More than a decade after their last full-length, emotive alt rockers Sainthood Reps step back into the frame with “Dull Bliss,” out September 26 via Smartpunk Records. The album doesn’t try to reinvent their sound so much as strip it down to what’s left after years of depression, anxiety, addiction, and broken connections. Across eleven songs, the band speak less like storytellers and more like people sorting through lived fragments — the kind of memories that don’t fade, even when you wish they would.
Derrick Sherman describes the opener “Doesn’t Exist” as a descent into depression, “like falling into an abyss and feeling like everyone else is above you and there’s no way out.” That heaviness threads through the album, from Montesanto’s “Dizzy,” where he admits, “Nothing ever comes out right and a large part of my life is just reflecting on how stupid I sound in every conversation,” to “You Stay You,” where Sherman frames the collapse of a relationship as a reckoning with personal responsibility.
Grief and acceptance cut through “Blue Nothing,” which Montesanto explained as “the pep talk I would give myself before finally deciding it’s okay to move on with my life after losing something incredibly dear to me.” The chorus turns into an elegy for what can’t return: “elegize what you’ve lost and you know is gone for good.”
Other tracks move into addiction and burnout. “Bliss” captures the cycle of waiting for pills, swearing off the habit, and caving the second the call comes in. “Dull” looks back on a job that “completely crushed my sense of spirit, creativity, and zest for life,” leaving a fear of ever regaining it. Together, the two songs anchor the record’s title and underline its sense of drained spirit and fleeting escapes.
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Collaboration also plays a role in shaping the record. “Surfer” brings in Jon Simmons of Balance and Composure on vocals and Erik on guitar. Sherman admitted he always heard another voice in the second verse and went straight to his demo-trading partner Simmons: “They both absolutely crushed it. It was one of the more fun collabs I have been a part of.” Elsewhere, Gerry Windus of Stand Still takes on the bridge of “Blue Nothing,” and several interludes carry the feel of unguarded room recordings, like “(tell me your darkest memory),” where Montesanto sings into his phone while Brett records covertly on a room mic.
What runs through all of “Dull Bliss” is a blunt honesty in both subject and presentation. The commentary speaks as much to the process — quick iPhone takes, demo swaps, late changes of heart — as it does to the lyrics themselves. Sherman summed it up when describing the stripped-down “Quinoa Valley Recording Company”: “There was this sense of urgency to get the idea out and there is something really honest about that in this presentation.”
The full track-by-track commentary from Sainthood Reps can be read below.
Doesn’t Exist – “The opening sound bite is me on piano jamming with Brad on drums in between takes. We didn’t know we were being recorded and Brett kinda snuck that into the mix as a fun surprise.
Lyrically, I’m talking about the depths of depression and how deep it can run, kind of like falling into an abyss and feeling like everyone else is above you and there’s no way out.” – Derrick Sherman
Blue Nothing – “Blue Nothing is kind of the pep talk I would give myself before finally deciding it’s okay to move on with my life after losing something incredibly dear to me. It’s about coming to the realization that the nothingness of what’s been left behind is actually a substantial part of who we are and the path forward isn’t to block out the nothingness, but to embrace it. The chorus lyric is “elegize what you’ve lost and you know is gone for good.” If there were ever a “part 2” of this song, it would probably be the elegy itself.
When it came time to lay down vocals for the bridge, we asked our dear friend Gerry Windus (Stand Still) to take the reins. We never even considered anyone else. Turns out, that was the right move because he smashed that part.” – Cesco Montesanto
Dizzy – “This is the last song we wrote for the record and it almost didn’t make it. A lot of my lyrics revolve around anxiety in some way and this song is no different. Specifically, it’s about the anxiety I get when I try to open my mouth to talk to anybody about anything whatsoever. Nothing ever comes out right and a large part of my life is just reflecting on how stupid I sound in every conversation, or about what I should have said. It’s like that episode of Seinfeld “The Jerk Store”. Even as I’m writing this I’m kicking myself for not calling the song “Jerk Store”. Art imitates life, I guess.” – Cesco Montesanto
You Stay You – “I wrote this one night when I had this gnarly head cold that severely impacted my hearing. I was temporarily 80% deaf in one ear because of blockage or something crazy like that. So when I started a demo scratch vocal, I used the line “I can’t hear you, even if I wanted to,” and then from there I was able to build the song off of that.
The theme of the song is about a person in a withering relationship, questioning their role in its demise, and realizing that they only get what they put into it.
This song almost didn’t make the record. We couldn’t agree on a version of this tune. There were a few stylistic versions along with actual song structure choices to be made. Ultimately we landed here and it is pleasing to me.” – Derrick Sherman
Dull – “This song is about a job I had many years ago that completely crushed my sense of spirit, creativity, and zest for life. It dismantled my soul to the point that I wouldn’t even know what I’d do if I ever regained it. In fact, I was kind of afraid to be creative again. In a lot of ways, I still haven’t recovered. We weren’t sure if an Elliott Smith-style acoustic track belonged on the record, but it just felt right. It’s kind of a perfect compliment to the track ‘Bliss’, hence the name of the record” – Cesco Montesanto
Bliss – Drug dealers aren’t really known for punctuality and this song is about the amount of time I spent in my 20’s waiting to buy pills. And how much of that time was spent contemplating my life, saying “Fuck this. I’m done. I don’t even want to get high anymore, this is ridiculous. Fuck that guy.” But then the second my guy texted that he was around I would literally drop everything and meet him anywhere he was.” – Cesco Montesanto
Surfer – “Jon Simmons from Balance & Composure and I have a demo-listening support group where we send riffs and full songs to each other for feedback. He is my go-to in our network. He always knows how to ignite confidence and creativity when I am feeling stuck.
When I was writing Surfer, I always heard someone else singing the second verse, so it only made sense to ask my demo buddy to do it. I always admired Erik from Balco’s guitar playing, so I thought it would be fun to get him in the mix as well. They both absolutely crushed it. It was one of the more fun collabs I have been a part of.” – Derrick Sherman
Is It Safe? – “This is actually the “alt” version of this song. Will we see the original version one day? Unsure!
Lyrically, it’s about trying to find the right balance to help someone who is struggling and then realizing that trying to help may only be hurting the both of you.” – Derrick Sherman
Quinoa Valley Recording Company – “There’s some sort of irony of being in a million dollar studio and recording into a phone instead.
Brad took a fully recorded, unused song of ours, cut it down to only the bridge, and effected it until it was this super dreamy passage. He presented this piece to me one morning in the control room of the studio before the session started. It made me hear the song in a new way and I immediately picked up an acoustic and tracked guitar and vocals onto an iPhone.
There was this sense of urgency to get the idea out and there is something really honest about that in this presentation.” – Derrick Sherman
Take It Easy (On Me) – If you’re wondering if “Take It Easy” is a nod to The Eagles, you bet it fucking is. That song has one of the most ridiculous lines I’ve ever heard: “I’m runnin’ down the road trying to loosen my load. I got seven women on my mind.” Wild.
Anyway, this track and “Doesn’t Exist” were the first two songs we worked on for the record and it’s pretty apparent to see how both of those songs shaped the rest of the writing process. I knew early on I wanted to lean back on the aggression when it came to the vocals and that was something I carried through most of the songs I contributed.” – Cesco Montesanto
(tell me your darkest memory) – We wanted to include a bunch of vignettes and we had several we put down that we might use some day. This one just felt like it fit the overall vibe of the record. Just me singing and playing piano into my phone while Brett covertly recorded on a room mic. What you’re hearing is a blend of the two.” – Cesco Montesanto
