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Brooklyn’s Endearments are pressing rewind and bringing their 80s synth vibe mixed with early 2000s rock but placing their own mark on their sound and it’s a refreshing dream pop bedroom escape. 

The trio is vocalist/bassist Kevin Marksson, guitarist Anjali Nair, and drummer Will Haywood Smith. Together they are recreating that Cure meets Smiths tone from the late 80s. 

The band just finished playing South By Southwest to the Austin crowd at Hotel Vegas. We talked to Marksson and Nair about their lush new indie album An Always Open Door, what inspired the new project, and their music being pegged as an 80s soundtrack John Hughes movie.

Your music is a soundtrack to the 80s. Thoughts?

Kevin Marksson: I think I feel that the last record we did It Can Be Like This had more of that John Hughes movie soundtrack thing. The playlist changed for the new record An Always Open Door to the early rock from the early 00s—from Jimmy Eat World to Silversun Pickups. We retain that sense of 80s tone with the synthesizers and love the early mix of the early 2000s rock and the 80s dream pop. 

Anjali Nair: Everyone always says that. I wasn’t into 80s music growing up. I think of the 80s hair metal bands from the 80s from that era. Kevin introduced me to the post punk dream pop thing that introduced me to The Smiths and The Cure. 

How’d the band get together?

KM: I played with our drummer Will in a band in the pre pandemic 2016-2018. Anjali played guitar in a band around 2019. Everyone was stuck in doors during that time, and I wanted to do a solo project. I called Anjali and Will and asked them if they wanted to play on these tunes or contribute to the music I was making. We were way more digital on this album versus the first project which was analogue. 

AN: In 2021, we were more of a band. I think we got a bit more exploratory with this new album. We created a lot of guitar orchestra moments with Abe, our producer. 

Any stories with producer Abe Seiferth from the studio during recording sessions for the new album?

AN: I think Abe was fun to work with. The first time we recorded with him he was more philosophical. He said I just wanted to create an environment where people are hanging out and playing music in a bedroom together. He does such a great job of that. Engineers have to get a great performance out of you and listen carefully to the details. He strikes the balance of all those things.

He helped create the genre. He worked with Nation of Language and Car Seat Headrest.

KM: I really love Nation of Language’s music. He produced a few records before then and made a record with a band called Fair Visions. I remember hearing that record and I thought it was incredible. I think what’s nice about our new album is that we cultivated a working relationship with Abe where we have become creative together. It felt like a culmination from over the years that we built something sonically in unison. He’s an incredible musician and artist himself and it was a family affair. 

You guys just finished playing SXSW. What was that experience like?

KM: It was fun. We cooked under the sun for a couple of showcases. We hung out with a lot of bands that we wouldn’t hang with otherwise. There’s so much fascinating stuff that happens on the east side, but we played Hotel Vegas and it was a great way to open the festival for us. 

AN: It was my first time at South By Southwest. I was excited and nervous at first, but the shows were chill. Everyone was extremely friendly. We met someone who owned a couple of restaurants and said to come by our restaurant. We ended up going and it was a fancy Italian farm to table, and it was amazing. 

How does the band feel now that An Always Open Door is out? What is the meaning behind the title of the album?

KM: I personally feel some relief. There’s so much to the buildup to the release of the album and it’s stressful. There’s so much work that goes unseen before the release of the album. Our radio and publicity people work very hard. I am glad people are responding to it. 

AN: We recorded the album in November 2024. I was waiting patiently for it to come out. Kevin is very strategic and intentional of how the music came out. 

KM: We were lucky with Trash Casual, the label we worked with, was amazing. No one has really asked what the meaning is behind the title of the album. The cover of the record reflects someone’s eye. The eye is always an open door. It’s a reflective album. I wanted to think of a reflective title, so that was the idea behind the title. 

What are some of the themes behind this album?

KM: The lyrics are all me. This record is about splitting with my last wife and the long-term relationship and how it broke down and how my new relationship began. “Real Deal” and “Saline” are a bit more of a breakdown of something. A song like “Marianne” is the buildup of something. That is the focus of the record. It’s a very emotional and relationship-based album.

What does it mean to be in a DIY based band from Brooklyn? 

KM: We are all in so many bands. Endearments doesn’t feel quite as DIY because we have a label, but we are really plugged into the Brooklyn music scene. We spend a lot of time going to shows. Bands are in different stages of what their music wants to be. It’s always fun discovering new music all the time. 

AN: DIY is about community support, and we love going to shows and the community is very supportive. You meet a lot of cool people including photographers and videographers and other creatives. The fun part is finding those people and collaborating with them. I love that creative community is cool and that is what the DIY scene in Brooklyn is about. 

Listen to "An Always Open Door" below: