I am super excited to catch the one and only Remo Drive as they stop by The Fine Line on their 2022 tour!
A slice of tremolo-heavy classic rock filtered through the lens of the gunslinging American West, Remo Drive’s third LP, A Portrait of an Ugly Man, is in many ways a return to form for the Minnesota-based indie-rock duo. The album, with its acrobatic guitar work, deeply self-referential lyrics, and off-the-walls energy, calls back to the dextrous, eccentric sound that helped the band – brothers Erik (vocals, guitar) and Stephen (bass) Paulson – explode into the underground with their debut album, 2017’s Greatest Hits. And, like the band’s earliest material, it took shape in an equally unassuming place: their parents’ basement.
When the Paulsons stumbled across a Tascam recording desk on Facebook Marketplace in 2019, they thought it might make a nice starting point to demo songs for their then-forthcoming third LP. But $250 and a few weeks later, they found themselves fully entrenched in making the actual album itself. Not only that, but the safety and security of their parents’ home provided a welcome respite for the brothers, who have learned they’re most creative without a ticking clock and prying eyes peeking over their shoulders.
In turning the mirror back at themselves in this way, Remo Drive have learned a lot about who they really are: A Portrait of an Ugly Man is an album that doesn’t seek to minimize important subjects like mental health or self-worth, but rather welcome them in and accept them as part of what it means to be human. The record also cements their place as an insular, self-sustaining act who don’t need shiny gear or expensive studios to produce a great album – that task starts and ends with the songs themselves. And, as it turns out, the recording process was proof that when it comes to a nurturing, creative environment, there’s no place like home.
Boyish will be the special guest to kick the night off. Boyish was formed by India Shore and Claire Altendahl in 2016. They met at Berklee College of Music when India needed a guitarist for an audition tape and Claire volunteered. Their musical compatibility quickly became apparent and they started collaborating soon after under the name “The Blue”. The duo went on to write and produce their debut project Carnation in 2018, which received positive write-ups from notable publications. The New Yorker described them as “looking uncertainty straight in the eye in songs that are confident in their musicality even when tackling themes of angst and doubt“. Carnation was nominated for Alt-Country Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards.
Tickets are still available HERE!
