The Key Studio Sessions: Weekender

It’s no surprise that Philly four-piece Weekender is appearing on this Saturday’s Making Time $2 Bill show. When you look at the roots of DJ Dave P’s long-running futuristic sounds party, you’ll find they actually lie in fuzzed-out psychedelic Britpop of a couple decades ago. During the early days of Making Time (its tenure at Transit or The Troc), it wouldn’t be uncommon to hear Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, The Stone Roses or Slowdive blaring out of the speakers in the dancefloor mix, and those are exactly some of the artists that the Sheehan brothers draw inspiration from. After making noise in The Tweeds for a number of years, singer-guitarist-older-bro Derek and drummer-younger-bro Nic recruited scene friends from Gypsy Death and You (bassist Emily Cahill) and Bleeding Fractals (Tom Anthony) to refocus with a sound rooted in new nostalgia for the tripped-out 90s. The driving single “No Help from Jesus” was in regular rotation on XPN for a while, and the band got picked up by Brooklyn label Paper Cup Music; the Spanish Peaks EP was reissued in November, and a followup is being finished with producer Kyle Johnson for an early 2014 release. On the heels of Weekender’s appearance at Tri State Indie’s Lou Reed Tribute and in advance of its Making Time set, they stopped by our studio to record a feisty live set; listen to it below, and download three songs – including one unreleased cut, “Beautiful System.” In addition, check out a stream of the band’s very pretty and drifting take on “I’ll Be Your Mirror” as a streaming-only track. Get info on Weekender’s Making Time appearance on December 14th here, and look for more from the band in 2014.