Illiterate Light with Airpark

Illiterate Light

Illiterate Light thrives on subverting expectations. Though just a duo, the Harrisonburg, Virginia-based singer-guitarist Jeff Gorman along with Nashville, Tennessee-based drummer Jake Cochran make surprisingly pummeling and thoughtful alternative rock. Since the band’s 2015 inception, they’ve intently focused on their unorthodox live show with Cochran standing behind his kit and Gorman playing synth bass with his foot as he sings and strums his guitar. Fiercely egalitarian and independent, the two not only split up songwriting duties and arrangement ideas, they even built bike-powered stages: bringing the fans into the live experience and envisioning a greener future for shows.

But with their latest album Sunburned, out January 27 via Thirty Tigers, Gorman and Cochran have turned their attention inward to their songwriting and studio craft. It’s their most fully-realized and ambitious LP yet, one that’s full of immediate songs that update and revolutionize the band’s approach to making music. There are rich keyboard and programmed percussion textures now populating their songs, as well as soaringly anthemic choruses, and hefty doses of fuzz. “On our first record, we were very live-focused and wanted to make sure whatever we were writing was translated in person,” says Gorman. “Without that crutch, we could be more adventurous and take more risks. We definitely weren’t timid in the studio.”

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Airpark

Formed in 2017 by brothers Ben Ford and Michael Ford, Jr., Airpark is a Nashville-based duo whose songs explore the wide expanse of forward-thinking pop music.

It's a sound that's both timely and timeless, rooted in sharp grooves one minute and dreamily rounded edges the next. Over the course of four EPs, the Fords have created music that's honest and ever-evolving, glued together by nuanced arrangements, an attention to melody, and the refusal to make the same record twice.

With the release of their debut album, Prehistoric Feeling - featuring production from Tennis, St. Lucia, and Eric Cannata (Young The Giant) - Ben and Michael double down on their unique brand of pop. Tracked in Highland Park, Los Angeles - the Fords created an effortless and joyous work that, with the passing of time, will take listeners back to the exact place they were when they first heard it. Appearances from Eric Cannata (Young The Giant), Jean-Philip Grobler (St. Lucia) and Jessie Baylin provide inimitable flourishes to the eleven song debut. Prehistoric Feeling is available everywhere 9/16/22.

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