Ones2Watch Home

Day We Ran are ready to go on their Rock & Roll American Odyssey. Across the six tracks that make up their debut EP, Naked At Your Door, the Australian trio channel the wide-open spirit of classic guitar bands while carving out a sound that feels both fresh and familiar. Built on driving guitars, soaring harmonies, and melodies destined for golden hour drives with the windows down, the record nods to influences like Oasis, The War on Drugs, and the great harmony-driven bands that came before them without ever feeling nostalgic for nostalgia's sake. Instead, Day We Ran sound like a band stepping confidently into the future, proving that rock & roll still has plenty of roads left to travel.

Ahead of the EP's release, OnesToWatch caught up with brothers Michael, Matthew, and Daniel Lough to talk about the natural chemistry that can only be found amongst siblings, the landscapes and films that shape the band's cinematic vision, and why their first trip to America already feels strangely familiar. With festival stops at Lollapalooza and Outside Lands on the horizon and a debut release that announces them as one of Australia's most exciting new guitar bands, Day We Ran are only just getting started.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OnesToWatch: Your debut EP, Naked At Your Door is out today. It feels like you're at that point in your career where you're really growing into the rock band you were always meant to be. You guys must be incredibly excited.

Daniel: We're stoked. It's an exciting time because this is our first proper collection of songs that we're releasing together.

Michael: It's cool to finally put out a body of work—a mini album—and be able to show all the different sides of who we are as a band. It gives us a chance to show people where we want to go in the future.

That's what I love about it. Anybody who likes a great rock band is going to find something here. I love Oasis, and I hear that influence on this record. On "Carolina," I hear some War on Drugs. It's exciting to hear guitar music so front and center again. It feels like people are craving it, so it has to be exciting to be that rock band for a new audience.

Matthew: For sure. We all started out as songwriters, and we've always loved really well-written songs. The guitar-driven rock sound came a little later. Our priority has always been writing a song that works on an acoustic guitar first, and then building it into something bigger with electric guitars, drums, and everything else.

What really stands out is how bright and shimmering these songs sound. When I hear this EP, I picture driving with the windows down on a beautiful day. I love music that immediately evokes a place or a feeling, and this record absolutely does that.

Daniel: That's exactly what we're chasing. The dream is to play at sunset, as the day moves into night. That's how we see Day We Ran—that transitional moment. It's warm, but it can become moodier as it progresses. We wanted this EP to capture that balance between the upbeat, fun moments and the more reflective ones.

Michael: It's interesting that you mention being outdoors because so much of our visual identity is inspired by nature. We spend a lot of time outside, and I think the people who connect with our music often connect with that feeling too. There's a really beautiful relationship between the outdoors and the music itself.

Matthew: We've always been fascinated by the visual side of music. Natural light is really important to us, and sunset is when everything looks cinematic. We've intentionally built our visuals around that time of day because it feels like it naturally complements the music.

I love that, because even the second track is called "Seeing Color." It's such a visual title, and once you hear the music, it makes perfect sense. Michael, you mentioned that relationship between the music and nature, and it also makes me think about the fact that the three of you are brothers. Some of my favorite bands—The Beach Boys, Van Halen, The Kinks—are built around siblings. There's something unique about that creative partnership. Sometimes you can just hear it. Your harmonies and the way your songs come together feel incredibly natural and organic. Talk to me a little bit about that.

Michael: Thanks—that means a lot. We've grown up singing together, so we instinctively understand each other's voices. We all have our own individual sound, but we know how to blend them together. One of us might start writing a song, and another one instinctively knows how to finish the chorus.

More than that, though, we know each other's stories. We know each other's heartbreaks, relationships, and everything we've been through. When we're writing or jamming together, we already understand what the other person is feeling. I think that naturally comes across in the songs and in our live performances. That's why brother bands—and sister bands too—often connect with people on such a deep level.

You guys are kicking off your U.S. tour on the 24th in Washington, D.C. Have any of you spent much time in America before?

Daniel: This will be Matt's and my first time. Michael has been before, but none of us have ever played shows there, so we're incredibly excited. We've always pictured Day We Ran living somewhere in that Americana world—California, the desert, the Midwest. We grew up on American music. Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, War on Drugs—those artists have had a huge influence on us.

I talk to a lot of artists from Australia, and it feels like there are so many incredible bands coming out of the country right now. I love Grace Cummings, Girl and Girl, and so many others. It's interesting hearing the way Australia views America because, geographically, there are a lot of similarities between the two countries. I wonder if you see yourselves reflected in some of that American mythology you mentioned—the Midwest, California, the open road. Does that connection come naturally?

Michael: I think it does. There's something about the vastness of America—the deserts, the open landscapes—that reminds us of Australia. They're both expansive countries that inspire dreaming. There's a sense of optimism and hope, and this idea that there's always another road to take.

That open-road mentality really resonates with us. We love bands like the Eagles, and there's something about the journey they capture that connects with how we think about our own music.

Exactly. It's why people all over the world are drawn to Westerns. Australian Westerns have that same appeal. Even though there are obvious differences between our countries, they share that sense of adventure and mythmaking.

It reminds me of records like U2’s The Joshua Tree, where artists become fascinated with those landscapes and that feeling of possibility. I hear a lot of that spirit on this EP.

Daniel: Thank you. A lot of that also comes from film, not just music. We've always loved the way Terrence Malick shoots in natural light during that golden hour at sunset. That's been a huge influence on us visually, and we've grown up watching films that have that same feeling.

What are some of your favorite films that capture that kind of cinematic landscape?

Daniel: There are so many. Harmony Korine's Kids and Gummo have that really raw quality.

Michael: Very raw and real.

Daniel: Then you've got classics like Easy Rider.

Michael: Easy Rider is a huge one. Growing up, we also watched Dazed and Confused. Richard Linklater has been a big influence.

We also loved an old '70s version of Tom Sawyer. For some reason, we really connected with that vision of the American South—the innocence, the sense of boyhood, and the hopefulness. I think that's all found its way into the mythology of our own band.

That's another one of those uniquely American stories that people around the world seem to connect with.

Looking ahead, your U.S. tour starts next week, and you're also playing some incredible festivals. You're coming to America for the first time and immediately playing Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, in addition to Reading & Leeds in the UK. That's got to be surreal.

Daniel: We're incredibly grateful. We have to thank our booking agents for believing in us and helping make all of this happen.

Michael: Absolutely. Those festivals have always felt almost mythical to us. I'd never even met anyone who'd been to them growing up, so the idea that we're actually going to be there is hard to believe.

Outside Lands is one we've watched for years, and the same goes for Lollapalooza. We've spent so much time watching performances from those festivals, so just being part of them feels surreal.

Daniel: Even just being there while it's happening will be amazing.

Matthew: Getting to see all the other bands and artists is going to be such a cool experience.

You'll also get to experience how different those festivals feel. Chicago can be incredibly hot and humid, while Outside Lands in San Francisco can be overcast and foggy. They have completely different atmospheres, which is part of what makes them so much fun.

Daniel: I remember watching Ethel Cain's set at Outside Lands and seeing all the pine trees in the background. I loved that setting.

Is there anything in particular you're looking forward to experiencing in America for the first time?

Matthew: Honestly, just the road trip itself—driving across the country, stopping at diners, grabbing coffee, experiencing all of that.

Daniel: The classic American experience.

Matthew: We're hoping to stay in some cool roadside motels, too. We'd love to document the whole journey as we go.

Daniel: Just being out on the road is going to be fun.

Michael: And meeting people. I'm really excited to meet Americans and experience the country through the people we meet.

That's one of the best parts of touring here. America is such a huge country with so many different cultures and landscapes. Even as someone who lives here, I haven't seen all of it yet. Traveling, stopping at diners, meeting people—that's where the real experience comes from.

I imagine all of that will end up inspiring new songs, too. It's always fun watching bands go through that process of taking new experiences and turning them into music.

Daniel: We've found that's exactly what happens. After almost every tour, we come home with so much to write about. That's usually when we write some of our best songs because we're excited to get back into the studio.

Who are some of your own OnesToWatch? Who should people be listening to?

Matthew: A really cool band called Still Blank. They're opening for us.

I’ve interviewed them. They're incredibly cool.

Matthew: We're really excited to have them with us. They're a band we genuinely admire, so it doesn't even feel like a typical support slot—it just feels like getting to tour with friends whose music we love. They're joining us for the UK tour, so it'll be great to spend time together.

Give me one or two more artists people should know about.

Matthew: There's a great band from Dunedin, New Zealand called The Beatniks. They're a fantastic rock and roll band. They grew up around the surf coast, and they're making really exciting music.

Michael: They're a little punky, a little rocky. They're all really into filmmaking and surf films, too, so they're incredibly creative. Dunedin is such an amazing city for artists.

Another band I love is No Cigar. I don't know if you've heard them, but they're incredible live and they're fantastic songwriters. They've toured Australia a bit, but I think they're still very much an up-and-coming band. Great melodies, great lyrics, and a really strong artistic vision.