For Straylight Run’s John Nolan (vocals/guitar), Shaun Cooper (bass), and Will Noon (drums), the Un Mas Dos EP marks the start of many firsts. After finding themselves without a label mere months after issuing The Needles, The Space (2007) on Universal Republic in mid-2007, and dealing with the subsequent departure of John’s sister, vocalist and keyboardist Michelle DaRosa this past June, Straylight Run strike back with a system of their own. It’s with a fervent new outlook and a refined approach in spreading their music to the masses that the Long Island, NY-based trio, for the first time since their 2003 inception, truly call the shots.

“We don’t have management by choice and we don’t have a label by choice,” explains Noon. “Before, all of that had led us astray. But now, everything has come back to the very beginnings of the band. It’s about being able to write a record and release it, tour with our friends, and just do the things that make us happy.”

Produced by Matt Squire (Boys Like Girls, The Receiving End of Sirens), Un Mas Dos is the first in a series of several independent EPs to be digitally released via the band’s web site. Also available in vinyl with complete artwork, these mini albums will also coincide with tour dates so that fans can become familiar with band’s new material as they’re translating it live.

“With this new strategy, every time we go out on the road our fans will have new music,” Noon says. “Often times with a standard album cycle, there's this weird gap between when the band writes and records, and when the band finally plays it to an audience. Now we're more flexible and we have the ability to better stay in touch with our audience.”

Nolan wholeheartedly agrees, adding, “The best part of keeping things small and manageable is that we're more able to stay focused on those fans who've stuck with us and who will always stick with us.”

Un Mas Dos finds Straylight Run delivering their most candidly rich set of songs yet. From the anthemic, guitar-driven rise of “Wait and Watch” to the easy optimism of “Try,” Straylight Run’s recharged momentum erupts with a feverish enthusiasm. Alongside Cooper’s hammering bass lines and Noon’s brash percussion, fans should notice that Nolan’s observant lyrics are incredibly sturdy this time out. His usual emotional complexities are now lush in such authentic candor.

“With these new songs, I looked back over the different ways that I had expressed myself lyrically over the past four years and tried to take stock of what worked and what didn't, Nolan says. “These lyrics were sort of a culmination of everything I've learned as a songwriter, combined with the new perspective that this last year has given me. After everything I experienced this year, I realized that there was no way to use these songs as a way to make sense of anything or explain it. I let go and just decided that the songs would be about documenting thoughts and feelings and not about finding answers or sending any particular message. I've found a sort of peace in understanding that there aren't always answers or ways to explain things and that it's all right.”

Straylight Run, content for the very first time in a long, long while, and standing behind their creative resurgence. Plans for future releases are currently in the works, and with that they remain excited about their new line of attack. Noon says, “I think our fans are going to be really happy. This is probably what they’ve wanted us to do all along; they’ve wanted us to define us a bit better.”

Un Mas Dos drops September 16th with headlining dates across the East Coast to follow through the month’s end. A North American tour with Anberlin kicks off October 2nd. Additional dates down under are slated for the New Year.

For more information, please visit: :: Altsounds.com :: | The world's most comprehensive source for alternative music, news, reviews, interviews, bands and artists.

Tracks on Vinyl:

Side 1. Wait and Watch
Side 2A. Ten Ton Shoe
Side 2B. Try

Be sure to catch the band around the U.S.:

Sep 9 6:00P fletcher’s baltimore, Maryland
Sep 10 6:00P The Canal Club richmond, Virginia
Sep 11 6:00P sector 7 G augusta, Georgia
Sep 12 6:00P beamer’s panama city, Florida
Sep 13 1:00P real big deal gainesville, Florida
Sep 16 6:00P new brookland tavern west columbia, South Carolina
Sep 17 6:00P green street greensboro, North Carolina
Sep 18 6:00P webster underground hartford, Connecticut
Sep 19 6:00P valentines albany, New York
Sep 20 6:00P the chance poughkepsie, New York
Sep 21 6:00P Maxwell’s hoboken, New Jersey