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When we talked right before Blue on Blue came out, you expressed some doubt about whether you could cut it as a solo artist. Did you always feel that you weren't "whole" without Sixpence?

Nash: Yeah, I always suspected that might be the case. If I had my choice, we would have done another Sixpence record, but we just needed that break. But I'll always have doubts; I have sort of a self-deprecating internal dialogue. Sixpence makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. And it makes a lot of sense to me too.

Matt, when you two were apart, were you nagged by similar feelings?

Slocum: Definitely. It was fun to do some other things, but there was always a sense of, well, we had a good gift as the band that, one of those gifts from God that should stand—maybe not a lifetime, but a long period of time. I missed being on that long journey together of making music and building up a catalog of work. It felt like everything else was just, do this and it's over, do that and it's over. It didn't feel as focused or as fulfilling or lasting.

Leigh, did loneliness or sadness have anything to do with wanting to get back together, after your divorce and your dad's death last year?

Nash: I think so. I found out that my father passed away on the same day that Matt and I decided to get back together. I called my mom and she told me the news. It was quite unexpected, out of the blue. It's been a really, really rough couple of years. I would have been missing the band no matter what, but certainly these things played a part in me feeling kind of off my footing.

It sounds like when you decided to reunite, you didn't waste a minute getting right to making music. Why did you do an EP so quickly rather than take your time and put out a full album?

Slocum: A series of events sort of catapulted us into doing that. We saw Charlie Peacock and told him we were making music again, and he offered us a spot on a tour that was going out soon. That prompted us to say we needed some new music, to just kind of re-introduce ourselves on this tour. So we launched into the EP project, and then the tour fell apart and didn't happen. We just decided to complete the EP at that point, but I think in hindsight, it would have been better to focus on a full-length record, to focus on writing and being a bit more slow about it.

It wasn't your best work. Our own critic said you hadn't yet found the old magic again. Your thoughts?

Slocum: I read that review, and I sort of agree, only because the EP almost felt like a warm-up, of getting the rust out. It's hard to come off a long break and just be brilliant. It was a good way to get back in the game, but I definitely don't think it's our best work.

Leigh?

Nash: I agree. I feel like we're just kind of cranking up the gears, and we'll see what happens next. I'm thinking our next album's going to be better than anything we've done yet.  

What's the writing process look like for you two now, especially since Leigh has had some writing experience on her own? Is it more of a collaborative effort now? 

Nash: I love writing with Matt. I'm more confident now, and I think Matt is as brilliant a writer as ever, if not better. So I think we have lots to look forward to. 

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