Listening to Virginia Creeper is like shaking up an antique snow globe, watching specks of snow dust, now browned by the hands of time, fall erratically over a paint-chipped and slightly off-putting penguin.*
*description based on real penguin
Virginia Creeper started as the solo project of Genevieve Poist, who started writing songs while growing up in Western Maryland. After moving to Austin, Texas, in 2017, Poist soon met guitarist Aaron Zachary, and the two began making DIY recordings together, merging Zachary’s country-leaning guitar playing with the Berman-inspired folk lyricism of Poist’s songwriting. As was the case for many artists, the pandemic derailed their foray into gigging and expanding their sound beyond the duo’s more intimate stylings, but the moment opened the door for Virginia Creeper to make their first set of formal recordings with close friend and producer Marshall Pruitt (Brody Price, Westmoreland, St. Yuma). Virginia Creeper’s first full-band effort, “People Love the Dallas Cowboys Because They Want to Love Themselves,” was recorded between August 2020 and December 2021 across several Texas cities but mostly out of Lazybones Audio, the Silsbee, Texas-based studio of producer and engineer Tommy Read (Lomelda, Jodi, Why Bonnie). Written primarily in the years following her mother’s death but recalling themes of identity and belief before, during, and after the event, Poist’s lyrics are an effort in record-keeping and dog-earing time. Apt reflections on memory and loss weave their way across the album’s loud and quiet moments, creating spaces of poignancy amidst ear-wormy melodies, slide guitar, and folk fingerpicking. Virginia Creeper’s twang-infused indie rock builds on the artistic stylings of musicians like Jason Molina, Adrianne Lenker, and Alex G and finds peers in acts like Sadurn, Wednesday, and Why Bonnie. Now rounded out by bandmates Michelle Ayoubi, Aaron Arguello, and Kyle Dugger, the five-piece has spent the bulk of 2022 covering ground around their home state. With PLTDCBTWTLT’s looming 2023 release, Virginia Creeper is taking their Cowboys-core on the road, finally sharing long-awaited stages and spaces with the wide web of cross-country musicians and friends they’ve made over the last four years.
Stace Brandt is a queer musician based in Boston and formerly in Burlington, Vermont. Over time they have honed raw and intuitive songwriting into minimal yet lush sonic sentiments. Stace’s current three-piece digs an edge into rock while keeping a sturdy backbone of folk and r&b influence.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bhf9uibK7bwgRnqGT3yhJ?si=NFLh_QiNR_GjGyvvb95HKQ