sundots to Release Debut Full-Band Album ON THE QUAY, Share New Single
The Connecticut indie rock band also announces a UK/EU tour with Lots of Hands and US dates with Rehash.
Connecticut indie rock band sundots has announced ON THE QUAY, their debut full-length album recorded as a five-piece, set for release on November 6. The band also shared the album's lead single, 'Grassy Lawn,' a shoegaze-inflected track inspired by a story from Ian McEwan's First Love, Last Rites. ON THE QUAY was produced, engineered, and mixed by Kevin S. McMahon, known for his work with Real Estate, Widowspeak, and Swans, and draws from a writing and recording session the band held at a Vermont Airbnb in late 2025. The album's release will be accompanied by a fall UK and European tour with Lots of Hands, including appearances at Pitchfork Fest in London and Paris, as well as US dates with Rehash this October.
Photo Credit: sundots by Eve Alpert
Much of ON THE QUAY came together during a marathon weekend of creative kismet in a secluded Vermont Airbnb at the end of 2025, where the band retreated with one goal: to write and demo as much music as possible. Removed from distractions and immersed in the mountains, the five-piece emerged with the foundation for the record before enlisting Kevin S. McMahon (Real Estate, Widowspeak, Swans) to produce, engineer, and mix all twelve songs. Working closely with the band, McMahon helped translate the immediacy and chemistry of sundots' live performances into a record that feels both spacious and deeply lived-in, preserving the spontaneity that has become central to the band's identity.
To coincide with the announcement, sundots shared 'Grassy Lawn,' the album's lead single. Cloaked in dusky guitars and hazy tones that verge on pure shoegaze, the track was inspired by a story from Ian McEwan's First Love, Last Rites, centered on a doomed summer romance. 'After many years of ignoring its existence, I brought it back to the band, and we reimagined it together. We added more structure and movement to it, giving it new life through the lyrics,' says Collins. He adds, 'The track tells the tale of someone's retrospective thoughts on a past summer romance that has lost its spark and is slowly, inevitably falling through their hands. It's about something that's too perfect and precious to hold on to forever, told from the point of view of being in the deterioration stage. The song is really mourning that loss as it's happening in real time.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Alongside the news, sundots announced an extensive fall tour beginning this October with a run of East Coast dates supporting Rehash, followed by a co-headline tour in the UK and Europe with Lots of Hands, including performances at Pitchfork Music Festival London and Paris. Tickets are on sale now.
sundots is vocalist and guitarist Drew Collins, guitarist Jake Fucci, bassist Austin Traver, guitar and synth player Teo Hernandez, and drummer Nick Restivo.
Tour Dates:
^w/ Rehash, *Co-headline w/ Lots of Hands
October 15 – Baltimore, MD^
October 16 – Asbury Park, NJ^
October 19 – Lowell, MA^
October 23 – Allentown, PA^
November 3 – Utrecht, Netherlands*
November 5 – Pitchfork Paris Festival
November 6 – Brighton, UK*
November 7 – Pitchfork London Festival
November 9 – Hebden Bridge, UK*
November 10 – Leeds, UK*
November 11 – Glasgow, UK*
November 12 – Newcastle, UK*
November 13 – Manchester, UK*
November 14 – Dublin, Ireland (sundots headline show)
November 16 – Liverpool, UK*
November 17 – Birmingham, UK*
November 18 – Bristol, UK*
On the Quay Tracklisting
1. Birthday Song
2. Grassy Lawn
3. Moon, Moon
4. Getting Away
5. Idols
6. Distraction
7. Hazard
8. Someone Else's Song
9. By The Water
10. Unfolded
11. This Life
12. Kgkgkg
Photo Credit: sundots by Eve Alpert
