Eldridge Rodriguez drop relaxed but contemplative album 'Atrophy'

Boston noise rock legends Eldridge Rodriguez veer away from the electro-rock and power pop of their last two releases on their fifth full length release Atrophy. Rooted in a laid-back indie feel infused with their signature noise pop sensibility, the album weaves a personal tale touching upon topics of on love, loss and the burden of memory.

Blending a brooding yet fun vibe, the 12-track collection manages to be lighter but more personal than previous albums. — CLICK TO READ FULL REVIEW

Eldridge Rodriguez – Atrophy

Jon Doyle14th September 2023

The new material is perhaps typified by ‘Megalodon‘, the record’s lead single which shows off new pop and slacker influences. “A sound that’s a little brighter, possessing a carefree bounce however wry and cutting the lyrics,” as we put it in a preview. “As though the band have stumbled across a certain slacker rock acceptance amid the trauma of the moment.” If Slightest of Treason was the alarmed soundtrack to a country sliding ever rightward, then here we find life after such a turn has taken root. More specifically, an attempt to exist in spite of ignorance, cruelty and unvented anger. “The best you can do is move on,” as the refrain offers. — CLICK TO READ FULL REVIEW

Eldridge Rodriguez Show No Signs Of Atrophy On Lively Latest LP

Pre-pandemic ER release, Slightest of Treason, was an immediate and urgent sounding affair whereas Atrophy, existing in the post-whatever world where the only constant is that nothing is constant, is almost the exact opposite with its’ approach sonically. Still fueled by anxiety and existential dread, Atrophy presents something of a laid back vibe while still excelling in the songwriting department as it chooses to let the songs seep into your consciousness with their unsuspecting denseness instead of bombarding your senses outright. — CLICK TO READ FULL REVIEW

I was intrigued by the fact these “Boston noise rock legends”, have released 4 albums already and never registered on my radar, so tentatively I clicked the link to the album stream and what unfolded in the proceeding 54 minutes was nothing short of beautiful. Once you get past the slightly disturbing cover artwork, the 12 songs exhibit that kind of American alt-rock, which The National and Band Of Horses have been wowing UK audiences with over the last decade.

However, the real comparison should be made with Buffalo Tom, as any fan of Bill Janovitz’s work would instantly embrace this like a long-lost brother. There’s also threads of UK indie legends Echo & The Bunnymen and Richard Ashcroft/Verve, running through tracks like Help Me Help Me and Dry Atlantis — CLICK FOR FULL REVIEW

Premiere: Eldridge Rodriguez Shares New Single “Without All Your Teeth You Can’t Get Into Heaven” *** click for full article

New LP, Atrophy, Due Out September 15th via Midriff Records

“Without All Your Teeth You Can’t Get Into Heaven” sees the band working with sweet and melodic jangle pop influences, furnishing the band’s songwriting in celestial bells, organs, and honeyed guitar lines. As Grabowski describes, “Like any good church song we tricked it out with a bell solo and an organ we found and tried to make it all gold and glossy like in actual heaven.” That inviting sheen brightens the band’s darker undercurrents, though the fuzzy guitar tones and Keiber’s crooning vocal performance also offer some alluring contrasting shades to the track.

Similarly, the track’s lyrics offer a tongue-in-cheek reflection on religion and materialism, with Keiber singing how without a perfect set of teeth, beautiful clothes, and an array of contacts, you’ll never get to heaven. Later he sings, “No matter how you try / Not to curse or tell a lie / The truth is when you die / You’ll need your things in heaven / The weight of your soul / Against what you stole.” Keiber simply says of the track, “Not in the history of human existence has a more self-explanatory song been written.”

New Fury Media is proud to present the haunting new single by Eldridge Rodriguez “The Strange Things That Happen To People”. The indie rock act gets deep and heavy with a new track that will resonate deeply with fans both new and old that will showcase a persons life and the changes that happen as time goes on. This is the bands first single from their upcoming 5th full length LP “Atrophy” out Sept. 15th.


 

“It’s a pretty straightforward song about regret and change.  You burn a lot of bridges when you’re young because you think you’re king shit….  – Cameron Keiber

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Today is a great day to share the lead single from the newly announced LP by Boston noise rock band, Eldridge Rodriguez, called “A Feeling That Won’t Go Away.” The song comes from the band’s fifth album, Atrophy, that will be released via Midriff Records on September 15th. On this latest single, the band channels their love for a “wall of sound” approach to their songwriting while still leaving room for the listener to make their own interpretations of the music. If you’re enjoying the direction the band took on this latest track, please consider purchasing music from their Bandcamp page. I was also able to catch up with this talented band for a brief interview below.
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The single is a poetic rant on the ineffectuality of performative activism set to anthemic art rock and layered with noise. Everyone voices an opinion on social media and thinks that constitutes political action. New media outlets pop up routinely claiming to offer a fresh perspective while shamelessly ripping off the old ones. What should have been the democratization of the internet, an amplification of disenfranchised voices in new media and an embrace of political engagement and discussion is wasted on trolls, dishonest politicking and half assed hot takes. The track posits the idea that maybe everyone doesn’t need an opinion on everything and we'd be better served shutting the fuck up for a second to listen. Your online voice isn't political action if it's never backed up in real life. It's static and distortion, distraction and garbage. Yeah, it's about all that stuff.

Eldridge Rodriguez were ecstatic to have Thalia Zedek contribute vocals to the track. She is a national treasure and we are all lucky to be living in the same timeline as she is. We're all fans of Thalia's. She is the best and her vocals add so much to the song. If you squint you can see Thalia and Cameron hidden in the cover art. Fun stuff.

Described as a “rant on the ineffectuality of performance activism,” ‘Scars in the Vein’ tears into the moribund politics of the perpetually online, mourning the energy expended grandstanding and fighting with bad faith commentators when it could be put towards more direct action. The song sees the Thalia Zedek (Come, Live Skull, E) lend her vocals, finding catharsis if not hope in its impassioned cynicism. — Various Small Flames

Already popping up as one of our most anticipated releases of this here new year, Boston/NYC quartet Eldridge Rodriguez is making a splash early in 2022 — Rock and Roll Fables
(read full review)

“Released by Midriff Records, ‘Megalodon’ is the first single to emerge from that period, along with b-side ‘Alice Drills’. There’s a certain accessibility to the single perhaps not seen on the previous record, the Eldridge Rodriguez bite still present but applied to poppier ends. A sound that’s a little brighter, possessing a carefree bounce however wry and cutting the lyrics. As though the band have stumbled across a certain slacker rock acceptance amid the trauma of the moment. As the refrain at the end opines, “the best you can do is move on.” — LIAM DOYLE
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“Alice Drills” is a throwback of a different sort and what I imagine a meeting between The Cure and R.E.M. at The Factory after Ian Curtis’ untimely demise might sound like.
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“Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of the band’s first single from these sessions, the heartfelt and restless “Megalodon” (which is back by the B-side “Alice Drills”).

Kicking off with a simmering, staccato pace of sporadically blasting guitar riffs and a laid-back drum-beat groove, the song rises with intensity on the chorus sections, blazing with a pressing bass line, a web of dynamic and fiery guitar interplay, kinetic drums and cymbals strikes, and passionately yearning vocals. — Jen Dan
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Song Premiere: "Megalodon" by Eldridge Rodriguez

6 September 2021

by Big Takeover Exclusives

Eldridge Rodriguez – Photo Credit: Patrick Ruth

In late February 2020, through Midriff Records, we put out our 8th release, "Slightest of Treason," an album inspired in part by the shift toward conservative dogma in US politics. The Band planned supporting the release with live shows starting with our record release party at Great Scott in Boston in mid/late March. By mid March the live music scene was dead, most media outlets were stymied, clubs were shuttered, radio was figuring out how to broadcast remotely and "Slightest of Treason" was lost in the chaos and shuffle created by the initial months of the pandemic. With an abundance of time on our hands we got back into Bluetone Studios (owned and operated by David Grabowski) and started to safely work on the "Slightest of Treason" follow up. The product of which was 25 plus new tracks for an as yet untitled album with a more relaxed, contemplative sound accompanied by lyrics that reflect the past year-plus we all experienced.

The Megalodon single ("B-Side"; Alice Drills) release is the first single from these sessions. We plan on releasing a bunch more singles leading up to a full length release sometime late 2021/early 2022.

So, we are super excited to release ER’s newest offering, Megalodon/Alice Drills. The Single is still that moody post-punk that is broadly political and decidedly intimate. Sonically familiar while pushing pop's potential to be noisy. Looser and more accessible than prior releases. As Always, Never dull.

“The knives-out relationship-based track “Your Dead Boyfriend” is a prime example with its thoughtful, but sharp lyrics, driving pace, and explosive chorus sections. Stormy guitars, active bass line, and kinetic drum-work surge along with rousing dual vocals from Cameron Keiber and guest Sarah Borges.” — Jen Dan
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“Between the sweep of rock and gloom, band frontman and songwriter Cameron Keiber has either written a grand breakup song or a powerful political song (or both).” — Jed Gottlieb …Read More

“ A sad, strange little gem on an album full of sad, strange little gems”