The latest single from indie rockers flipturn has it both ways: “Sunlight” is an alluring, catchy track that builds on the band’s successful sonic character. But it’s also a deeply personal song that explores issues from which many songwriters would shy away. “Sunlight” was released November 21.
The original flipturn trio of vocalist Dillon Basse, Tristan Duncan on guitar, and bassist Madeline Jarman came together in 2015 when all were high school seniors in Fernandina Beach, Florida. When it came time for college, the three remained close; both University of Florida in Gainesville and University of North Florida in Jacksonville are within a two-hour drive of their hometown. The band kept going; during their college years flipturn added Mitch Fountain on keyboards and drummer Devon VonBalson. That five-piece has remained constant ever since.
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The band began releasing singles in 2016; their debut album, Shadowglow was released two years ago. 2024 has seen the release of three flipturn singles: the hypnotic and synthy “Rodeo Clown,” “Juno,” and the brand-new “Sunlight.”
That latest single is built upon a very personal story. “It’s very inspired by my family,” Basse says, “and by the past few years of stuff that’s been going on.” Basse’s mom entered alcohol rehabilitation a year ago, and after a relapse, went back a second time. Friends of the band weren’t sure how to react when they first learned the band was writing a song about Basse’s family’s issues.
“People were like, ‘Are you sure you want to talk about this stuff?’” Basse says. But he didn’t see it as a major departure for the band. “It’s not like this is the first time I’m being vulnerable in a song,” he says with a chuckle. “In a weird way, I’m kind of vulnerable for a living.”
“Sunlight” addresses not only the central facts—his mom’s stint in rehab—but the reaction by friends. “Everyone’s been asking me honey / How are you gonna handle yourself / Looking at the family tree / It might be something that you’re dealt.” The song is forthright and honest, but it’s not a downer; as its title implies, “Sunlight” demonstrates a clear-eyed acceptance of the challenges, shot through with rays of optimism.
The song’s pairing of serious lyric and bright melody is something that comes naturally to Dillon Basse. His family has long been immersed in Celtic folk. “One of the funny things about traditional Irish music is that you can hear the most upbeat song, and it’ll be about a shipwreck,” he says with a laugh.
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While it may not have been part of the plan when writing the song, “Sunlight” may have—in its own modest way—helped make things a little better for Basse’s family. “My family has grown so much from dealing with this,” he says. “We’ve come out on the other side.” Basse’s mom has been sober for a year now. “She says that one thing that has kept her going through her sobriety is telling people about it,” Basse says.
The band has only very recently added “Sunlight” to its live set; Basse says that the group doesn’t even play it every night. And at the time of our conversation, flipturn is in the midst of a clutch of London dates, the band’s first time touring in the U.K. “I’ve always wanted to play in London,” says Basse. “But I didn’t think we’d be able to; I didn’t think this many people listened to us over here!”
Basse says that the venues and audiences in the U.K. take him back to flipturn’s early days, when the band had just started touring. “We were playing 200-300 cap[acity] venues,” he says. The success of the London dates has already got Basse and his band mates thinking about a return. “We’re going to try to come back next year and play some bigger venues,” he says.
For the band’s 2025 dates in the States, they’ll be playing venues 10 to 20 times the size of those early gigs; that success is the culmination of a decade working to build a following and craft meaningful music. But starting small was key to the band’s development, Basse says. “A huge reason we were able to grow [an audience] in the U.S. was because people got to see that intimate exchange of energy.”
That phrase applies not only to flipturn’s onstage demeanor, but to its creative methods during the songwriting phase. While Basse is the group’s primary lyricist, the whole group is involved in the process of creating and developing the songs.
To make their upcoming second album, Burnout Days—and its advance single, “Sunlight,”—the five members of flipturn ensconced themselves in a cabin situated in the wooded mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. “We wanted this album to feel a little different from Shadowglow,” Basse says. “So we decided, ‘Let’s put ourselves in a completely different terrain from Florida.”
While the backdrop for songwriting was somewhat pastoral, the songs that resulted from the writing sessions are decidedly modern. “This album has a lot more synth, more of an electronic feel,” Basse says. But beyond the sound, flipturn’s new music—“Sunlight” in particular—emphasizes personal themes, sharing them in a way designed to resonate with listeners who can identify with the universal nature of those topics.
And that’s right in line with Dillon Basse’s approach to songwriting. “I never want to be too specific,” Basse says. “I try to let listeners put themselves into the story.”
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