Future Crib Shares New Bedroom Pop Track 'BG'

Rising Nashville indie quintet Future Crib have shared new track "BG" from their fourth album Full Time Smile, due September 10, 2021. The track and its accompanying video -- which stars Atlantic Records signee Briston Maroney -- debuted via FLOOD Magazine, who said that "Nashville's Future Crib make twinkle-eyed songs that teeter between lo-fi psychedelia and vivid folk-rock," and praised "BG" as "a crunchier, more glowing bedroom pop track." Stream the track and watch the video HERE. The band has also announced a slate of tour dates that include shows with Illiterate Light and Briston Maroney, as well as a performance at Treefort Music Fest in Boise, ID. Find the full list of dates below.

"'BG' is a song about being deeply in love with someone and taking in every moment you have together," says drummer and vocalist Noah Pope. "I wrote it on the road during the blossom of a very special relationship. It deals with the late nights driving home, the worry of parents, and the anticipation of the future. Through a whirlwind of fear, joy, and excitement the song expresses how love feels as it begins to take shape."

Future Crib announced Full Time Smile with the release rollicking lead single "Most Likely Never Going To Die" and its accompanying video -- stream the single and watch the video HERE. Both debuted in an extensive interview feature with American Songwriter, who called the song "a catchy, nostalgic-sounding indie-rock bop that effortlessly expresses the euphoria of youthful love in modern times."

On the tail end of a pandemic that stunted artistic production around the globe, the sentiment chosen to open Future Crib's Full Time Smile may seem at first listen a bit untimely. "Happiness is going out of style / pretend you are miserable for a while," croons multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Johnny Hopson as keys and synths swish into a lush, blissful crescendo.

For the five-piece Nashville-based band, happiness isn't so much passé as it is a process, or the end result of a transitional and sometimes tumultuous period. As drummer and vocalist Noah Pope puts it, the record's central theme revolves around "recontextualizing" the parts of life that are less than pleasant. "It's about searching and having the guts and strength to move on and explore new territory," Pope adds.

Recorded in the outskirts of Atlanta in December 2020, the band gave themselves the self-imposed limitation to record Full Time Smile in the span of a week. While challenging, the method of building a makeshift studio with analog gear was a testament to the friendship that undergirds how Future Crib operates on the regular. "We were in a state of being open and communicative about where we were in our lives and I think that comes off in the record," says bassist and vocalist Julia Anderson. "We all weighed in because these songs were important to all of us."

Whereas the band's second LP, Silverdays, was, in the words of multi-instrumentalist Bryce DuBray's words, "a reimagining" and a "polishing up" of previously-produced demos, Full Time Smile is a more carefully-crafted affair, a concerted effort to reflect the band in the most accurate way possible. It's the first record by the band that features contributions of guitarist and vocalist George Rezek, who joined the group in a full-time capacity after filling in for Pope on a series of dates in 2019.

This "retreat" approach to making the record took the already-established bonds within the band to new levels. "When you make a record at home, it's going to be pretty predictable," says Hopson. Though bands are rarely a democracy, Future Crib sought to develop Full Time Smile without any particular member having absolute authority over a song's final form. Blending electronic or synthesized instrumentation with organic sounds gives the album a balance so rarely found in even the most modern of releases.

Indeed, the band made a point to put egos aside during the production and craft something that transcended any one member's preferences. "We decided to stay away from doing anything that would make the record sound like any particular band or influence," says Hopson. "We were making all of the choices that were best for each song. The influences come no matter what."

Though there was a conscious effort to avoid sounding like anything in particular, the result draws on a range of influential artists that dominated rock clubs and college radio in the 90s and early aughts. It comes as no surprise then, this alt-pop masterpiece dares to be embraced by fans of Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, Dr. Dog, and other acts of their ilk.

"We all really enjoy listening to records front-to-back," says Pope. "We put a lot of effort into arrangements and how songs flow." Though dynamic, the album retains an obvious cohesion that is owed to the band's reliance on self-recording and making a point to avoid more traditional studio setups. "There's a lot going on and a lot of room for error, but we trust each other with sounds and creative decisions because we know that ultimately we will do what's best for the song," adds Hopson.

The album's lead single, "Most Likely Never Going To Die," is an aptly-named earworm that is representative of the band's penchant for writing indelible melodies with punchy guitar licks that will surely resonate with fans of the aforementioned acts. Hopson is at his best when he waxes philosophical about what constitutes the good life without coming off as pretentious.

On "Horses," "Leaves," and less-rollicking numbers, the tempos may slow down considerably, but the emotional weight and maturity remains. While these songs may be closer in presentation to the outsider art of Bill Callahan and Daniel Johnston than radio-rock, they're no less effective. The record's title track also trades raucous sing-alongs for a reflection on how to find happiness in spite of ever-present struggle.

Despite its ecstatic moments and joyful performances throughout, Future Crib exercise a stunning amount of humility on Full Time Smile -- perhaps most especially on the record's closing track, "Forever Ain't A Long Time And We Still Have A Lot To Do." As Hopson sings, "We're kidding ourselves if we ask for a three-minute rocker to last forever." With songs as crafty as those found on Full Time Smile, though, it's very possible that these three-minute rockers may stick around for quite a long time.

FUTURE CRIB ON TOUR 2021/2022

2021

August 21 - Clarksville, TN @ Possum Stock

August 24 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

August 26 - Harrisonburg, VA @ Golden Pony %

August 27 - Westminster, SC @ Hyp-Fest

September 10 - Nashville, TN @ Fairlane Hotel

September 11 - Nashville, TN @ Drkmttr

September 13 - Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle

September 15 - Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone

September 16 - Tulsa, OK @ Mercury Lounge

September 17 - Hot Springs, AR - Maxine's Live

September 18 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 51st Street Speakeasy

September 19 - Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge

September 24-26 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest

September 27 - Sisters, OR @ Suttle Lodge & Boathouse

September 29 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge

September 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge

October 2 - Reno, NV @ Off Beat Music Festival

October 7 - Trinidad, CO @ Trinidad Lounge

October 8 - Pueblo, CO @ Blo Back Gallery

October 9 - Manitou Springs, CO @ Lulu's Downstairs

October 10 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive

2022

March 20 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East $

% - supporting Illiterate Light

$ - supporting Briston Maroney

Photo Credit: Violet Teegardin