Sans Rival crafting waves of eclectic sound

By KELLY O’HARE

Homegrown talent and rising stars, Sans Rival, formerly known as The Red, is creating ripples in the Australian music landscape. Their fusion of eclectic sounds with an indie alternate rock flair has quickly garnered the attention of music enthusiasts. With roots in the Blue Mountains the band is currently based in the Inner West hotbed of Marrickville. Sans Rival  has made a significant impact with their latest single, “No Hard Feelings”, creating anticipation for their upcoming release, “Give Me The Night”, set to drop on November 27.

Sans Rival’s roots can be traced back to their shared high school experience in the Blue Mountains. The band’s inception came about after an off-the-cuff suggestion by a band member.

“Finn, our drummer, messaged me late one night — presumably cooked, and asked if I wanted to try a two-piece and maybe write some tunes. We must have been 16 or 17 then”, recalls Hally, the band’s singer and guitarist. After a less-than-stellar initial attempt as a duo, they enlisted Corey on bass and Nick on keys, and with this line-up in place, Sans Rival was born.

Defying genre boundaries, the band finds it challenging to pin down and categorize their music. They describe it as “maybe indie-alternate” but are reluctant to be confined by labels. Their music is a melting pot of diverse influences, drawing inspiration from sources including Brit-Pop, post-punk, Oasis, Joy Division, and more contemporary acts like Fontaine, Nothing But Thieves, and Sam Fender.

“It’s hard to provide a definitive answer; we simply love listening to a lot of music,” says Keyboardist, Nick.

The band’s latest single, “No Hard Feelings”, carries a powerful backstory. Hally (singer and guitarist) describes it as a reflection on the end of a youthful fling.

“I was trying to capture the sense of youthful spontaneity and inexperience, as well as the sting of getting dumped,” he says.

Sans Rival dream of one day gracing the stages of music festivals, but in the meantime, they’ve been working hard, recording a bunch of new songs in the last few months to add to their discography. They’re also gearing up for live performances, with gigs lined up for December and January.

www.instagram.com/sansrivalband/