A Glimpse of New Horizons with Sea Wolf’s Alex Brown Church

Interview by Allie LaRoe

Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf photo by Scott J. Leahy

The night I saw Alex Brown Church play for the first time, it was unusually clear for September. I remember stumbling over curbs while gazing up at an almost full moon. I assumed I was headed to a polished and polite singer-songwriter set, but I got more than I bargained for…

A Timeline of Sea Wolf’s Releases

In the early 2000s, Church’s musical project, Sea Wolf, was founded. It features Lisa Fendelander on keys, Joey Ficken on drums, and Scott Leahy on guitar. The band burst into public consciousness in 2007, first with the EP Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low, and later with the LP Leaves In The River.

Two things stand out to me about those initial releases.

First, Church’s early songs resonate with a guileless enthusiasm that was out of sync with the cultural attitude of the time. I was a music major. When we were asked what motivated us to make music, 80% of my classmates responded with “getting laid.” In the era of indie sleaze, giving a shit was considered quaint. This, along with a later contribution to the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, likely impacted the band’s reception.

Secondly, while Seawolf’s sound continues to evolve, Church already had a clear sense of the direction he wanted to go.

The debut single, “You’re a Wolf,” can be interpreted as the first chapter of an evolving fairy tale. It tells a story about trusting the flow of a primordial current, even when the result is exile.

Twilight, New Moon’s “Violet Hour” and 2009’s White Water, White Bloom are lyrically lush, resplendent with nature-rich sensuality that would make any 19th-century poet proud. In 2012, Church assumed the role of producer for the clear-sighted and poignant Old World Romance. In 2014, the primarily acoustic Song Spells, No.1: Cedarsmoke was crowdfunded and released exclusively to streaming platforms.

Then, after years of creative flurry, there was a pause. Life happened. A major relationship ended, and an album was scrapped.

It was nearly six years before Through A Dark Wood was released in March 2020. If Old World Romance marks the beginning of Church’s creative sovereignty, Through A Dark Wood (and the 2021 deluxe editions) represent its mastery. As the world descended into a tense pause, Church re-emerged just in time. Wisened, maybe scarred, but having earned the reverence offered to those who can transmute struggle into something beautiful.

This last album finally brought Sea Wolf back to my attention. I was struggling with acute burnout and a forced career change, and I played “Fear of Failure” on a near-constant loop.

Sometimes, when a song means that much, it can feel like seeing it “in the flesh” might rob it of some magic. I had left the ticket for the live show in my cart for weeks before finally pressing purchase. As I stood alone, peering around a vanguard pulled to the front by shorter partners, I started to second-guess my decision.

“You’re a Wolf, Boy, Get out of this town”

Wolves in folktales often represent the animal passions we pretend to have evolved beyond. The archetypal wolf revolts against the constraints of conformity, reminding us of the disconcerting truth—that under it all, we are still and forever wild.

With each new album and every chapter in the tale, Alex Brown Church’s music defies the confines of convention and embraces the depths of his own creative tides. I remember thinking, “I get it now, how this man might be called a wolf,” as he took the stage with a quiet yet fierce intensity.

The crowd hushed, attentive. A voice filled the air with forgotten words to my right. Couples made eye contact and shared private smiles. Two decades of practiced disinterest lifted as I watched, enthralled. By 11, I was skipping back to the moon, feeling tender and clutching a signed record.

Now, the LA songwriter has a new album in the works and a fresh lineup of solo performances scheduled for May and June. Amid a demanding schedule, Church was gracious enough to answer some of our questions about creative identity, juggling vulnerability with personal boundaries, and finding beauty in uncertain times.

A Conversation with Alex Brown Church

Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf photo by Scott J. Leahy

Allie: I thought I would start by asking how you view yourself as an artist and if that has changed or evolved since your first release? What do you bring to the music now that you couldn’t have before?

Alex: I suppose I think of myself as a kind of writer/director. Mainly of songs and albums, but if I had my druthers (and there were more hours in the day) it would also be films and videos. I’m not a technically minded person. I’ve never sat down and practiced scales, and half the time it would take me a minute to tell you whatever chord I’m playing. I’m not a gearhead, though I am particular about sounds and have developed a better ear for that. My interest really has always been more big picture. I like all the big-picture things involved with doing music: songwriting and producing and art directing and performing. Music and Film are really my two main passions, and I came out of film school wanting to do both but unsure of which one to prioritize. So I tried both, and music was a stronger pull in the end so I went in that direction. Though film has never left me.

I think I was pretty aware of what I was interested in and not interested in from the beginning. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about songwriting, performing, producing, art directing, being a boss, and running what amounts to a small business, on top of just learning how to be an artist and honing my taste and point of view.

I actually think I’d be a better filmmaker now if I were to ever dip my toes in those waters.

Allie: There is a timelessness to your music, possibly because of your willingness to share something true from your experience. And at the same time, you don’t come off as someone who loves a lot of attention. Do you struggle with how much to share and what to share? Beyond quality, do you ever hold songs back or re-write them because it feels like they reveal too much?

Alex: I’m fine with the attention, but I don’t desire it, if that makes sense.

I have a hard time with social media because if I wasn’t in a band, I for sure wouldn’t be on there at all. No need for likes and I’d be embarrassed to put anything personal up there. That part, putting yourself out there on it, I don’t really get to be honest.

But that being said, I do desire attention in the sense that it’s a necessary component to having a successful music career.

So for the songs, I use my personal experience often because that’s the well I have to draw from, not because I want or need to reveal myself for attention’s sake.

I am a contemplative person and an observer. I love to reflect and make sense of things. Lyric writing is always like seeing what’s going on with me or what I’ve been thinking about or interested in lately. Scratching around in the recesses of my mind.

A lot of times it’s me making sense of some interpersonal relationship or new experience. And sometimes it’s a cathartic experience and sometimes it’s not - it just depends on what’s occupying my mind on a given day.

And to answer your question: yes, I definitely have held back lyrics or whole songs because they’ve felt like revealing too much. Often I also just felt they weren’t as good, somehow. At least to my taste.

Allie: What qualities do you value in music (and other art forms) and how do those values impact your working style? Are there ways you’ve had to accept that how you work or the creations that feel authentic to you diverge from the way you would like to work or sound?

Alex: I think a turning point early on, before the first album, was when I realized that even though I wanted to sound like John Lennon or Liam Gallagher I never could. The actual physicality of my vocal cords and facial structure etc would never allow it. So I had to find a way to work with what I had. And that concept pretty much applies to the songs I write, the recordings I make, the artwork, videos etc.

You work with what you have and make things as best as they can be with that. You might not achieve what you desire, but you can still like what you achieve. And I think I tend to like when I recognize or hear when other artists, filmmakers, musicians or whatever approach things the same way. I relate to that the most.

Allie: Each album has a unique sound, but instead of a full reinvention, each new release feels like an invitation into a deeper experience of reoccurring themes. What is your process for bringing new perspectives into your songs? What role does your own evolution as a person play in this process?

Alex: That’s interesting. I suppose there are common themes across the albums.

One I keep noticing is this feeling of coming out of a dark place and into a light place. Like a sense of digging in during tough times, knowing that you’ll get through it. But I think those are usually the songs that were cathartic for me in some way. Me kind of encouraging myself. From “Winter Windows” on Leaves in the River to “Blood Pact” on Through A Dark Wood.

I don’t actively try to re-do or avoid things I’ve done before, it’s more that I try and find whatever is interesting or exciting me at the time I’m writing and recording.

That’s really it.

Usually, it’s something entirely new, or a new angle on an old thing. It’s turned out that I don’t actually want to do the same thing over and over. I think because that’s just really boring to me.

And for sure, my own evolution as a person is a part of that. Through A Dark Wood was the break-up album. It was a painful, raw time, and the songs have a direct, heart-on-the-sleeve-ness to them. More than usual. Practically that whole album was cathartic, and I needed it to be that way because that’s honestly all I could do at the time.

But thankfully now I’m well past that period and far more interested in things outside of me, so with the new album (not yet announced) I’m just having fun and exploring new worlds again.

Allie: On that topic, the deluxe release of Through A Dark Wood felt a little like clearing the deck—leaving the future (and this next album) open to all sorts of new possibilities. What themes or images have you brought with you into this project? What is new, and what have you left in the past (for now)?

Alex: Yes, clearing the deck I think is apt.

I don’t want to say too much about the new album because I haven’t even announced it yet, but I will say it’s a lot more escapist in a way. It’s dark and fun and tongue in cheek all at the same time. It’s not cathartic, but it’s personal in that it suits my taste and current interests.

Allie: Your music is often visceral and filled with these almost tangible scenes - if you were to compile a lookbook for this upcoming album, what colors, textures, and photos would you include?

Alex: Like most of the albums, there’s a strong sense of place to the songs, though it’s not really places we’ve been to before in Sea Wolf songs. But again, I don’t want to say too much too soon.

Allie: You have some live shows coming up in May and June. It’s obvious you bring a lot of yourself to the stage and into each song. How do you prepare for your performances? How is it different when you’re with a band instead of by yourself?

Alex: Preparing for performances nowadays is mainly just practicing and spending a lot of time on the set list to make sure that it flows in an engaging way.

There’s also the emotional part of playing shows, especially by myself, where people are gonna see whatever mood I’m in that day. I’m not good at faking or pretending to be in a different kind of mood than I actually am. I’ve had to learn to just use whatever emotions I’m feeling, good or bad or neutral, to the show’s advantage by putting them into the performance.

I’ve gotten better at reading the room too, and knowing when to inject some juice into the performance or when to take it down a notch. That’s just come with doing a lot of solo shows and trying stuff.

Playing with the band, which is to me, the real Sea Wolf, is a lot more complicated and it’s just a bigger machine. So there’s a nice simplicity to doing the solo shows and something I’ve come to love about them is how direct and intimate the connection is with the audience. With the band, I’m always a little bit enveloped in the rest of the band and the wall of sound and can kind of disappear into the safety of our gang on stage. But with the solo shows, I don’t have anybody on stage with me, so I have no choice but to make friends with the audience and bring them into the fold.

Allie: Are there any live shows that you can think of that had a lasting impact on you? Did they change the way you performed or thought about performing?

Alex: Yes, seeing Radiohead on their In Rainbows tour and then touring with the French band Phoenix were both pretty impactful for me in the early Sea Wolf days. They both just kind of showed a level of excellence that was possible in a live setting. I haven’t had the budget or resources that they do so haven’t had the opportunity to put on those kinds of shows, but I would love to someday. Even so, the attention to detail has stuck with me.

Things are very politically and socially intense right now, and this isn’t the first time your music has come out during a period of upheaval. Your first album came out in 2007, which means you were promoting it through a recession.

Then, of course, Through A Dark Wood came out right at the beginning of the pandemic and you had to shift your performances online.

And now we have the global rise of fascism and all of the anxiety and madness that comes with that.

How did those experiences in the past kind of prepare you for this moment? What do you hope your music provides for people not only in the present, but in whatever comes next?

Alex: Those experiences have underlined for me that it’s not worth anybody’s time to worry about things that are out of their control. So, at this moment, I’m just trying to take the stoic approach and just do that. It doesn’t mean I’m not doing what I can, and that other people shouldn’t as well, it just means I’m not obsessing over things that I absolutely can’t do anything about.

As far as the music goes, I love the feeling of discovering a new album, or artwork, or film or whatever that you are really excited about, and the inspiration and enrichment of your own life because of it. The kind of light that it can bring to your life for a little while. So I want to make music, and videos, and artwork etc. that makes me feel that way, and my hope is that the things I make will pass on that torch and light some other people up in that same way too. That’s always the goal.

Allie: And finally - what artists/musicians/creators do you put on/pick up when you’re looking for a reminder of the good humanity is capable of?

Alex: The Beatles are my number one, always and forever.

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You can catch Sea Wolf solo performances in Boston, New York, D.C., Denver, Chicago, and St. Paul. Get more details and tickets here. Follow Sea Wolf on Instagram, Facebook, or the app formerly known as Twitter and check out the website for updates on the next release and future performances.