After Will Transport You to the Before Times

A sheer, blue-sky backdrop hangs on the Bowery Ballroom stage. Behind it, the drummer sets the tune for After’s hit song “300 Dreams.” In front, Justine Dorsey and Graham Epstein serenade a culture-savvy, New York crowd—one that knows every word to their set.

After released their debut studio album Fell Asleep in the Sun earlier this year. It builds on the duo’s quintessential 2000s feeling. Justine’s side-parted, straight blonde hair blows in the stage fan as she sings the chorus and dances in a carefree, “Perfect Day” by Haiku-coded way. Graham, to her right, tucks his hair behind his ears as he plays the electric guitar. You want them to be in love, especially when they exchange glances mid-chorus, but their connection transcends their origin story. They met on Hinge, but instead of dating, they decided to do this.

The band’s vision is clear and consistent, which is part of what makes them so alluring. Their music is nostalgic, lighthearted, and steeped in the last era we had before the internet took over—a world we can only dream of now. After is onto something. Their audience wants to return to that time, and their 11 million lifetime streams prove it. We caught up with After during the New York leg of their tour, and it turns out their music was always destined to transport you.

MO: What was the moment you realized you were onto something special with After?

Justine Dorsey: When we wrote our first song, “Something Special”

MO: What is your songwriting process like? How do you weave your personal experiences into your work?

JD: Every song is a little different. Some start on an acoustic guitar. Some start with a loop one of our producers brings us. Lyrics are always based in phonetics, whatever we naturally sing. Sometimes those things are directly personal, sometimes it feels more like you’re telling a story you made up. But I’m unnerved by how even the made-up ones become true. Songs feel like prophecies in that way. At least, I feel like they are wishes you make. It’s strange.

MO: Your visual identity is so clear. How did you find it? How did you develop it?

Graham Epstein: I think I have always had a visual identity with everything I do, and I get really passionate and obsessed with aesthetics, so this is definitely an extension of that. I just really got into 2000s futurism and fantasy art and thought that it would be really interesting as a visual identity for a pop project. Everything was pretty honed in from our first photoshoot before we had any music out. We were both obsessed with the artist Dave McKean pretty early on.

MO: Who are your biggest musical inspirations?

GE: Fountains of Wayne, Sigur Rós, Frou Frou, Mew, Harold Budd

JD: Ulrich Schnauss, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Björk

MO: What is your pre-show routine?

GE: Losing our stuff. Losing guitar picks, losing our in-ears, losing the perfect shirt you were planning on wearing… panicking and drinking Throat Coat tea lmao. But once we get on stage, everything melts away.

MO: What's the most unexpected thing that has happened on tour so far?

GE: How many people want us to play our song “The Story”. It’s a really dear song to us. We don’t have it in the set, but maybe we should add it…

MO: What are you listening to while traveling? What's on your latest playlist?

JD: Jon Hopkins’ “Insides” and Stina Nordenstam. Also the song “Cross Bones Style” by Cat Power. I feel like everybody saw that music video on their algorithm recently. The song is addictive…

GE: Listening to a lot of dark ambient music when I lie down in the van. This album “Light From Many Lamps” by Caul has been on repeat. And Phantasmaphilia by Strawberry Hospital

MO: What do you hope people feel while listening to this album?

GE: We like music that makes ordinary things feel a bit more cinematic, so we hope it makes people feel like they are in a video game or movie.