By Indi Tejeda – July 14th, 2026
The Backfires have always approached music as something larger than a collection of individual songs. With their upcoming second album, Stardust, the NYC-based rock band, consisting of frontman Alex Gomez, lead guitarist Harry Ruprecht, bassist Matt Walter, and drummer Dylan Spiro, expands that idea into a full world built around storytelling, atmosphere, and the feeling of stepping into something unknown.
Following their debut album This Is Not An Exit, which captured the energy of a band learning how to exist together, Stardust represents a new chapter for The Backfires. Built around collaboration and a shared appreciation for rock history, Stardust reflects the band’s belief in the album as something greater than a collection of individual songs.
Rather than simply chasing a sound, The Backfires looked backward and forward at the same time, studying the artists, albums, and creative movements that shaped music while asking what their own place within that history could be. Inspired by everything from classic rock storytelling to literature and film, Stardust became an album designed to be experienced as a complete journey.
The Backfires discussed the creation of Stardust, the meaning behind the album’s title, the records that influenced its development, and how the band continues to evolve as artists.
Inside Stardust
Q: The title of your new album, Stardust, is very evocative. It can mean glamour, magic, something eternal. What does it mean to you, and how did it become the title of your second record?
A: Stardust can mean so many things. One of (Alex’s) favorite books and movies growing up was Stardust, and there’s this idea in it that everything we know is Stardust… The whole world and everything in the universe is just basically this collection of things that exploded and became what we are now.
To [us], it can mean this all-encompassing idea of existence. Everything that we know, period, is some aspect of Stardust.
With this record, it felt like an interesting way to bring people into the world of the album because there is this magical escapism and magical realism to it… The idea was, okay, this record is a story. This is a place you are entering into.
Q: You described your debut album, This Is Not An Exit, as the end of a chapter and the beginning of an era. Looking back now, what do you feel like you built since then, and where does Stardust take the story next?
A: This Is Not an Exit was such a funny record because when we were making it, it was originally going to be an EP… [none] of us really thought we were ready to make an album when we first started doing it.
A lot of This Is Not An Exit was about those first few years of us living in New York… We were in a rehearsal room five or six nights a week, just trying to have a good live show and working on songs. It was us training to be a band. It was our first real statement.
Going into Stardust, it was like, alright, now we are a band. We’ve made an album. But now we need to actually make an album where you’re thinking about it as a record.
A big part of it was trying to understand what it means to be a rock band in 2026. There are so many ways to release music now, but that’s not necessarily the way that speaks to us. We’re very obsessed with albums and bands… If you want to be good at your craft, you have to study the masters. You have to understand the lineage of human art and where we sit in that.
This record isn’t about trying to sound like another band. It was more about being in a room together and asking ‘what does this feel like to us?’
Q: What records influenced the way Stardust developed?
A: A couple that really stand out are Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles. [We] were also getting really into The Eagles and just diving into their catalog.
Hotel California is interesting because it’s a concept record, but it’s a looser concept record. They also have Desperado, where the premise is basically that they’re outlaw cowboys on the run. It’s such a fun way to think about a record. It’s such a cool example of creating a whole world around an album.
We toured with Black Pistol Fire, and [we] tried to listen to every Rolling Stones album… One album that really stood out was Exile on Main St. They recorded it live to tape, and they were writing songs in that room… We didn’t have the Rolling Stones’ resources, but we did have a tape machine. That inspired us to record on tape and do live takes.
The fact that Stardust is a concept record allowed us to create an atmosphere where every song feels like a performance. It can feel like you’re in the room with it.
Q: For fans who love the energy of This Is Not An Exit, what should they expect from Stardust?
A: [We’re] really excited for people to hear “Dream Suite”. We captured such a cool song… There was this energy and intensity that was really exciting. This Is Not An Exit is a pretty upbeat record, and it’s a fast record. With the story and the concept behind it, we really tried to make it so that if you just want to listen to the songs, you can do that and not lose anything. But if you want to go deeper, there is a lot to unpack.
It’s almost like entering a dream world where things take on different meanings… There are references throughout the record that are intentionally connected. That’s what we wanted to create. There is something you can just experience [in the moment], but there is also something deeper if you want to explore it.
Q: You’re bringing this new music on tour. Which songs are you most excited for people to experience live?
A: “Dream Suite” will be really exciting live. [We’re] also really excited to play “I Want You” because everywhere we play it, the whole crowd ends up singing along.
But overall, the coolest thing is getting to see these songs exist outside of the record. We spent so much time building this world, and now getting to bring that into a room with people is the exciting part.
Stardust marks a new chapter for The Backfires, but not one defined by leaving their past behind. Instead, the album reflects a band that has grown more intentional about the way they create, drawing from the history of music while continuing to discover what their own voice can become.
Through collaboration, storytelling, and a commitment to the album as an art form, The Backfires have created a record designed to be explored. Whether listeners enter through the first song or choose to follow every reference hidden throughout the tracklist, Stardust invites them into a world built with curiosity, imagination, and a deep appreciation for the artists who came before.
While we wait for the release of Stardust, out on August 7, check out the singles that The Backfires have put out so far: