They say kids are resilient. But the Ballroom Thieves’ Calin Peters isn’t so sure. “They’re adaptable, but it’s not the same as being resilient,” she says. “The things we tell our kids about themselves become their reality when they grow up.”
With a spare and soothing touch, “Casual” addresses Peters’ own emotional wounds—pain that was “passed down” to her. “In this song, I was starting to look into something I was told about myself during my childhood that was making life difficult to enjoy,” she says. “One song can’t completely heal a person, but somehow these 16 lines helped me see a new path—and I hope it brings some hope to someone else who’s undoing emotional damage.”
In 2010, guitarist Martin Earley laid the foundation for the Ballroom Thieves with drummer Devin Mauch while the two were still in school at Stonehill College, about 20 miles south of Boston. Peters, a Berklee College of Music grad, joined three years later, taking over for recently departed cellist Rachel Gawell. The trio signed to Nettwerk in 2018 after five hard years on the road building grassroots support for their emotionally charged, thoughtfully arranged indie folk. Mauch left the band in 2020. By then, Earley and Peters were about to be married and fully equipped to carry on as a duo.
Sundust, the Ballroom Thieves’ third album for Nettwerk, is set for release on April 12. The duo recorded it at their home studio in Maine with co-producer Dan Cardinal (Darlingside, Josh Ritter) and drummer Cody Iwasiuk. That cozy domestic setting contributes to a sound that’s the aural equivalent of a warm embrace. It’s also in keeping with Sundust’s overall theme. According to Peters, the album is an ode to tenderness that delves into “our intertwined lives.”
One would assume Peters is referring to the collective “our.” Either way, we’re proud to premiere the new video for the Ballroom Thieves’ “Casual.”
—Hobart Rowland
