PRESS

excerpts from our july 2025 interview with Chip Midnight of The Big Takeover. Read the full article here.

I’m paraphrasing a bit, but when I interviewed Adam from The Mommyheads, he said something like if had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t start making music until he was older, after he was more mature, had more life experiences, was able to make better decisions. Ian, you started when you were young. Do you feel that same way, that maybe it’s easier to do now and there isn’t as much pressure?

IAN: 100%. It’s weird. There are certain records by bands that I played with where I’m like, “That really holds up” while there are others that don’t.

This is my first record that I wrote the songs on. I don’t know that I really had anything to say when I was younger. I don’t know what I would have said. A lot of artists are like, “We leave the interpretation of songs to the audience.” I don’t know if it’s because I’m older and I like the pressure of wanting to make something to save my life, but I really care about the ideas that are in my songs. I don’t think I had enough self-awareness when I was younger. I would have had a lot of songs about chicks and stuff like that or “You can’t keep me down.” I would have been in a punk band.

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The Cle Elum really appeals to my early 2000s alt-rock sweet spot. There’s not a lot that sounds like that kind of music on the radio today but those songs, the ones from the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, still sound so good and relevant to me. It feels to me like you weren’t trying to chase trends, that you were making music that you like and that is influenced by bands that were popular 20 to 25 years ago.

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SARAH on I am a Robot: After it was done, I couldn’t get it out of my head. And every single person that I played it for, they would text me or call me a couple days later and be like, “I can’t get that song out of my head,” including Matthew from Nada Surf, who sings on it.

Full Interviews

Big Takeover

https://bigtakeover.com/interviews/interview-the-cle-elum

Scratch The Vinyl

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/ep-56-the-bus-driver-and-the-merch-girl-with-guests/id1751120496?i=1000710521716

Every Thing After

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-9-every-thing-after-the-cle-elum/id1808201377?i=1000709057721

Pop Fuss

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cle-elum/id1746806762?i=1000668872428

Atypical Daydream

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/giulia-millanta-ian-lee/id1646907297?i=1000647492569

Reviews

"The Cle Elum is a new indie-alternative project from industry veterans Sarah Sargent and Ian Lee. The duo have been cutting their teeth at the highest levels of the touring industry for nearly 25 years as owners of boutique tour support company Affordable Tour Solutions and as tour / merch managers for the likes of Nada Surf, Andrew Bird and Alanis Morisette.

Their new endeavor sees them taking the stage with Lee on vocals / guitar and Sargent on drums, delivering an upbeat blend of alternative, indie and punky emo. 'Goodbye Night Sky' is the band’s second single and an absolute earworm of a song, featuring distinctive vocals from Josh Caterer (Smoking Popes). The song lands in ‘punk rock anthem’ territory with one of our favorite choruses in recent memory, complete with fuzzed out guitars and a driving beat that underscore the catchy lyrics." - New Noise Magazine

"Great punk-rock energy is wasted on people who do not have a lot of ideas on how to use it. But that’s just how life works. If you love punk energy, you take what you take and what you can get, and don’t grumble too much when the guitars aren’t in tune or when the songs start to blend into each other. The solution to those kinds of problems is supposed to arrive with time and experience, and there is no way to buy a shortcut.

The Cle Elum’s 'Goodbye Night Sky', a song featuring Smoking Popes’ excellent Josh Caterer, is as old-fashioned as your granny telling you how everything is bound to turn out OK and just as comforting. It sounds like a bullfaced lie the first time you hear it, but if you’re lucky, it ends up being the kind of advice that you yourself will one day give others. It’s no surprise that Caterer would be involved with such a song, considering his own band’s knack for marrying old wisdom with energy." - Alt77

"Indie rockers The Cle Elum have shared 'Old Folks,' the new single taken off the duo's upcoming debut album, 'It's OK If It Falls Apart,' out Aug 16 on Winston Sounds. The album features guest vocals from Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Josh Caterer of The Smoking Popes.

For Sarah Sargent Pepper and Ian Lee, first came love, then came a business marriage, then came the baby, their indie rock outfit The Cle Elum. “The band was formed in the total wrong order,” Lee jokes, ahead of the duo’s long-in-the-making debut album, It's Ok If It Falls Apart, out Friday, August 16, 2024 on independent label, Winston Sounds."

- Punk Rock Theory

"The Cle Elum’s sound, which blends elements of indie rock with a pop touch, was the perfect opener for the headliner, Okey Dokey. The crowd responded enthusiastically, showing strong local support for the band, which has quickly become a staple of Chattanooga’s music scene." - Melodic Magazine