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Stephen Steinbrink

Sounding sweet on the surface with complex emotions lurking beneath, Stephen Steinbrink's music is indie pop with carefully stacked harmonies, vintage keyboard sounds, production that combines a lo-fi mindset with clean engineering, and a lyrical perspective that's usually bittersweet and sometimes sorrowful. Originally from Arizona, Steinbrink has been something of a nomad and performed with a variety of bands, including Dear Nora, Lake, and Boy Scouts, but he began making an impression as a solo artist with 2013's I Drew a Picture, where his slightly bent pop classicism first appeared fully formed. 2018's Utopia Teased was made in the wake of a tragedy that shook him deeply, and 2023's Disappearing Coin, recorded after a break from making music, found him sounding refreshed and eager to explore. Stephen Steinbrink was born in 1988 in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. A creative kid growing up in a town that prized conformity, Steinbrink turned to music as a way of expressing his frustrations and taught himself to play the guitar. In 2006, he joined Andrew Jackson Jihad, a folk-punk band from Phoenix, and he would record and perform with them for the next two years. At the same time, he was making music with another project, French Quarter, which featured Preston Bryant of AJJ and Aaron Neber of Black Feet. In 2008, he made his solo debut with a small-run CD-R release, a home-recorded set titled Wedding. A second CD, Ugly Unknowns, came out the following year, and Rennet, an eight-song EP recorded with James Roemer, appeared in 2010. A cassette-only EP, Condensed Nothing, was issued in 2011, with another tape, Yellow Canary Jumpsuit, appearing in shops in 2012. Steinbrink recorded an album for Holy Page Records, 2013's I Drew a Picture, that earned enthusiastic press, and during a sojourn in the Pacific Northwest, he took part in the sessions for Lake's fourth album, The World Is Real, issued by K Records in 2013. Steinbrink became a charter member of the experimental group Soft Shoulder, appearing on 2015's No Draw and 2017's Songs and Intermissions, and he was a touring member of a number of notable indie acts, including of Dear Nora, Girlpool, Broken Water, Flying Circles, and Ever Ending Kicks. 2016 brought another solo effort from Steinbrink, the critically celebrated Anagrams, and in December of that year, the influential Oakland, California D.I.Y. venue Ghost Ship was gutted by a fire that claimed 36 lives. Steinbrink, who had played there, was powerfully affected by the tragedy, and he locked himself in his home studio as he sorted out his emotions. He eventually emerged with the 2018 LP Utopia Teased, which was wisely praised in the indie music community. Steinbrink devoted his energies to working with other artists over the next several years, appearing on albums by Boy Scouts (2019's Free Company) and Madeline Kenney (2020's Sucker's Lunch), as well as recording at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. His follow-up to Utopia Teased finally arrived in August 2023; Disappearing Coin, an exercise in polished, expressive pop, was issued in Western Vinyl.
© Mark Deming /TiVo

Discography

17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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