Ted Sablay Chooses What To Carry On "State & Motion"
Written By: Big C
Ted Sablay has spent nearly twenty years helping The Killers carry arena-sized songs, but State & Motion puts his own writing at the center and is out now! The ten-song, thirty-eight-minute album works with heartland-rock bones, power-pop hooks, and lets Sablay's melodies do the leading. Sablay connects his musical choice with choruses that open naturally. Pete Thomas keeps the drums moving with a firm pocket, while Whynot Jansveld gives the bass enough motion to keep the guitars from settling into a single lane. Ian Hendrickson-Smith adds horns, and connecting the collaboration is a Sam Cohen produced and mixed on Baby I Need You. Discussing the transition to the album's central question, Sablay explains:
This is not 'The Killers' sideman finally speaks. Rather, this record is, fundamentally, about the difference between bearing something and choosing something.
The album's theme reaches beyond usefulness and obligation, asking what remains when being dependable is no longer the same as making a choice. The record's construction becomes part of the story, where each song has to hold up one voice and an acoustic guitar before the full band entered. With a free vinyl listening party and short acoustic set at Echo Taste & Sound in Vegas. this next chapter follows four years of rewriting after Sablay's 2022 debut. Listen to "State & Motion" and Ted Salbay on Instagram.
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