SANTA CRUZ, CA — Veterans of the late ’90s and early 2000s emo and indie-rock scene Time Spent Driving have released their fourth full-length album, Lost Leaves, out now via Thirty Something Records. The album’s focus track, “The Red Dress,” features guest vocals from Chris Wicky of Swiss indie-rock band Favez and revisits an unfinished song that frontman Jon Cattivera first began writing nearly two decades ago. Stream “The Red Dress” here: https://open.spotify.com/track/5QbJAIMp2vGQoMFzJ3vUU7 Stream and order Lost Leaves here: https://found.ee/tsd_lost_leaves Vinyl is available in two limited editions: - Orange Mix (100 copies) — Thirty Something Records/Band Exclusive
- Translucent Red with Black Marble (200 copies)
Originally conceived around 2008, “The Red Dress” was rediscovered and substantially rewritten while Cattivera was working on Lost Leaves. Although a few pieces of the original idea remain, the finished song took on an entirely new life during the album’s especially productive writing sessions. “This was originally written around 2008, if I remember correctly, but it was never finished or used for anything,” says Cattivera. “It had a lot of potential, so when I was on a roll writing the album, I decided to crack it back open and see what I could do. I basically rewrote most of it and kept the good parts, so it really feels like a brand-new song. We’re really happy with where we landed.” The song’s emotional premise was inspired by a night Cattivera and his wife spent in Seattle after unsuccessfully trying to get into a sold-out performance by Chad Price and Rocky Votolato. “My wife and I have spent a lot of time in Seattle over the years, and we tried to see Chad Price and Rocky Votolato at a club up there, but the show was sold out, so we watched a little from outside,” Cattivera recalls. “She was a little edgy that day for whatever reason, and as we were walking back, I came up with the concept that I had somehow been shot during the walk. It would have been a terrible time to die and lose someone after everything we had been through together.” “The Red Dress” also reconnects Time Spent Driving with an old friend from the band’s years on the road. “It features guest vocals from Chris Wicky of Favez, who we toured with in both Germany and the U.S.,” Cattivera adds. “I was stoked to bring him out of retirement and get some of his chops involved.” “The Red Dress” joins the previously released singles “Weak Arm,” “December” and “She’s the One,” each revealing a different side of an album that balances emotional reflection with renewed urgency and melodic drive. Time Spent Driving’s fourth full-length captures a band operating with fresh momentum and creative purpose. Rooted in the emotionally direct songwriting that has defined the group since its earliest days, Lost Leaves pushes their sound forward with sharper arrangements, stronger melodies and some of their most confident work to date. Much of the album was written before the band’s previous record had even been released. The bulk of the material emerged during an especially prolific period between October 2022 and January 2023 before being refined collaboratively by the full band. “I spent far too many of my years leading up to this record in a dark place, and when I finally came out of it, I felt like I had a new lease on life,” says Cattivera. “After building a small home studio, I found myself more creative, inspired and focused than ever before. Writing the majority of this album felt effortless, and I found myself editing things down more than trying to fill in the blanks. We also did a lot more file sharing this time around, so it became a much more collaborative process than in the past.” Produced by Olav Tabatabai and Jon Cattivera, Lost Leaves was recorded at Compound Recordings in Santa Cruz, California, with additional recording completed at Cattivera’s Breathing Trees home studio in Boulder Creek. Tabatabai also engineered and mixed the album, while Dan Coutant mastered the record at Sun Room Audio. Along with Wicky’s appearance on “The Red Dress,” Lost Leaves features guest contributions from Marc Allen (Counterfit, Helen Earth Band, Finch), Casey Linstrom (Fighting Jacks), Pete Johnson (Cutlass Supreme), Amanda Cattivera, Dain Griffin (Merit) and keyboardist Paul Nolan. Formed in Santa Cruz in 1998, Time Spent Driving helped define a pivotal era of emo and indie rock through emotionally charged songwriting, dynamic live performances and relentless touring throughout North America and Europe. The band’s catalog includes Walls Between Us, the J. Robbins-produced Just Enough Bright, I’m Your Stab in the Back, Passed & Presence and 2023’s Estrangers. Their music has been released through Sessions, Doghouse, Deep Elm, Rise, Cardigan, Negative Progression and other respected independent labels, while the band’s songs also appeared in the Xbox games Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding and Amped 2. More than 25 years after forming, Time Spent Driving begin another chapter with Lost Leaves. The band will return to the stage later this year to perform its new material live. TIME SPENT DRIVING IS: Jon Cattivera — Vocals, Guitar, Keys
Derek Pabich — Guitar
Steven Borella — Bass
Kem Gallione — Drums LOST LEAVES ALBUM CREDITS: Produced by Olav Tabatabai and Jon Cattivera
Engineered and mixed by Olav Tabatabai / Noise Eater
Mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio
Recorded at Compound Recordings, Santa Cruz, CA
Additional recording at Breathing Trees, Boulder Creek, CA
Album artwork and layout by Jon Cattivera at Sleepless Media
Photography by Rob Cattivera More Info:
timespentdriving.com
thirtysomethingrecords.com | 
