I had almost made peace with the fact that The Format would likely never make music again. The statement put out by the band on February 4, 2008 hit like a gut-punch from one of my favorite indie bands of all time, and now, almost 18 years to the exact day of the indefinite hiatus, The Format have returned. The roadmap that led to The Format making new music featured a few detours. fun. had formed shortly after the announced hiatus and would make a household name of vocalist Nate Ruess, and earn him his first Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the unstoppable “We Are Young.” The Format’s other half, Sam Means, would release a solo album called 10 Songs (which is definitely worth a listen if you never checked it out), while he watched his bandmate blossom in fun., and Nate’s own solo album entitled Grand Romantic. Much like the Interventions + Lullabies song of “On Your Porch,” Sam Means and Nate Ruess have always been drawn to making music together. The lyrics of, “So, now here I sit in a hotel off of Sunset / My thoughts bounce off of Sam’s guitar / And that’s the way it’s been / Ever since we were kids, but now / Now we’ve got something to prove,” feel a bit more emphatic now that The Format have reunited and released their third studio album of Boycott Heaven. Nate mentioned that he started to teach himself guitar during the pandemic, which seemed to unlock a key ingredient in the catalyst that brought him back to Sam. Shortly after the band had planned to reunite for a few returning shows, they re-discovered their love of creating art together, and I’m so happy The Format are back in full swing now.