There is something satisfying about a band taking its time. Nine years after their debut, Santa Claws return with Sands of Time, an album that sounds less like a comeback and more like the result of a group finally arriving at the sound they have been working towards.
Released on October 2, 2026, the eight-track record places the Brittany-based quintet firmly in the territory where alternative rock, Britpop and melodic songwriting meet. There is plenty of grit here, but the band’s real strength lies in the balance between weight and melody.
The guitars are central to that identity. Crunchy, layered and supported by rich analog textures, they give the album an organic physicality that suits a band whose history has been built around live performance. Yet Sands of Time isn’t simply chasing the rawness of 90s rock. The arrangements are carefully constructed, allowing melancholic and more intimate moments to sit alongside the bigger, more urgent passages.
That combination is where Santa Claws’ influences become most apparent. The melodic instincts of The Beatles, Radiohead’s willingness to embrace tension, Oasis’ swagger and the noisy-pop energy associated with Supergrass and The Breeders all exist somewhere in the band’s musical vocabulary. But Sands of Time doesn’t feel like an exercise in nostalgia. These references become ingredients in something more contemporary and distinctly their own.
The album also marks an important change in the band’s sound. Stéphane Kérihuel has joined as the fifth permanent member, expanding Santa Claws into a three-guitar lineup. That extra guitar creates another layer of depth and counterpoint, giving the band’s already atmospheric approach more room to develop dynamically.
There is something particularly fitting about the album’s commitment to analog recording. To celebrate its release, Santa Claws took the record to Studio Kerwax for an exclusive showcase recorded directly to tape. It feels like a natural extension of the band’s philosophy: if the songs are built around human performance and organic rock energy, capture that energy as honestly as possible.
The band’s journey makes the record feel even more earned. Since forming in 2017, Santa Claws have navigated lineup changes, the disruption of the pandemic and years of independent work, gradually refining their identity rather than rushing towards a finished product. That patience is audible.
Sands of Time ultimately succeeds because it understands what makes guitar music endure. The production has warmth, the guitars have character, the arrangements have ambition, but underneath everything is songwriting.
For a band with ten years of experience behind them, this isn’t simply a second album. It is a statement of artistic maturity—and a reminder that sometimes the best way forward is to let the music take its time.
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