Post Animal sign to Pod/Inertia Music; Announce debut album ‘When I Think Of You In A Castle’

Chicago neo-psych rock band Post Animal recently signed to Pod/Inertia Music and today have announced their incredible forthcoming debut album entitled When I Think Of You In A Castle. The product of six friends exploring their affinity for slick riffs, pop hooks, and psychedelic flourishes, When I Think Of You In A Castle is a record that almost didn’t get made. “Before this album, we weren’t sure what the future of the band was going to look like. I was considering moving to Los Angeles and Joe [Keery] was off filming Stranger Things. We didn’t know where we were all going but we knew we wanted to make an album with all of us in the same room,” explains drummer Wesley Toledo. When the band – comprised of friends from childhood, the local music scene, and hometown burger joints – found the time to go to a lake house in Michigan to record, magic happened and When I Think Of You In A Castle was born. The album will be released on Friday, April 20 on Pod via Inertia Music.

Post Animal have made a name for themselves as one of Chicago’s most exciting up-and-coming bands, having toured with the likes of Twin Peaks, Wavves, and White Reaper. To celebrate their debut album the band will embark on a headlining U.S. tour, including festival plays at Bonnaroo and Shaky Knees Festival, as well as nine shows at SxSW.

The album’s first single ‘Ralphie‘ finds guitarist Joe Keery and bassist Dalton Allison trading lead vocals. Though Post Animal’s live shows have long proven that swirling riffs are the band’s bread-and-butter, it’s earworms like this that show how easily they can churn out an infectious pop melody. Listen to the song now via Stereogum, and read Post Animal’s statement below about their friend and bandmate Joe Keery.

Post Animal are a band of brothers. Though they formed in 2014 and just began touring in 2017, they are joined in a bond much tighter than their years suggest. Initially formed when childhood friends, bassist Dalton Allison and guitarist Matt Williams, met keyboardist and guitarist Jake Hirshland, the band’s sound began to take shape when the three enlisted some more pals from both the Chicago music scene and through their time working at local burger restaurants. Rounding out the band’s lineup, Post Animal is completed by drummer Wesley Toledo and guitarists Javi Reyes and Joe Keery.

Like most bands in Chicago’s inclusive music community, Post Animal got their start playing DIY basements and small rock clubs. With their wavy and warped first project, 2015’s Post Animal Perform The Most Curious Water Activities EP, and then 2016’s memorable singles collection, The Garden Series, the band showcased mesmerising and catchy pop melodies. Between their impressive early releases and their wild live shows which feature the band members sharing lead vocal duties, Post Animal have unquestionably solidified themselves as one of Chicago’s most exciting new acts. 

In the summer of 2016, the band retreated to a lake house in Watervliet, Michigan to record When I Think Of You In A Castle. For a week and a half, they tracked the LP—all while realising they weren’t really alone in the house. According to the band, a ghost dwelled there that would jolt them awake from naps and even ended up with a guest appearance on the album. Of course, not all of the magic on When I Think Of You In A Castle can be pinned on the supernatural. Following the lake house trip, the band finished the album at their house in Chicago with Allison perfecting the mix over the next year; even while on their 48-city summer tour in their beloved van (RIP Shannon). The finished album, which was mastered by Jake’s brother, Jared Hirshland, is a truly collaborative continuation on the band’s kaleidoscopic and sprawling early beginnings. 

But most importantly, When I Think Of You In A Castle is a testament to not only the brotherly connection that these friends share, but also to the power of collaboration between like-minded musicians who just get one another. “Before we recorded it, it was an uncertain time for us as a band, but we all just had a magical time at this lake house in the middle of summer,” explains Toledo. Almost impossible to describe, the Post Animal bond is best observed while foolin’ at the merch table after a sweaty show. They look forward to seeing you there and, naturally, becoming your new best friends.

EARLY PRAISE FOR POST ANIMAL

“happily fell into this Post Animal psych rock hole while
stalking and found it to be really, really great.”
i-D

“swirling sounds, which can be big and beefy when they
want to and all weird and twee, like something Syd Barrett’s
found at the bottom of the garden, the next…rather good.”
NME

“One of the city’s best psych-rock bands…think if Tame Impala listened
to a lot of Black Sabbath and were signed to Elephant 6. ”
Chicago Tribune