While major artists like Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, and Giveon could be considered the breakout stars of the COVID era, independent artists across the board craved the chance to find their way back to doing what they love: creating and performing. For yarn., a new indie pop group out of upstate New York’s Vassar College, their formation was a shot in the dark, and, so far, it seems like they’ve struck gold. 

The group consists of lead singer Sophia Calder, guitarists Liam Manion and Sawyer Bush, and drummer Miles Schulman, I spoke with Manion and Bush over Zoom about the groups rise over the last year-and-a-half, and their, seemingly, quick inclusion into the world of indie music journalism. 

Bush and Manion are longtime friends and were at Vassar together during a “COVID semester” in the fall of 2020.

“We both had this mutual feeling of ‘If we’re going to get through this, we have to do something’,” said Manion. “We had to have a creative outlet together”.

The pair began jamming with Calder, ignoring the schools strict COVID regulations. “We started jamming out at Vassar’s observatory,” said Manion. “It was kind of like the little resistance hub of musicians trying to play together.” The group continued to defy the odds, practicing outside in a school parking lot, when, at least for Bush, a breakthrough moment occurred.

“We started playing a cover of a Florence and the Machine song called ‘Girl With One Eye’,” said Bush. “When we finished, all of these people came crowding over, saying, “That was awesome!” It was clear that we had finally clicked and found a sound, and there was an appreciation for that on campus.” 

The groups lead single, off their EP, I Said Goodbye and Then…., called “Pretty Girls”, is a clear nod to the anthemic, almost prayer-like sounds of Florence and the Machine, as well as other indie singer/songwriter-types like Maggie Rogers, but their sound shifts and evolves as the project progresses. A cover of Lianne La Havas’ take on the Radiohead song “Weird Fishes,” along with the superb original “Sugarkane,” are the standout tracks on the project, showcasing emotive, powerful vocals from Calder and tight, energized playing from the rest of the group.

“When I’m in the room with everyone thinking of what I want to get out of the song, my mindset is that I want to make sad-girl rock, but not too sad” said Manion. “We originally landed on this term called ‘cat-rock.’ To me, what that symbolizes is sad rock that still allows itself to have fun.” He goes for a sound that is sad at its core, but won’t overwhelm the audience in a live setting. “When you listen to the lyrics of a song like ‘Sugarkane,’ you can dance to it, but it’s kind of devastating,” he said. “It’s like being attached to something that isn’t good for you, and you need to leave. Coming to terms with that.” 

While the groups tight sound appears to reflect lots of practice time and trial and error, stemming from what the boys described as a “democratic shared writing space,” the process was more complicated than that. Rotating band members, last ditch effort instrumental recording, and remote work as the only option made it difficult for the group to grow as a unit. “I don’t think we were ever, at once, all in the same room together working on a recording,” said Manion. Bush doubled down on that, saying, “I don’t think we ever recorded all the parts together just because of COVID limitations and not having a space that allowed for that.” 

Despite the groups struggle to, truly, ever record together, they have already been able to go on the road together and play shows. “Playing shows and touring has been a freeing experience,” said Bush. “It allowed us to play around with some of our different influences and different sounds we had in our pocket.” He described different vibes for different shows, such as a dive bar show that was more jam-based and another show where the songs were played more “true-to-form”. For Manion, there were more emotions attached to playing live. “Recording these songs was the hard part,” he said. “But after we could dive back in and play shows together, after showing people recordings of what we could do, it just felt like a weight off the shoulders. It felt like we were reunited.” 

The band name, yarn., yes, with the period, was decided upon to differentiate themselves from another band (two, actually), called, simply, Yarn, with no period. The technical pronunciation is, in fact, yarn dot. A simple name, but one with meaning. “Yarn is something that connects people,” said Manion. “It connects things. Yarn on its own isn’t strong, but when woven together can create things that people love.” They even hide strings of yarn around venues they play at as a form of sentimental value.

yarn. has drawn the ire of the indie music community, receiving press from blogs like Wolf in a Suit and American Pancake. For Bush, those small doses of recognition have been critical in his understanding that he is on the right path. “For me, it was a wakeup call,” he said. “This is a real thing now. This is no longer just something I do for fun; this is part of my identity. This is part of the thing I love to do, and something that I’m really passionate about and willing to put real concerted effort, time, tears, and blood into.” 

The boys agreed on the desire to play shows down south, in cities like St. Petersburg, FL and New Orleans, LA, but they also expressed the need to have a much-needed discussion with the other members.

“We like to have these real conversations at pivotal moments so that we’re all on the same page,” said Manion. “When you aren’t on the same page and people have different expectations, that’s when feelings can get hurt.” Whatever they decide, yarn., is a group of disciplined, talented, and respectful young musicians that have, in just a short time, cemented their place within the indie community. There is, seemingly, nothing stopping them from only continuing to climb the ladder. 

You can check out their debut EP, I Said Goodbye and Then…., below, and you can catch them at New York’s Delancey on February 5th, at St. Lawrence University’s (NY) Java Burn on January 27th, and at the Monkey House in Burlington, VT on February 17th.