Common Sage doesn’t shy away from the messy stuff. Their new album, Closer To;, digs into themes like loss and change, but it’s not about wallowing. Instead, it’s an attempt to tell someone else’s story, filtered through the band’s raw, melodic post-hardcore sound.
“I wanted to try to get away from solely writing about my own experiences on this record and try to explore another’s point of view,” frontman Julian Rosen shared. It’s this perspective—shifting between personal and observational—that makes Closer To; resonate like an open-ended conversation, full of meaning that evolves every time you listen.
Recorded over two years with Brett Romnes (known for his work with The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche), the album is a product of patience and collaboration.
The band leaned into experimentation, switching up guitars, pedals, and even drums to give each track a distinct tone. They brought friends into the mix, too—collaborators from Stay Inside and Sainthood Reps added layers that feel natural.
“This record would be nothing without Brett,” Rosen admits, reflecting on how the producer pushed the band to take bold risks, whether it was cutting songs in half or completely reworking ideas on the fly.
The themes of the album are heavy—loss, transformation, the chaos of human connection—but Common Sage doesn’t make it feel distant.
They’ve grounded the record in their own experience while pulling in outside stories that reflect a universal sense of uncertainty. Rosen describes it as a kind of escapism, but not in the traditional sense: “Everything we do is from a very personal and human place.”
Coming off a West Coast tour supporting Reggie & The Full Effect, the band has plenty of stories to tell about the road, from chaotic merch-table mishaps to crowds that felt ripped straight out of a Reggie skit. They’ve got more on the horizon too, with a new tour and summer festival appearances in the works.
Common Sage is set to kick off 2025 with their first show of the year on January 15 at Amityville Music Hall, sharing the stage with IDIOTEQ-feature band Zeta. Tickets are available via the band’s website, hoshieni.com.
For now, though, Closer To; speaks for itself—a record that feels like a cleansing, a moment of clarity in a genre often stuck in its own loops. While it may not have the same scale or magnitude, it carries a sense of renewal and an organic, heartfelt feel that reminded me of the first time I listened to Full Collapse by post hardcore giants Thursday and realized this subgenre could exist on an entirely different plane.
Check out our full interview below, where we dive deeper into the stories behind the album, their time in the studio, and what’s next for Common Sage.
Answers by Julian Rosen (vocals/guitar)
Hey Julian, I’ve gotta say, the album cover for “Closer To;” instantly grabbed my attention. What’s the story behind that image? I’m curious how it ties into the themes you’re exploring in the songs.
It was made by the artist that did our last album cover of the floating person in a raincoat. When I found the artist (Pablo Chaco), he had another image of a very high contrast black and white image of a man sitting in a chair. The white of the man blended into the white of the background as if he was shining. It was a very radioactive feeling. Pablo lost that original image, so he re-created it, which is now the “Closer To;” cover. The image was just something I liked; it didn’t have anything to do with what the album was about but I think over time it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me. It’s funny how that happens with art — meanings change, you notice things that weren’t there before, you wonder if it was subconscious or not. It’s really interesting.
Lyrics wise, what are your main sources of inspiration? With everything going on in the world—climate change, politics, you name it—do those issues influence your music or lyrics? Do global events shape the way you create, or do you find escapism in your art?
I think that there is a feeling of impending doom, for sure. I try to ground myself and those thoughts with knowing that people have felt this way well before my generation. I would say in a very very very generalized way, yes, that influences my lyrics, and maybe even the musical tone but I would never say that we’re a political band or that any “worldly” issues are explored. So yeah, I think escapism is a good word to use here but I also think everything we do is from a very personal and human place.
So, how was the recording process this time around? How did you approach it?
We recorded with Brett Romnes and it/he was amazing. Just totally understood what we were going for, and he had amazing ideas. This album took us over two years to finish just because we would go in for a week at a time and those weeks were extremely spread out because of scheduling. It was good on one hand because it allowed us to sit with the songs a bit more, but also bad on another because we just wanted to keep working on it.
Any memorable moments in the studio that stand out? I bet there were some unexpected twists or funny incidents along the way.
This response would genuinely take hours. We had the best time, Brett is hilarious, we all laughed everyday about so many different things. It was just a great environment, and in terms of writing/recording, everyone was just super open to scraping entire ideas, or building off old ones, so I wouldn’t say there were any “twists” but more just a ton of reception and open mindedness that we weren’t expecting.
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What kind of equipment did you use on this record? Any favorite guitars, pedals, or amps that are essential to your sound? It’s always cool to hear about what shapes a band’s tone.
Brett has boxes of guitar pedals at his studio so we just went through them and chose a different combination for every song, which was super fun. Drums were switched up a bit also. We just went with what we chose and it always worked out. If I could I would have 20 pedals live, but unfortunately I cannot justify, or fit, that many on a tour. Haha.
Working with Brett Romnes must have been quite the experience. How did you guys connect with him, and what was it like collaborating in the studio? Did he bring any new ideas to the table that influenced the final product?
We just reached out to him at one point, and he got back to me immediately and was super down to work together. He plays in The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche, and our drummer Chris [Todd] joined right around that time and is really good friends with Vinnie [Caruana] who sings in both bands. He also knew Brett so it was a very familiar feeling in a weird way. Like I said before, it was just a really comfortable and understanding experience; Brett would tell us to cut a song in half and we were like, “Great, okay.” This record would be nothing without Brett, honestly.
After the mastering was done, did you notice any big changes in how the songs sounded? Sometimes that process can really transform a track. Were there any moments where you thought, “Wow, this sounds totally different”?
No, not all. Mastering just made everything sound better. Haha. I feel like from hearing the unmixed version of each track to the final master, everything kept its personality and sounded the same, in a way. Obviously everything was worked on, parts were raised, effects were put on, but it always had the same character.
People often label your music as post-hardcore, but that’s such a broad term these days. How do you see your own style? Do genre labels matter to you, or do you just make the music that feels right?
I’m totally fine and happy to call ourselves post-hardcore. Genre does not matter to me personally but it is necessary in a lot of different ways. Some people won’t listen to you unless they know what genre you fall under.
I love post-hardcore bands and yeah, like you said, it’s so broad. A post-hardcore band can sound like so many different things. Yes, I 100% just make whatever feels right, which as of right now, sounds like post-hardcore. Haha.
I’m curious—do you intentionally try to bring something unique to your sound to stand out, or is it more about following your instincts and seeing where the music takes you? What’s your approach to finding the right sound?
I absolutely do not try to sound unique, I just try to write music that I would want to listen to. I have so many different approaches but something I noticed recently is that I’ll listen to a song, and just be like, “Oh, that’s cool but what if the chorus was louder? Or what if the bridge lasted longer? What if this part was an instrumental?”, etc. I find myself trying to play a song by memory and also by ear, and in my horrible, bastardized rendition that sounds nothing like the original, I’ll find a new song to start writing.
You’ve got some awesome guest appearances from members of Sainthood Reps and Stay Inside on the album. How did those collaborations come about? Are you longtime friends, or did you reach out to them specifically for this project?
Chris from Stay Inside used to be in Common Sage and wrote/recorded the whole album with us. I’ve known Chris for a really long time, and he wrote the original track (“Witness”) that he’s featured on.
Sainthood Reps just slowly became friends over the past couple of years, and I think Brett showed them our new music and they were really stoked about it. So once I heard that, I just asked if they’d wanna do a song together.
What was it like working together?
It was all super fun, just friends hanging out.
You’ve been out with Reggie & The Full Effect recently. How have the gigs been? Any memorable stories from the road?
Our first show together in Roseville, CA was like straight out of a Reggie album. People were drunk and weird, there were southern accents, a woman who sounded exactly like the girl on those Reggie skits was spilling her beer all over our merch and verbally abusing the rest of the audience and us. It was awesome.
Gigs wise, what’s on the horizon for next year—any plans we should keep an eye out for?
We’ll be announcing a tour in March soon that I cannot give specifics on, and we’ll be playing a big festival over the summer. Hopefully more than one but that’s what’s confirmed right now. Haha.
2024 has been a great year for music. Have you discovered any albums that really blew you away? We’re always on the hunt for new tunes.
I’m not sure that I’ve felt blown away for a while, but in terms of 2024 releases, I’ve liked the new toe, Chat Pile, Porches, Spirit of the Beehive, Kendrick, Charli xcx. I’m sure you’ve listened to all this stuff already.
NYC’s and Brooklyn’s music scene is legendary. How’s it feeling these days from your perspective? What evolution have you experienced and seen on your own eyes while being a part of it?
To be completely honest, it’s oversaturated. I’ve experienced the favored genres shift — I think there’s a more punk-centric thing going on in the DIY world specifically, but there’s always 10 shows a night, there’s always 10 bands you want to go see, and the DIY scene I came into when I got to Brooklyn has kind of melted away.
That’s just me, personally. I’m not saying that DIY in New York has died because it 100% has not, and hopefully never will.
Any local bands or artists we should be checking out? I’d love to hear about who’s making waves in your neighborhood.
Our friends in Stay Inside, Sharkswimmer, Superbloom, Ultra Deluxe (Max from Ultra Deluxe specifically does so much for the scene), and not a band but Collective Effort NYC also keeps DIY heavy music alive.
Closer To;, the latest album by Common Sage, is now available via Equal Vision Records on all major streaming platforms and for purchase. Recorded with Brett Romnes, the album features collaborations with members of Stay Inside and Sainthood Reps, offering a fresh take on post-hardcore with a personal and reflective edge. For more details, visit the band’s IG profile HERE.
For more eclectic takes on the wide genre of post-hardcore, check out our mega playlist on Spotify:
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