Back the early 2000s, a short-lived Nashville alt-rock supergroup came together and called themselves Astronaut Pushers. The band, comprised of Sam Ashworth, Superdrag vocalist John Davis, drummer Lindsay Jamieson (who'd worked with The Sundays and later Ben Folds and more), and guitarist Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, started out playing shows at local venues, and it was actually at one of those gigs that Ben Folds first saw Lindsay drum. They also began recording at Matt's house with prominent Nashville engineers Taylor Harris and Jacquire King, and apparently had caught the attention of V2 Records, but at the same time, Lindsay was recording drums for Ben Folds' Songs for Silverman, and when that album took off, Lindsay hit the road to tour with Ben, putting a halt to Astronaut Pushers' plans.
"It was just a gig that [Lindsay] needed to do," Sam said. "It made sense, we all understood, but it quickly became evident that continuing wasn’t going to be feasible at this point in time." So Astronaut Pushers narrowed what recordings they did have to a four-song EP, self-released it, and sold it through direct mail order and at their last few remaining shows, including their final gig opening for Silversun Pickups at Exit/In.
Now, 17 years later, the EP is getting a wide release this Friday (8/12) via Lost In Ohio on limited 12" etched vinyl (pre-order), and it comes with the previously unreleased bonus track "Monday Morning." "I listened to the jams when we first started talking about [the reissue], for the first time in a long time and they were still just brand new," John said. Sam agreed: "Listening back to these songs recently, I really am just amazed at how it still sounds fresh. I can’t say that about a whole lot of music that I’ve made in the last twenty years. It just feels like this could come out right now as a brand-new thing and feel so appropriate for the times."
The sound of the EP varies, with the danceable rock of opener "Cut Me Off," the dark and acidic "Come On Make It Harder," the theatrically optimistic "Bacharaquattack," and the rocking mid-tempo closer "Nobody Wants." "Monday Morning" adds country/bluegrass-inspired riffs to the grungy mix, broadening the EP's patchwork sound even further. "It’s about someone with no pattern to their life, just surviving and taking it for what it is with a fatalistic resignation. Balancing somewhere between hope and nihilism," Lindsay says. "With a little sexual tension thrown in for pop."
A stream of "Monday Morning" premieres right here:
