MY EPIC

Over time, perspective cycles back around. No matter how much you see, experience, learn, and live, you can always re-identify and recapture the magic around you. My Epic—Aaron Stone [guitar, vocals], Tanner Morita [guitar], and Nate Washburn [guitar, bass]—tune into this moment of reawakening on their fourth full-length offering and Tooth & Nail Records debut, Loriella. Balancing waves of warm distorted fuzz with lush melodies and cinematic production, the group make the kind of music that rouses the senses and might just encourage you to open your eyes, mind, and heart a little wider…

“The record is about having lived long enough to lose your innocence and still being able to find joy, hope, peace, and faith,” explains Aaron. “I can be a critical person, but there’s a difference between being critical and cynical. I understand why people end up choosing cynicism, because sometimes it can seem like the best way to make sense of all the data in the world–but I think cynicism is death. It’s part of my aim to fight cynicism at every turn. The album is about discovery and re-engaging life with purpose on new terms of your own.”

Throughout the past two decades, the band have quietly, yet consistently engaged a devout fanbase with a simultaneously anthemic and intricate approach to alternative rock. They’ve progressed across the likes of I Am Undone [2008], Yet [2010], and Behold[2013]. The latter notably catapulted onto the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart. Generating millions of streams, their catalog expanded with fan favorite EPs such as Viscera [2016], Ultraviolet [2018], and Violence [2019]—which HM Magazine hailed as “a blend of indie-alternative enchantments.” Meanwhile, Cory Brandan of Norma Jean lent his voice to “White Noises.” During 2020, the band signed to Tooth & Nail, turning the page on another chapter as they set their sights on their first full-length since 2013. In between, life happened as band members became dads and moved around personally and professionally.

For the first time, Nate assumed the role of primary producer, and Loriella materialized over the course of two years in three different studios. Along the way, they nodded to early inspirations such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, and Third Eye Blind.

“It was a different process,” he notes. “In the past, we didn’t necessarily have the time or the resources to perfect certain tracks. We took our time on this one.  I’m a singer-songwriter at heart, but I have a passion for huge riffs. We drew from a dynamic wide range of influences, but we still managed to plug in the fuzz pedal!”

On the first single “Northstar,” delicate piano glimmers over a glitchy haze. Teeming with emotion, a thunderous rhythm kicks in as a blast of distortion buoys the chantable chorus, “We don’t fear the light, we face it.”

“It’s our distillation of the best band we’ve been in the past,” he smiles. “The song is a journey with a large climax and a hopeful vibe at the end. In the last decade, I’ve watched my wife do a lot of work on herself in therapy. I’ve witnessed her process a ton of things. I didn’t think I could respect her anymore than I already did, but she’s so much healthier and accomplished as a result. It’s inspiring to see the miraculous growth that a person taking ownership and not feeling like a prisoner to trauma or the past can undergo. Instead, she’s empowered.”

Elsewhere, “Heavy Heart” pumps with uplifting energy. Rising towards a moment of majestic six-string catharsis, breathy verses give way to a soaring refrain where Aaron exhales, “Small as you are, you got a really heavy heart.”

“My daughter was born four years ago,” he goes on. “When you become a parent, it changes your world. I love my mom and dad to death, but it gave me a new understanding of unconditional love. I’d written two albums about pain, struggle, doubt, and fear. Not only did I want to move on from those emotions, but my life was moving on. I wasn’t in as angsty of a place. The last riff of the song was actually one of the first things we wrote for the record and it felt like a key; it was giant and heavy, but happy. ‘Heavy Heart’ represents a fresh perspective for us.”

On the opener “Late Bloomer,” string swells thread tightly around loose acoustic guitar. When the pace picks up, Aaron promises, “I can’t go back. I can only move forward.”

“We love sonics and riffs, but there’s a singer-songwriter intention with the melodies, chords, and lyrics,” he goes on. “The message is I’m trying to be right here at this moment.”

“Old Magic” tempers an off-kilter bass snap with shimmering keys, illuminating yet another facet of the album. He elaborates, “Life changes and like it or not, nostalgia can be a drug with a diminishing effect. But I don’t believe the good is passing away; it’s just changing.”

Then, there’s “Make Believe.” It amplifies stark honesty through vocoder-boosted vocals literally tracked in a church.

“We recorded a lot in this old church that had been remodeled into a community space,” he recalls. “Nate set up a PA around the church since it has a cool echo and we pumped the vocoder through the rooms and recorded that live sound. That reverb is baked into the vocoder. It adds a level of humanity to the song. Thematically, it discusses the nature of belief. We have to be able to stand behind our own beliefs and not hide behind others’ responsibility. I’m responsible for my own  life, what I believe, and the positions I hold. It’s about  the death of innocence, which you’d think I would’ve written about before this age,” he smiles.

In the end, My Epic endeavor to elevate you to a place where everything feels possible again.

“When you listen to this, I hope you leave the record feeling like someone knows what you’ve been through and it’s possible to lean away from cynicism,” he leaves off. “There are reasons to have hope and faith. This is definitely the record we wanted to make, and we hope you hear the love we put into it.”