Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: (Revenge of) Eternal Summers

(Re)joining us for this Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session is a band that’s been on the show more times than any other! We first struck up a friendship with the Roanoke trio Eternal Summers when they were still a duo in 2010. Around then, guitarist Nicole Yun and drummer Daniel Cundiff had just released their debut album, Silver. Not long after, bassist Jonathan Woods joined the fold and Eternal Summers has become one of the most prolific and consistently great bands around. Their newest album, Every Day It Feels Like I’m Dying, came out this spring, and we jumped at the chance to have these regulars come back to the studio.

Each time they visit, Eternal Summers pack a few new tricks. This time, it’s the addition of a keyboard to their otherwise stripped-down mix. Notice I didn’t say keyboard player, as Woods triggers samples, sequences and fluttering arpeggios with his feet while playing bass. You can hear the ‘foot piano,’ as we delighted to call it, all over the session’s first track, “New Friend.” As they are primarily a guitar-based band, it should come as no surprise that Yun’s bright and jangling changes are the guiding force behind “Motionless.” Next is the dynamic “Master of it All,” which begins with a delicately picked guitar figure before blossoming into one of the band’s most anthemic choruses. As a special extra, check out bonus performances of the shuffling “Forever Mine” and the gleeful punk rocker “Contenders,” which serves as the new album’s lead singles.

Listen to Eternal Summers’ latest Indie Rock Hit Parade session below, see some of Dylan Eddinger’s photos from the studio, and check out the band’s upcoming west coast tour dates…