I recently got to speak with Paul Murphy from one of my favorite bands, Wintersleep. The Halifax, Nova Scotia band released new music at the end 2024, five years after their last album. They’re excited to announce that a new album is on its way in 2026, along with new management and probably (and hopefully!) a tour of the U.S.
We really dove deep into their writing process, discussing how the guys (Paul, Loel Campbell, Tim d’Eon, Jon Samuel and Mike Bigelow) work together after all these years. “It works cause we’re all definitely not interested in doing the same thing over and over again…It has to feel kind of new.”
He also mentioned his fondness for Detroit after playing venues like Saint Andrew’s Hall and The Majestic Theatre. “Our favorite show we played was St. Andrews Hall, opening for Frightened Rabbit, and we got really cool socks,” Murphy said. “It was a really amazing experience.”
We also discussed how they decide their set list, but we also talked about deeper issues that are the inspiration for lyrics in songs like Beneficiary, America and their new one, Fool for a Life.
He said, “I like a lot of surreal, image-based lyrics, stuff that doesn’t always have to have a narrative meaning. It could just mean something as a collection of words against the music. Sometimes that’s all a song needs. But then there’s other ones where you have a specific idea in mind and so you’re going in between those two things. And sometimes you’ll have lyrics that are for prose or an idea for poetry, or a line that sounds really nice and…becomes a melody.”
Hear Wintersleep regularly on my show, Kristina Gets Hard, airing at 11 a.m. ET on the first Sunday of each month and watch the full interview above.
