When stumbling upon a band completely new to my ears, whose inaugural album resonates with echoes reminiscent of both Sloan and The New Pornographers, an irresistible compulsion pulls me to the very edge of my seat. Even after countless spins, that initial exhilarating sense of anticipation remains undiminished. “Agitator” stands as a testament to a splendid auditory experience, with its radiant sonic tapestry often drawing more pronounced parallels to Built to Spill rather than the more apparent influences that reverberate within me. This serves as a definitive testament to the realm of top-tier Indie/Power Pop craftsmanship.

Intriguingly, Daniel Forrest provides a deep dive into the inception and meticulous construction of the enthralling composition titled “Agitator.”

How did this record come together?

I never stop writing songs, but at a certain point, it feels like the right time to collect them and record them. This time that point was obvious because I knew 6 months out that I’d be moving to so-called Vancouver, BC, Canada (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory) for graduate school. Danielle Farley, Brian Thomas, David Dean, and I spent the summer of 2021 recording.

We spent a few days with Sean Riley at Studio North, tracking drums and bass. Then we tracked guitars and vox for a few days up at Danielle’s family cabin in the Pocono Mountains of PA. Tim McMonigle and Andrew Silverman spent a day tracking drums and bass with me at Studio North with Sean Riley a few weeks later too.

I kept filling in bits and pieces here or there at home until Scoops Dardaris started mixing in August 2021, and he mastered everything before winter that year. So grateful for those^ folks’ creativity, time, and dedication to the project – y’all are the best!!

As an artist, you choose to show your emotions to the world. Is it always comfortable to do so?

No, but it’s getting easier and easier to do the more comfortable I get with myself. My early songs were always about other people. Then, they were about big, sometimes impersonal ideas. Now, I’m trying to channel those big ideas and hopes for a better world through my own emotions.

Not knowing how people will receive it can be scary, but it’s also a huge privilege to be able to open up to other people about my feelings and have them listen.

When was the last time you thought, ‘I just wrote a hit!’?

I don’t know about a “hit”, but I’ve been trying to open up about my new song ideas earlier in the process with friends and family to get some feedback. Recently, I wrote a song inspired by my friends’ stories when they visited from Philly.

After they went home, I shared it with my partner, friends here, and our next visitors from Philly, and I felt something special every time. Who knows how it’ll translate on a recording and to listeners, but those first times playing a song to friends and family matter just as much to me.

If you could pick three singers to sing harmony vocals on your next record, who would you ask?

Adrienne Lenker (Big Thief, solo), Emily Massey (Slow Pulp), and Al Menne (Great Grandpa, solo; though, we lucked out because they already sang harmonies on a few songs on Agitator!! Thanks again, Al!)

Playing music in front of a crowd. What’s all the fun about?

For me, it’s about connecting with people in real-time, knowing it won’t ever be recreated. You never know how people will respond, and no two performances are alike. Sometimes, I feel super ready to go; other times, I’m more anxious and reserved. But I keep doing it because every few live sets, I really connect with someone in the audience, or maybe I just get a big adrenaline boost. There’s always something to take away. I think I learn a lot about people from the way they react to our playing and my dumb comments on stage, and it makes me a better person.