Ophelias - Almost - VINYL LP

Madalitso Band - Ma Gitala [COMPACT DISCS] date 07/04/2025

During the pandemic, The Ophelias transformed uncertainty into Spring Grove, their fourth album and most dynamic offering yet. Named after a Cincinnati cemetery, the album blends nostalgia with fresh perspective, reflecting on themes of relationships, identity, and power dynamics. Singer-songwriter Spencer Peppet draws from her OCD diagnosis during the pandemic and the clarity that comes with growing older, resulting in lyrics that explore the cracks and complexities of human connection.Produced by Julien Baker, who adds rich textures and harmonies, Spring Grove marks a turning point in the band's evolution. Recorded at Young Avenue Sound in Memphis, the album centers on the core quartet-Peppet, violinist Andrea Gutmann Fuentes, bassist Jo Shaffer, and drummer Mic Adams-with arrangements that balance cinematic intensity and delicacy. Gutmann Fuentes's violin provides striking countermelodies, while Shaffer's bass lines, inspired by doom metal, explore melodic depth. Adams's drumming reflects his first project after transitioning, offering nuanced rhythms that blend power and tenderness.With one queer and two trans members, the band has moved beyond the reductive tag of an Inchall-girlInch group, delving deeply into themes of womanhood and identity. Tracks like InchSalomeInch and InchParadeInch examine power dynamics and friendship, while nature imagery in songs like InchCumulonimbusInch and InchVulture TreeInch mirrors lived experience. Across 13 tracks, the album's cinematic and introspective journey scavenges the past for meaning, ultimately embracing transformation. On the closing track, InchShapes,Inch Peppet reaches serene acceptance, singing, InchI see what's coming after... a reflection in the water. I am rippling forever.InchSpring Grove captures the band's evolution, offering a transcendent meditation on self-awareness, identity, and growth, leaving listeners

After 2018's critically acclaimed Almost opened The Ophelias to a world beyond their Cincinnati home, the indie rock quartet craved a return to a sense of community. The band members no longer lived in the same city - bandleader Spender Peppet (she/her) and new bassist/longtime music video collaborator Jo Shaffer (they/them) live in New York, while drummer Mic Adams (he/him) and violinist Andrea Gutmann Fuentes (she/her) remain in Ohio. When it came time to record the candid, expansive Crocus, The Ophelias purposefully focused on the experimental, communal spirit that fueled their first record. Crocus was recorded at night in a converted Inch2000 percent hauntedInch Masonic lodge, which surely had an effect on the album's ability to weave darker tones through the taut song structures. Engineer John Hoffman kept spirits high at The Lodge KY, ensuring the Ophelias had the freedom to experiment in the grey area between pain and rebirth. Despite The Lodge's eerie nature, the ghosts remain personal, finding Peppet facing herself and her own truth without blinking. Through songs equally infused with references to the Bible and The Twilight Zone, The Ophelias extract mystic emotion out of the spaces between their past, present, and future. The four Ophelias members provide a wide-reaching exploration into genre, emotion, and sonic textures over the course of Crocus. That expansiveness shines on album highlight InchNeil Young on High,Inch a track that finds Peppet's firefly vocals backed by harmonies from Julien Baker. On InchSpitting ImageInch Gutmann Fuentes leans hard into country swing, showing her range as a violinist while a chorus of voices sing the taunting Inchha ha haInch hook below her. Shaffer's bass intertwines seamlessly with the drums on InchBecoming a Nun,Inch which explodes into feedback and punk-inspired textures beyond what The Ophelias have previously crea