Emo heroes SPORT return with “In Waves” after a 9-year break, channeling friendship, Herzog, and fire

Sport, the punk/emo four-piece from Lyon, France, are releasing their fourth LP In Waves on June 21st, marking their first album in nine years.

Since forming in 2011, Sport have been known for fusing upbeat, noodly guitars with emotionally heavy themes, following the stylistic thread of bands like Snowing, Algernon Cadwallader, RVIVR, and Spraynard. Their last full-length, Slow, came out in 2016. Then, in 2019, they stopped.

That same year, they compiled their previous material in a release titled The disco after the breakdown 2010–2019. It included their full discography: the original Demo on 7” black, Colors on 12” gold, Bon Voyage on 12” black clear splatter, and Slow on 12” red black clear splatter.

It came with a 12-page booklet containing lyrics, gig history, and personal notes from the band, plus artwork recreating the original first press visuals. That anthology was released via La Tête d’Ampoule, Adagio 830, Voice Of The Unheard, Guerilla Asso, La Agonía De Vivir, and Pike Records. Only 600 copies were made.

In the years that followed, some of the members started the garage punk side-project Viceprez and released two albums. But after five years, the bond that built Sport brought them back to each other.

“Flo and I started writing new songs for Sport again, starting on acoustic guitar,” recalls Nico Mollin. “Very quickly, we went to Mikrokosm Studio in Villeurbanne, near Lyon. We recorded the vocals ourselves — it took time, since we always write the lyrics after the music is done.”

Flo, who taught himself to paint during the break, created two original artworks for In Waves, which now serves both as a musical and visual continuation of the band’s ethos. The album title also pays unintentional tribute to AJ Dungo’s graphic novel of the same name. “It tells the story of a woman who dies young from cancer, and the man who loves her. Highly recommended!” Nico adds.

Sport’s In Waves will be released through a wide network of DIY labels across the globe, including Adagio 830, Bigoût Records, Good Job Dog Knights, Inhumano Records, La Agonia de Vivir, Nasty Cut Records, Not Sorry Records, Panique Paniek, Pike Records, Sonatine Produzioni, Shove Records, Shore&Woods Recordings, Vitriol Records, and Voice of The Unheard.

Everything is coordinated by their own label La Tête d’Ampoule, which has been releasing their records for over 13 years. “That’s nearly 20,000 vinyl copies sold over the years, and almost all of them passed through my living room or garage,” Nico says.

“We stick to a fully DIY approach; we have no interest in conforming to the codes of the professional music industry. I find people often speak poorly to each other in that world, whereas in DIY, everything runs on trust — and I don’t think we’ve ever been disappointed by anyone.”

Two singles are already out: Caveat and Are You There? — both showcasing a matured, but still emotionally potent side of Sport.

Caveat is a direct tribute to Werner Herzog’s obsessive cinema and a meditation on intensity. “Got a Fitz in my head, 320-ton steamship over the ridge,” the lyrics proclaim, referencing Fitzcarraldo.

There’s also mention of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, whose fiery deaths while documenting eruptions became symbolic for the band. “It expresses our own passion for life and our desire to live it intensely,” Nico explains. “At the end, we repeat the line ‘A fire burning deep inside of me.’ While making the album, I’d tear up hearing that line — like it was hitting something deeply sensitive in my psyche.”

The lyrics read:

There’s a man with a vision
A fire burning deep inside
Got a Fitz in my head
320-ton steamship moving over the ridge
Brought a light to arouse my sense of wonder
Elicit curiosity
Come around to arouse my sense of wonder
Through the dense emerald green grove
Dancing on the edge of love
Life in the distance, calling now or never
In the light of the endless summer spent together
Where am I in the distance ?
Running up to the crater, the fury, the blaze, the flame
Life keeps rising, grass will grow again
Where am I in the distance ?
A fire burning deep inside of me
This fire burning deep inside of me

The second single, Are You There?, draws inspiration from a chance conversation in Alsace. “I met the innkeeper of the Auberge du Pont de la Fecht, in the Alsatian vineyards near Colmar (where my mother lives). She told me about the apple trees and how in spring, there are sometimes late frosts. So, they call the villagers to light fires under the trees to protect the buds from the cold. The song asks the question: are you there at night, to help the buds bloom?”

Keeping watch through the silent nights
To shield blooms from frost’s cruel bites
When they’re gone, they’re no second coming
Are you there when the night turns cold ?
Will you stand when the tale unfolds ?
Time will tell if we came for something
A thousand blazes till quarter to seven
Ashes cooling in the mourning sun
Words don’t come out, they’re spoken too softly
Are you there, is that you talking ?
There’s a field beyond the bridge
Apple trees dread springtime freeze as
Last year the yield was close to nothing
Are you there when light is gone
Will you stay, buds begin swelling
Land whispers secrets only farmers know
A cresting tide, sand descending
Beneath the shell, who do you long to be ?
Wavelength clash, each yearn for bonding
Are you there ? Are you there ?
Searching for a way to start a sincere talk
I’d like to see buds swelling

Sport also filmed a video for Life, the album’s first track, which we’re stoked to premiere right here in this article. “We shot it in just 15 minutes after a rehearsal,” Nico mentions.

The band chants:

Life as you know it just became more meaningful.
Life as we know it, just became more meaningful.
It gives me something.

This summer, the band is touring again — playing punk festivals across Italy, Spain, Germany, and then heading further out to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even Okinawa. Still, Sport remain what they call “a seasonal band.” Nico sums it up: “Sometimes we don’t see each other for 6 months, then we go off touring for a few weeks.”

 

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May 16 – Annecy, France – Bistro des Tilleuls
May 17 – Marghera, Italy – Venezia Hardcore Fest
June 14 – Hamburg, Germany – Not Sorry Fest
June 27 – Vidreres, Spain – Actitud Fest
June 28 – Oviedo, Spain – LADV Fest
July 8 – Kichijoji, Tokyo, Japan – Warp
July 9 – Kyoto, Japan – Submarine
July 10 – Osaka, Japan – Conpass
July 11 – Nagoya, Japan – Stiffslack
July 12 – Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, Japan – ERA
July 13 – Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan – Nine Spices
July 14 – Naha, Okinawa, Japan
July 15 – Central, Hong Kong
July 16 – Taipei, Taiwan

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