Words and Photos by Malena Saadeh
On a sunny but cold mid-February afternoon, I caught up with Brendan Sepe at his home in Northeast LA. We sat at a glass patio table amid his front garden’s greenery with six room-temp Modelos between us. As the sun passed over his shaded yard, the musician talked of lizard walks, spray painted boots and his latest solo release under the name Sepe. All the while, I both shivered and sweat in my red puffer vest. February right?
You may know Sepe from his very own LA based slacker-pop project, Semi Trucks, or from Alex Knost’s project Seventies Tuberide or through his prior distinction playing bass with The Pesos. On February 12th, the indie rocker released an A/B EP to follow up his 2025 solo album National Accessory.
The mini EP boasts two songs: “Who Set The Fire” and “Sweet Friday.” Who Set The Fire” sets the tone. Subdued and earnest, the short track is swathed with distortion to add some friction to a sincere and sympathetic elegy. It meets in the middle of his 90’s noise performance with Semi Trucks and the stripped and transparent tone he set for his solo songs on National Accessory. The B-side then follows with a waltzy 1-2-3 swing that feels dear, warm, and familiar. “Sweet Friday” echoes a homemade candlelit coziness that trickles off as calmly as it comes in, making for the perfect pairing to the more abrasive A-side.
Sepe recorded this EP with his good friend Silas Johnson who also plays in, collaborates, and co-produces with LA based band Urika’s Bedroom and for his own solo project, Tracy. Sepe explains that the original objective for “Who Set The Fire” was for it to become part of Semi Trucks’ repertoire with a more Sonic Youth EVOL tone. Right after writing it, Sepe went over to Silas’s house and they reworked it with more acoustic energy in mind. Silas had a clear vision for the revamp and played the violin and the more dissident chords on the track while Sepe played the noise guitar. They then recorded “Sweet Friday” to round out the release.
While sitting in an unsurprising amount of happy hour traffic on my way to Sepe’s house, I listened to this two-song EP. I followed that by playing through Semi Trucks’ Georgia Overdrive and I closed out my gridlock auditory experience by skimming my favorite songs from his solo album from this past summer.
The throughline was clear to me now. “Who Set The Fire” and “Sweet Friday” are prime examples of the range of Sepe’s influences. Both sides of the coin are aptly represented.
Sepe’s solo project as a whole finds its focus around songwriting and the country influences of his youth. Sepe spent about a decade of his childhood living on a ranch between Temecula and Hemet. He talks of dirtbike racing in a front yard with no neighbors, horses, and his old man who was really into Billy Currington. (You know Currington… “God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.”) Sepe credits his dad’s love of Johnny Cash and Bob Marley for getting him interested in Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard later on in his teenage years. He says that this type of music for him will always stick and feel timeless.
Sepe explains that around that same time, he had a big moment with noise rock and the outlet for making that type of music was found in his project Semi Trucks. With his solo music, he aims to bring it down a bit.
“As I’m getting older, I like doing what I did while I was younger,” says Sepe. “I like to really think out parts and ride on the acoustic guitar. I want to try to be a little bit more clever in my songwriting.”
Regarding last summer’s album National Accessory, Sepe sees the irony of the draw for his audience.
“It’s funny ’cause I think I’m getting publicity as this anti-folk country musician, but if you listen to the record, it’s only like four songs of that.” Sepe says. He explains that the next record he’s working on is half of the aforementioned anti-folk Americana revival while still being a mixed bag of more experimental stuff too.
Sepe sat on National Accessory for about three years before it was released last summer. He says that he really had no intention of putting it out at all until his friend Matthew Correia who plays drums in Allah-Las convinced him to release it. Sepe explains that because it contrasts his work with Semi Trucks so much, he thought that the softer, more folky approach of National Accessory wouldn’t be well received. Eventually Sepe released the record and it only encouraged him to move forward in a more free way with his solo stuff, exploring a healthy mix of every genre.
Sepe says of his next record, from how it’s shaping up so far, that it will be acoustic heavy and a little more melancholy all the way through.
Sepe’s solo takeoff in the time of this “fourth wave alt rock revival” or whatever you’re calling the MJ Lenderman renaissance is no surprise. When asked about how he feels about his timeliness in this era of alt-country craze, Sepe is simply happy that people are universally appreciating country music right now.
“I think this moment turned a lot of kids on to, like, ‘oh, country music’s cool,’ you know? It’s not just shit your dad listens to. I’m happy it’s coming back for a moment.”
