Stepdad

Stepdad was forged in an unrelenting bath of summer heat on Chicago's south side in 2009 by songwriters/producers/college dropouts/solid bros Ryan McCarthy and ultramark on the foundation of their joint worship of Roland Orzabal and Brian Wilson. After a few quick months, the still nameless duo was sitting on a small mountain of songs. The name Stepdad was arrived upon by a random phrase generator and adopted without regard for the impending banality of rehashing that story during interviews.

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Swiftly deciding that a low cost of living heavily outweighed the benefits of Chicago, Stepdad relocated to Grand Rapids (because it's not Detroit) in their home state of Michigan and self-released their debut EP Ordinaire. Alex Fives and Jeremy Malvin were then added to the lineup on bass and drums respectively. This incarnation carried them through tours with Fitz and the Tantrums, Passion Pit, and Rubblebucket. The success of infectious and heavily layered pop behemoths like “My Leather, My Fur, My Nails” and “Jungles” helped Stepdad gain the attention of producer Chris Zane (Passion Pit, Asobi Seksu, The Walkmen, Les Savy Fav) and in the summer of 2011, Stepdad readily shacked up with friends and bedbugs in New York City to record their debut LP Wildlife Pop, out June 12, 2012 on Black Bell Records.

Wildlife Pop presents a creative leap forward for Stepdad, expanding their already massive pop sound. “Will Ever Dance Again” and “Must Land Running” successfully transplant their aptitude for unforgettable choruses into a larger sound bed while the galactic rainforest sensations of “Treasure Hugs”, “Exploring”, and “Starfriends on Earth” create the cathartic urge to sprint barefoot through a gauntlet of scorpions on a municipal trail paved with searing drywall screws (fortunately for listeners everywhere, this compelling inclination would be devilishly hard to act upon). Stepdad recently added multi-instrumentalist Nathan K. to polish off the lineup. They plan on touring into the foreseeable future and remain dedicated to the creation of increasingly interesting and listenable pop music.