“We had people crying on our shoulders every night. We had no idea it would be so impactful that it literally saved people’s lives”: We Lost the Sea channeled grief into a landmark post-rock album – then they had to face the pressure of how to follow it

We Lost The Sea guitarists Matt Kelly, Mark Owen and Matt Harvey raise their guitars in the air onstage.

Many artists struggle with the experience of success being a double-edged sword. We Lost the Sea have to deal with the challenge of their success being tied up with the death of singer Chris Torphy.

Following his suicide in 2013, they elected to continue as an instrumental band. They channeled their grief into a cathartic, conceptual set of songs about failure and sacrifice that became 2015 breakthrough album Departure Songs.