VAN COUVER’s sophomore LP, Everything Will Work Out (Eventually), pulls 90s Brit-pop, early-2000s New York indie-rock, and post-punk tension into a record shaped by uncertainty, resilience, and hard-won optimism. In this interview, the band discuss how the album’s sound matured from their debut, how Interpol became part of their musical DNA without defining their identity, and how Everything You Were helped shape the record’s direction. They also reflect on writing through economic anxiety, social media distortion, fractured relationships, and the wider unease hanging over their generation. With autumn live dates planned across Switzerland and Italy, 2026 could be the year VAN COUVER grab a bigger slice of the cultural zeitgeist.
VAN COUVER, we’re stoked to have you here at A&R Factory to get to firmer grips with your sophomore LP, Everything Will Work Out (Eventually), which is set to make its way to the airwaves soon. Sparks fly between different cross-Atlantic facets of Indie nostalgia through the album; what inspired you to bridge the gap between 90s Brit-Pop and NYC-esque Y2K indie?
Our intention in making music has never been to bridge a gap between two musical genres or anything like that. Rather, I think it’s simply the natural result of the music we’ve always loved listening to, which now converges in our sound. You could say that this bridge between early-2000s New York indie rock and the British sound of the ’90s is something we only recognized in hindsight. And we liked it right from the start!
You make no bones about wearing the Interpol influence on your guitar strings, yet triumph in creating a uniquely anthemic sound. How hard is it to find a balance between paying ode to iconic influences and charting your way through your own territory?
To be honest, we’ve never tried either to pay tribute to anyone or to imitate them. In fact, we’ve never even said to ourselves, “Let’s write an Interpol-style song” or anything like that. We’ve simply made our own music in the most spontaneous way possible, without any effort to emulate someone else. What we do comes very naturally to us, almost as if someone had decided that this is the kind of music we were meant to make.
That said, we’re also convinced that the music we’ve fed on throughout our lives has undoubtedly shaped the way we understand and perceive music, even if only on a subconscious level. There’s a saying that goes, “You are what you eat.” Well, to answer your question, we’ve definitely eaten a lot of Interpol! Haha!
What was the highlight of bringing the album to life?
The most significant moment—or rather, the key turning point in the writing of the album—was the birth of Everything You Were. We started from an instrumental demo that, at least on the surface, seemed to move slightly away from what we had done before, particularly in terms of the guitar work.
Once we brought the demo into the rehearsal room, the vocal melody came almost naturally and fit perfectly on top of it. It immediately became one of the cornerstones of the album and, in a way, helped define the artistic direction of the songs that followed, such as Lost & Found, It’s On Me, and Wrong.
How has your sound matured since your debut album?
A lot—really, a lot—has changed since our debut album. Actually, rather than changed, I’d say our sound has evolved.
From a songwriting perspective, one of the biggest developments was our effort to improve the dynamics of the songs. We wanted to better understand the different moments within each track so that every section could deliver its full impact. You know, it’s relatively easy to come up with a good riff, a catchy melody, or a great bass-and-drums groove, but writing a great song is about much more than finding a good riff.
Beyond that, the guitars underwent a significant stylistic evolution. The general idea was to play with moments of contrast between the lead and rhythm guitars, as well as moments where the two would work in complete symbiosis and cohesion. This approach allowed us to create a greater sense of depth throughout the album and to develop interesting interactions with the other instruments, including the vocals. The result is a record that feels far more mature than our debut, both in terms of composition and arrangement. Most importantly, all of this growth and evolution has taken place without compromising our musical identity.
Last but certainly not least, there was also a major evolution in the sound design itself, something we worked on extensively. While the debut album had a more blended and, in some ways, more “raw” sound, this new record is more cohesive and solid. Every instrument has its own space, yet together they create a broad, unified sonic landscape. At the same time, we’ve preserved that energetic, bold indie-rock spirit that has always been at the heart of our music.
The LP explores a myriad of emotional themes, but what lies at the core of Everything Will Work Out (Eventually), and how important is it for you to inspire optimism through your music, or at least dispel some of the ennui, apathy and cynicism that’s floating around the collective psyche right now?
First of all, we want to make it clear that we are not life gurus. We simply make music. We tell stories—or whatever we feel like telling at a given moment. So we didn’t set out to write an album around a specific theme. The songs, including the lyrics, came together quite spontaneously. And in this case as well, it was only at the end that we realized a common thread had emerged.
In a way, Everything Will Work Out (Eventually) reflects the struggles of our generation: we grew up with high expectations for the future, only to go through economic crises, pandemics, wars, and a constant sense of uncertainty. There’s this feeling that some promises got lost along the way. However, the crisis is not only material—it is, above all, human. In a world where reality is increasingly distorted by social media, human relationships are especially affected, giving rise to toxic dynamics (both romantic and otherwise) and a broader sense of generational unease.
Despite this unsettling, almost dystopian backdrop, a way out is still possible through the attitude of those who choose to believe in it anyway, to keep going and stand firm through the storm. That attitude is what truly matters. In some way, the songs on the record all relate to this mindset, and they always preserve a glimpse of hope: everything will work out (eventually).
After Everything Will Work Out (Eventually) drops, what’s next for VAN COUVER?
Until now, we’ve been pretty focused on the release of the album. At the moment, we’re looking for passionate people who believe in what we do and can help us bring our music around the world. That said, we’re also working on a few live dates to present the record this autumn across Switzerland and Italy.
The goal is simple: to consolidate who we’ve become as a band and keep writing music that truly represents us, without forcing anything. And then yes, to take this journey as far as possible, beyond Switzerland as well, if the right opportunity comes along. Who knows—maybe even over to you in the UK! Haha.
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Stream Everything Will Work Out Eventually on Spotify now.
Follow VAN COUVER on Instagram.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast
