Good morning! Is it still morning where you are? If not then good day (or night, or whatever).
Why is it so good? I’ll tell you why. It is Wednesday, 03 May, and we’ve got a new album Poppy Patica! TGEFM is simply over the moon to premiere the entirety of Black Cat Back Stage for you today! Who are Poppy Patica? Well, we did a Roll of the Dice interview with founder and, sometimes but not always, solo member Peter Hartmann, so you can read up about that here, but do it in a bit because now right you’re going to want to hear the music first.
We asked Peter to tell us a bit more about the album, and he obliged, saying:
Black Cat Back Stage was recorded in February of 2020, just before the pandemic. Three years later it’s finally out and I’m so excited to share it. I wanted to record this album to capture the sound of this particular lineup of Poppy Patica, with Nikhil Rao on drums, Chloe on vocals and keys, and Jeremy Ray on bass. They each brought so much of their own unique talent to the band and helped make the songs come alive. I knew this lineup was coming to an end because I was planning to leave D.C. and we all were headed our separate ways. Owen Wuerker and D Saperstein recorded and produced the album. They helped achieve the sound I wanted which was somewhere between a live show at a small venue and a fully digital pop album.
I named the album after the now closed part of the Black Cat, the Backstage, because I wanted to memorialize that space which meant so much to me growing up. I also felt like that space closing was symbolic of the changes happening in D.C. Out with the old and authentic, and in with the new and generic. A lot of the songs focus on that theme. The artwork is a watercolor made by my sister, Laura Hartmann, when we were in high school. I felt like using a piece of artwork from that era 2007-2010 helped capture the nostalgia that I have for growing up in D.C. and going to the Black Cat as a teenager. I also just love my sister’s artwork and feel like it matches well with the sound of my music.
The last song, Kiwi, is the only one that wasn’t recorded in D.C. That one was recorded with Ross Farbe of Video Age at his studio in New Orleans in 2019. We met when I was in college and his old band came through on tour. We stayed in touch and eventually ended up working on this song together. Even though it was from a separate session, I felt fit with the rest of the songs. The album is meant to sound dirty and clean. Poppy and freaky. I hope you enjoy.
TGEFM enjoys, and we hope you do, too.
Black Cat Back Stage is still available for preorder over at Bandcamp on digital and vinyl. Although now firmly rooted in the SF Bay Area, Poppy Patica will be back on the East Coast for a pair of album release parties in DC and NYC, and you can see the posters for those gigs, and more details, below. Underneath all that, be sure to check out social links for all things Poppy Patica!
May 12 – Washington, D.C. @ The Cool Ranch
May 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Owl Music Parlor
Poppy Patica socials:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
