Anna McClellan on Bandcamp | Anna McClellan on Facebook | Anna McClellan on Instagram

Staffers on Facebook | Staffers on Bandcamp

Started as a side project in 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska, Staffers channels (or channeled, you tell me) the spirit of the 90s lo-fi movement, 80s post punk, and kiwi guitar pop. In January 2015, the debut cassette, “Good Message, Poor English” was released on Unread Records. After relocating to Washington, DC, a second cassette of tracks was released on Unread and Propane Exchange titled “Torn Between Two Loves.”

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“Torn Between Two Loves is fantastic, a refreshing record of honest “loud pop” songwriting that scratches all your itches with a raw simplicity. There’s no glitz, there’s no sense of self-importance, there’s no bullshit… just Ryan McKeever and a set of well-written basement recorded garage pop tunes. Touching on the brilliantly sloppy post-punk and art-rock of bands like Swell Maps, Wire, and The Clean, there’s a calming sense of “cool” throughout the record, shimmering through jangly propulsions of nervous energy (“Back To Reality”), disorienting twang with elastic rhythms (“American Love Ballad”), and downer songs set to upbeat punk grooves (“Blank Ambition”). Through it all McKeever has a way with his (generally self deprecating) words, and by the end you can’t help but love the idea of Staffers and his big win for the underdogs of the world.”
– Post-Trash

Stove on Facebook| Stove on Exploding Sound Records

Stove are back with their second new “surprise” EP of the year, a new music video, and upcoming tour dates for December. Since the release of last year’s Is Stupider, an album recorded solo by Steve Hartlett, the band has expanded to include full time members Jordyn Blakely, Alex Molini, and Mike “Boner” Hammond. While working on their upcoming sophomore album, the band sat down to record another set of songs in Molini’s home bedroom studio, further elaborating on the lo-fi fuzz pop of Is A Toad In The Rain.

Is The Meat That Fell Out travels a similar path to Is A Toad In The Rain, showing a different side of Stove, with lo-fi bedroom pop influences and a gentler disposition that recalls classic songwriters of decades past. With over fifty new songs written for the band’s upcoming sophomore full length, the band were eager to share new material and thus the pair of EPs was born. The quartet are once again joined by friends Devin McKnight (Speedy Ortiz, Grass Is Green), Tim Cheney (IAN SWEET), and Damien Scalise (IAN SWEET, Sun Young). Stove is an ever evolving and unpredictable project, and Is The Meat That Fell Out further blurs any preconceived notion of the band’s direction.

Will Henriksen on Facebook | Will Henriksen on Bandcamp

Will Henriksen is a Philadelphia-based songwriter and collaborator. Their 2017 debut EP, Blue House, explores ambivalence and ambiguity through guitar-cello-drum arrangements and vocals that Goldflakepaint’s Tom Johnson calls “subtly fascinating.” Their more recent songs go deeper into themes of death, old friends, family, and rebirth. Before a recent relocation to Philly, they performed in New England acts including Harmoos, Tiffany’s House, Blau Blau, and Beverly Tender.