credit: Michael Chadwick
by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Coffee is a new collaboration between Julian Fader (Ava Luna) and Andy Molholt (Laser Background, Speedy Ortiz), a pairing that was probably inevitable between the long time friends. The duo worked together on Laser Background's psych pop oeuvre Dark Nuclear Bogs (together with co-producer Carlos Hernandez), but a spark to form something new came from a mutual love of Fits' early single "Crush" and so Coffee was formed. The band's double album debut, Big Hug/Ocean Fruit, is 26 tracks long, none of which breach the two minute mark. The ideas are quick and unfiltered, a rapid succession of fuzz pop creativity. Its a strange new world for Fader and Molholt, but their restless approach to lo-fi experimentation, power-pop charm, and warped indie rock is both immediate and fully realized.
"Coffee Burst #1" is a sample of all to come, a quick glimpse into the band's cavernous sphere of vivid pop featuring three songs pulled from the Big Hug side of the album, "V," "F," and "G". Aside from a continuous sense of structure (short pop bursts without much repetition), pretty much anything else goes in the world of Coffee. They offer a lot to unpack through a minimal lens, nothing to crowd or distract. "V" is a fuzzy pop nugget of syrupy melodies and spaced out distortion, bendy guitar stabs and all. Fader's vocals are warm and catchy, layering hooks into each line. "F" captures Molholt's slow crooning manipulated vocals over a lush bed of programmed rhythms, distant harmonies, and disorienting synths; a lullaby from another galaxy. "G" is gloriously detached, a hazy gem that recalls the lo-fi bliss and beauty of bands like Helvetia and Matcha, dwindled down only the most vital pop elements.
"V," "F," and "G," could stand for "very fucking good" but it probably doesn't. Coffee is a natural pairing of two unique talents whose personal chemistry most definitely lends to their fluidity of ideas. Big Hug/Ocean Fruit is out January 12th via Cooling Pie Records. The band will celebrate the release with album release shows in New York and Philadelphia, details below.
Release Shows:
1/12 - Queens, NY @ Trans-Pecos w/ Alexander F, Patio, & Fits (TICKETS)
1/13 - Philadelphia, PA @ All Nite Diner w/ Sun Organ & Leadrs
