trying to find peace and fulfillment in whatever existence we make for ourselves, he says. Phillips wordy-yet-hooky lines wring poignance from the daily minutiae of life, muse on the unpredictable dynamics of friendships and relationships, and intertwine imagery and emotion
with easeoften making observations that somehow feel at once casual, intimate, specific, and universal, all with a healthy dose of wry humor for good measure. On Tired of Trying he describes the singular mix of daring and delusion required to follow your creative passions as an adult, managing to knead lyrics like woke me up just to ask some shit about enzymes / so Im wracking my brain for slant rhymes / its all just pretend, fences to mend, letters to send back to when we were both so convinced it would work into a melody thats sure to be shouted back at
future shows. Weve been doing this band for a while now and as we get older, it can be hard to find time for almost anything outside work, family, and just keeping life on track, Phillips says. But I think thats probably when we need this kind of outlet the most.

How To Begin is not the work of a new band, but it does feel like the start of something. A record that manages to be welcoming and unencumbered by anything but the desire to write the best songs possiblethat also feels like a bold progression when viewed within the greater context of Downhauls catalog. Its a subtle and satisfying change of shape, like a summer shadow stretching across the backyard over the course of a perfect afternoon. And when the album ends, youll be ready for it to begin again.