Culture Cabinet

After years of sonic searching, self-reinvention, and a few stints in the pop music machine, Los Angeles alt-rocker GUNNAR has never sounded more sure of himself. At just 23, he’s lived a few musical lifetimes: debuting his first full-length album Best Mistake in 2023, opening for JXDN across the United States, then crossing the Atlantic to join Maroon 5 on a European tour. Now, he’s back with Sun Faded (out this Friday), his boldest and most personal project yet, and gearing up for his long-awaited first-ever headline tour.

The album features nine alt-rock infused tracks, that range in sound from everything Arctic Monkeys or Bon Iver to early 2000s nostalgic pop punk. And for an artist who’s weathered his fair share of disorder, including losing his home in the January 2025 California wildfires,  Sun Faded isn’t just a record. It’s a reckoning.

In conversation, Gunnar’s grounded energy mirrors his music. “I’ve been doing music my entire life,” he says in an interview with Culture Cabinet. “I grew up playing in a garage with my neighbors. When I was in high school, it was kind of the peak of when Instagram was in its prime. So I started posting some covers, and it got me a really solid fan base going.”

Those covers snowballed into management deals, tours, and a major label pop career launched when he was just a teenager. But what began as momentum soon became a mold. “I had been forced to make pop music for years when I was in my first deal. And so when I got out of that, I just kind of rebelled and wanted to make really authentic music to me,” he explains.

That rebellion took shape in the form of a rock-driven album inspired by artists like Lenny Kravitz, Arctic Monkeys, and Tom Petty. A sound built for the stage. “Live shows have always been my bread and butter. It’s what I started on. That’s where I truly feel like I’m the best version of myself as an artist.”

But with Sun Faded, he’s finally fused his instinct for live music with his pop sensibilities. “At my heart, I’m kind of a pop kid,” he reflects. “So, being able to take that and take the elements of the live music that I love from a live show, and combine that with choruses and lyrics, that’s where I feel like this project, Sun Faded, really ended. It’s a blend between those two.”

The album’s creation was a focused, intentional process. “I definitely had the intention of getting in and making an album,” he says of his creative process. “I definitely had the objective of making a cohesive album. And then I got to really dive deep for some of the slower parts of the project and get really intimate and personal.”

One of those deeply personal tracks is “You Changed Me,” which touches on a previously unspoken topic: his relationship with his father. “It’s about my father and something that I haven’t really ever discussed before,” he says. “I love being able to do that and get as honest as I’ve ever been on a song like that.”

Another standout track is the album’s first song, “The Art of Staying Alive.” Though written before the Palisades fire that destroyed his home, its meaning grew exponentially in the aftermath. “That song kind of got me through that time,” he says. “And you know, the concept behind it is just rolling with the punches and taking it on the chin, and the beauty of the art of staying alive.”

With Sun Faded arriving this Friday, Gunnar is preparing to take the new material on the road for his long-awaited headline tour. That dream kicks off October 9 in Chicago and wraps in his hometown of Los Angeles on October 29.

“I’m most excited about truly building out my own show without having to rush through it,” he says of what he’s looking forward to on the tour. “Just letting it breathe, letting it take time, and really getting to showcase who I am as an artist from start to finish, rather than just trying to cram the best stuff into a 30 minute slot.” 

When asked what he hopes listeners take from the project, his answer is simple: “Authenticity,” he says. “I think I really want people to hear it and be like, ‘Oh, this is Gunnar.’ I can feel the bones of these songs, and feel the heart of this music, and it’s who I am.”

That authenticity might one day extend into unexpected territory. A self-proclaimed country fan, he doesn’t rule out the genre. “I’d love to make a country album at one point, because I love it and I’m passionate about it,” he says. “It just feels real and free. And you can talk about drinking and, you know, sitting in a truck. It makes me feel like life is simple.”

But for now, Sun Faded is the sound of an artist at full volume: sure of his voice, his story, and his stage. As Gunnar puts it, “I just want my songs to get people to a show. And that’s where I truly believe that a difference in someone’s life can be made in a single night.”

You can stream GUNNAR below.