Noon Again’s 'Everything After' Is a Love Letter to the Films That Changed Us

If you've ever walked out of a movie theater feeling completely unraveled, Everything After, the latest EP from rising alt-pop/rock outfit Noon Again, was made for you.

The Northeast-based trio Aaron, Donovan, and Nick have carved out a sound that’s cinematic without being overindulgent, emotionally raw without being melodramatic. With Everything After, Noon Again takes us on a sonic journey inspired by the kinds of films that rearrange you. These aren’t songs that reference plot lines or scenes, and they tap into the feeling those stories leave behind.

From the aching time-warp of “Everywhen” (inspired by The Time Traveler’s Wife), to the bittersweet nostalgia of “Let It Stay” (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), to the lonely tenderness of “I Only Meant to Look” (Two Lovers), Noon Again doesn’t just write songs, they translate emotion into melody. And for anyone who’s ever stared blankly at credits while trying to piece together what just shifted inside them, this EP will hit like a quiet revelation.

“We don’t want people to just hear these songs. We want them to feel the moment that inspired them—those scenes that stuck, long after the lights came up.”

While most of the EP draws its emotional fuel from cinematic stories, a standout exception is “Some Stay, Some Go.” Born from a conversation with Nick’s young son, “How many friends do you have?” the track becomes a tender reflection on friendship, impermanence, and gratitude. It’s a soft-spoken thank-you to the ones who’ve stayed, especially the bandmates who’ve been there through every chapter.

Releasing Everything After as a full project, rather than a string of singles, was intentional. There was no rollout strategy, no playlist algorithm chase, just a decision to put out the work in its whole form, because it felt right. It’s a project built slowly and released without delay, a rarity in today’s hyper-optimized music industry.

And maybe that’s what makes Noon Again different. They’re not in a rush. They’re here to mean something. And with Everything After, they just might.

You’ve said that 'Everything After' was inspired by the kind of films that rearranged you emotionally. Can you walk us through one of those cinematic moments that directly shaped a song?

Definitely. Track 2, Let It Stay, was inspired by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It’s Nick’s favorite film of all time (he’s a film nerd). The original story, the performances, the visuals, the soundtrack, the direction, the cinematography, it’s perfection. It’s the only film he’s rewatched more times than he can count, and it still hits the same every time.

There’s this moment near the end, when Joel is mid-memory erasure. He’s sedated, losing Clementine piece by piece. His eyes suddenly opened. He doesn’t say a word, but you see the tears welling up. You feel the weight of what’s being taken from him. Memories, connection, love. It’s brutal and overwhelming, and it’s only a frame of his face!

Let It Stay captures that exact kind of ache, the helplessness of knowing something beautiful is slipping away, and the part of you that still wants to hold on.

You released the entire EP at once instead of teasing singles. In an era of algorithm-friendly rollouts, what made you take that approach?

Honestly... Because we weren’t making this for anyone else. We made these songs for us. We were tired of scrolling through our group text and digging through cloud folders to find our music. We just wanted to listen to these songs the same way we listen to everything else. This wasn’t a marketing strategy, and it was a way to listen to the songs. But once we saw friends and family connecting with it, we figured... Maybe we should share it more widely.

So here we are, seeing what happens.

“Some Stay, Some Go” is especially personal. Can you talk more about the story behind that track?

This was one of the first songs we finished, before we fully committed to writing every song about a film. It started with a question Nick’s son asked: “How many friends do you have?” Simple question, but it cracked something open. And let’s just say, he got a much deeper answer than he expected.

That one question stirred up years of memories: the people who stayed, the ones who drifted, and the ones who changed everything and quietly moved on. It reminded us how everyone leaves some kind of mark, good, the not-so-good, or complicated, even. Even if there’s just one person still standing by your side, it’s not about the number. It’s about the depth of that connection.

Turns out, Noon Again was the right place to put all of that to good use.

Your sound blends alt-rock edge with pop clarity and cinematic atmosphere. What artists or moments shaped the Noon Again sound?

Aaron grew up on country, but Cartel has been a massive influence since their first EP in 2004. Lately, he’s been into Father of Peace, a band with a seriously fresh sound. Donovan listens to just about everything, from vaporwave like Death’s Dynamic Shroud to psych-folk like The Incredible String Band, but his biggest influence is La Monte Young. Nick’s in that same boat, spinning everything from David Bazan to Braden Bales to Glassjaw. If we’re talking core influences, Name Taken and Acceptance are huge for Nick. Absolute legends.

So yeah, it’s a mix.

--If you think we sound like Cartel or Acceptance, we’ll be over here quietly losing it, and updating our “For Fans Of” the second we recover. We are very curious to see who you compare us to. We’ve had a hard time figuring that out.--

The EP closes with an emotional weight that feels unresolved, in a good way. What do you want listeners to carry with them after hearing Everything After?

We’ve listened to these songs more times than we can count, and they still hit us in different ways. We’re not trying to push a specific message; we just hope they make you feel something. If one of these songs takes you somewhere unexpected or helps you sit with something you’ve been carrying, then that’s more than enough.