Story by Maddy Howell
There are some reunions that feel like desperate grabs for nostalgia. Then, there are others that simply feel like a matter of unfinished business.
For Saosin, their return with "Starting Over Again" is very much the latter. Their first new music in over a decade, and their first track with vocalist Cove Reber back in the fold in 14 years, it arrives at a moment where the band’s past and future are colliding in a way that feels almost impossibly neat.
Back with a new label home at Sumerian Records, a 20th anniversary tour celebrating their gold-certified self-titled album, and a lineup that now sees guitarists Beau Burchell and Phil Sgrosso, bassist Chris Sorenson, drummer Alex Rodriguez and Reber reconnecting - their latest era isn’t about trying to relive what they once were, but about finally pushing forward with the clarity that only time can bring.
“It started with Cove coming back to the band,” Beau says. “We had done a few shows together, and it just felt so right. I called the guys together one night, and I said that I wanted to push this forward. We all went out to dinner, and we talked about the type of commitment it would be. Everyone was totally on board, and it was full throttle from there.”
That phrase, full throttle, feels important. Saosin’s return could easily have been a victory lap, especially with the 20th anniversary of their self-titled album looming so large. Originally released in 2006, the record charted at #22 on the Billboard 200, spawned fan-favourite singles including ‘Voices’, ‘Bury Your Head’ and ‘You’re Not Alone’, and has now been officially certified Gold.
For a generation of post-hardcore fans, it remains an untouchable record. Right now, though, Saosin are less interested in basking in that legacy, and more concerned with what it allows them to do next. That energy is what makes ‘Starting Over Again’ hit the way it does, a song that taps back into exactly why people fell in love with Saosin in the first place but is undoubtedly focused on forward motion.
Having been with Saosin since 2016, it also marks Phil’s first major contribution to the band’s recorded output, with he and Beau handling production and mixing themselves.
“Cove and I go way back,” he says. “We went to high school together, and with him finally back… we’re realising that a lot of the fans wanted this all along. There’s all this new energy coming to us.”
“When the pandemic started back in 2020, ‘Starting Over Again’ was one of the first demos I contributed to the band,” Phil continues. “It needed to sit for as long as it did to reach its potential though. This is Cove’s first song in 17 years. This is my first real contribution with the band, and our first song in 10 years… it had to be executed perfectly.”
The challenge, of course, comes with the weight of Saosin’s history. With countless heavy music fans having formed deep connections with their self-titled album, bringing Cove back naturally invites nostalgia in. Whilst they’re certainly not shying away from that, the goal is to not get trapped there – and that’s where Phil comes in.
“I think that’s one of the great roles that Phil plays in the band now,” Beau says. “He brings such a good outside opinion, and a fresh take on things. When me or Chris [Sorenson, bass] write a song, often we can each feel it differently. Phil first experienced our self-titled album as a listener though, so he gives us that balance.”
“I go back to being that fan 20 years ago,” Phil adds. “I’m thinking, ‘What gives me that feeling with our new material?’ At the same time though, I have more of a metal background, and that’s giving Beau permission to write more metal riffs. That energy is coming back, and it feels very aligned with the self-titled era.”
Really, it comes down to Saosin not simply trying to sound like they did in 2006 but trying to understand precisely what has made those songs endure for two decades. Tapping into the urgency, the emotional pull, and the soaring melodies that have long defined them, it’s about channelling it all into something new, guided by everything they’ve learned about themselves over the years.
A huge part of that comes from keeping the creative process in-house. Beau and Phil are deeply involved in production and mixing, obsessing over details most listeners may never consciously notice, but that collectively shape the way the music feels.
“When you care about something so much, it’s really hard to hand off those responsibilities to other people,” Beau says. “Phil and I are obsessing over every little 32nd note of the guitars, or the way the crash cymbal is hit. We recognise that 70% of people won’t even realise these elements are in there, but to us they’re very important.”
That care is also rooted in hindsight. Preparing to celebrate 20 years of their self-titled album, revisiting those songs has inevitably fed into the mentality behind the band’s new material.
“I’m trying to channel the younger 20-year-old me,” Beau says. “I’m asking, ‘Is this riff making me feel something?’, and I think that’s a big part of it. Recently, Phil and I were working on something, and we both had the question: ‘Is this too much?’ We looked at each other, and it was like, ‘I don’t think so… This is super fun, let’s just keep at it.”
“As guitar players, that really is the foundation of what Beau and I are trying to do,” Phil adds. “We want to see this through all the way to the end, and we want it to be excellent. But overall, it’s about having fun with it.”
That perspective also colors their excitement for the upcoming anniversary tour. Celebrating a landmark album while releasing new music could create an awkward split focus, but for Saosin both things are intrinsically connected.
The past has brought them here, but the future is what gives the celebration meaning, and that’s precisely why the tour package looks the way it does. Reflecting how Saosin’s influence has threaded through multiple generations of heavy music, bands like Silent Planet, Like Moths To Flames and Save Us might not sound all that similar to theirs, but the connective tissue is undoubtedly there.
“Those bands tell us that they grew up listening to Saosin,” Phil says. “It’s cool that this band can have an influence on music that doesn’t necessarily sound like ours, but you can still hear that common thread. You’ve got to keep up with the times, and we don’t want another band on our shows that sounds exactly like us. We want to have a diverse lineup that makes sense to the fans, with it all leading to the end of the night for Saosin.”
That attitude says a lot about where the band is at right now, fully aware of their place in history but not at all isolated by it. They can celebrate Saosin turning 20 while still moving forward, and their approach to that balance is refreshingly simple: don’t overthink it. Focus on making the best songs possible, trust the filter of the band, stay curious, and keep pushing one another to take it that one step further.
“As long as we keep making music that is inspiring, fun and exciting to us,” Beau says, “I think that people will recognise that.”
“We can trust ourselves,” Phil adds. “If we care enough, and we put in the time, we won’t suck at what we do. We don’t need to be the best, we just need to not suck — but we want to be the best too.”
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Saosin begins the anniversary run marking 20 years of their self-titled debut starting this October. The tour includes supporting sets from Silent Planet, Like Moths to Flames and Save Us. See a complete list of dates and cities below. Get tickets - HERE
