photo by Brittney Bush Bollay
Apex Manor was born of an unlikely source of inspiration: NPR’s Monitor Mix was running an online songwriting contest. They were soliciting original songs from readers, giving the prospective songwriter one weekend to write, record, and submit. Band founder Ross Flournoy decided to give it a try, writing and recording in his home. This led to feverish inspiration, as Flournoy penned more than 25 songs. Flournoy then teamed up with former bandmate Brian Whelan to record a few proper demos, and Apex Manor was born.
January 25th saw the release of their first album, The Year of Magical Drinking. Produced by Dan Long (Film School, Local Natives), the album showcases the band’s garage rock sound without suffering any studio-induced stuffiness. It’s a raw but polished, refined and fuzzy debut, proving that the ex-Broken West bandmates have emerged with their better rock sensibilities intact. Recently, the band stopped by the KEXP studios to give us an exclusive live in-studio performance. Watch below, and check out The Year of Magical Drinking, out now on Merge.
