Video Premiere: SNST, "It's Hard To Be Loved (By You)"

SNST (pronounced Sunset) featuring Chris Broach of BRAID and The Firebird Band and Sonja Broach, present their title track “It’s Hard To Be Loved (By You),” taken from the band’s sophomore album It’s Hard To Be Loved By You (slated for release Spring 2020).

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Chris Broach, “It’s Hard To Be Loved (By You)” represents an updated look and sound for SNST. The music is atmosphere, feel, and has the room to open it up for the listener. The track features Sonja Broach’s lyrical and vocal style fronting the band, with Chris singing minimal backups on the chorus.

“I wasn’t happy at all with what I was doing vocally, and felt too close to the music and the production, and adding my wife to the mix, as the main singer, for most of the record, just seemed to fit much better with the music,” Chris shares. “It allowed me to focus on the music and the production, and as soon as I let go of the vocals, everything just made sense.  I still sing here and there on the record, and I probably will continue to here and there in the future, but this just made sense for right now.” 

Sonja sang backups on SNST’s 2017 debut, Turn Out the Lights. This new track could be described as being reminiscent of bands like: The XX, Hot Chip, MØ, Phantogram.

“I really liked the previous record and at times I felt too close to it as well as to the band.” Sonja says. “Living in the same house with someone will make you pretty opinionated about the music they’re making. I know I was drawn to Chris because of the secret musician inside of myself…I’ve been writing songs for a long time and have music in my family. I sang with bands as a teenager/into my early twenties but nothing too serious.  I honestly can’t believe it took six years being married to one another to get serious about writing music together. 
 
“Around when he and I met I got busy with software development and went way in the other direction, away from art and music and into technology,” she added. “It’s kind of like I have 15 years of pent up material… BUT… this record is themed very specifically around my relationship with Chris, with just a couple of exceptions. Chris and I have a couple of similar influences, but not too much crossover which I think makes this it interesting. I’m a little younger so don’t have as much proper punk and new wave in my blood as he does. I grew up listening to post-punk and pop-punk but when I would play in those kinds of bands I was ultimately a little bit bored. I like the way Chris writes electronically, almost exclusively, and it feels like a rock record to me in spite of that. On the whole this record doesn’t really sound like anything I can pin down. I love that about it.”    
 
According to Chris, the original idea for “It’s Hard To Be Loved (By You),” was recorded on his iPhone using one of two different sequencing programs.
 
“The synth lead that comes over the verse and at the end of the song, the horn sounding lead, is a hold-over sound and lead from that program, which I love – it came in exactly as it sounded there,” Chris shares. “The guitar part was written to compliment that lead. The bass line was originally the intro sidechain bass line that you hear, but I then began layering in live instruments and ditching the sequencer sounds as the song grew and took on more life. The drum machine came in as written, but then I worked in live drum samples and another drum machine sound to layer it and fill it out. I had originally written some vocals over it, and I didn’t like what I had, and so I asked my wife to sing in the band. She came in and pretty much nailed it by the third take. This was probably the second or third song she sang for this record, and it came together quite nicely.” 
 
“This song is a great use of a drum machine…It’s so obviously not live drums but serves the feeling of the song really well, Sonja adds. “The song is upbeat but against simple, sort of sad lyrics.  Like much of our stuff the vocals are barely finished and raw, but considering the subject matter it kind of works. After we finished vocals Chris started production and added those surfy guitar s to the chorus, which I love.”  

SNST will be continuing to release singles throughout the Fall of 2019 prior to the release of their aforementioned sophomore album. In the meantime, “It’s Hard To Be Loved (By You)” is out Friday, September 27 (today) on City at Night / SNST RCRDS, the band’s own imprint label.

Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering the video for the single. Enjoy:

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