Indie rockers, The Cle Elum, have announced their debut album, "It's Ok If It Falls Apart," which will be released on Friday, August 16, 2024, through Winston Sounds. The album features guest vocals from Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Josh Caterer of The Smoking Popes. Fans of Guided By Voices, Sloan, and The Replacements will likely enjoy this new release.
For Sarah Sargent Pepper and Ian Lee, their indie rock band, The Cle Elum, has been a labor of love from the start. “The band was formed in the total wrong order,” Lee jokes, as they prepare to release their debut album, "It's Ok If It Falls Apart," on Friday, August 16, 2024, through Winston Sounds.
The couple, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, first met in 2011. Both started as drummers. Lee had played with many rock and punk bands, including Bad Oskar, Woolworthy, and Goodbye Satellite. Sargent Pepper had years of experience as a drummer and as a tour manager and merch expert.
Finding themselves “inseparable” and a “true force of nature team,” they started their company Affordable Tour Solutions. This business helps bands like Manchester Orchestra, Nada Surf, Son Volt, and many others with tour support.
Touring nonstop for ten years provided Sargent Pepper and Lee with endless inspiration for their music. “Part of our story is, ‘How much inspiration can you take?’" Sargent Pepper says. Their road experience, setting up safe environments for artists, also helped them as a band, especially when the pandemic hit and they had more time to focus on The Cle Elum.
“When making art, you have to be extremely sensitive to the input of the other person,” says Lee. This sensitivity was crucial when writing their songs. The album features Sargent Pepper on drums and Lee on vocals, guitars, and keys. It includes songs like the power pop anthem “Handclaps and Tambourines,” the catchy alt-rock tune “I Am A Robot,” and the thoughtful “Goodbye Night Sky.”
Their music style reflects their band name, taken from a town in eastern Washington. It honors the native Kittitas people and translates to “swift water,” which Sargent Pepper says fits the band's character.
“We think like punk rock people, but we might want to write a country song,” Lee adds. “We believe in the power of music to bring people together.” Their music brought their community together too, with Matthew Caws from Nada Surf singing on “I Am A Robot” and Josh Caterer from The Smoking Popes on “Goodbye Night Sky” and “Did I Get High.”
The album’s unifying theme is that coming together in music, life, and love is powerful. “The system is broken, people are not,” says Lee. “It’s okay if it falls apart because we can work together to fix it.”
The Cle Elum feels like a refreshing dive into the heart of indie rock.