Eros and the Eschaton: Fuzzed Up Indie Bliss
Colorado Springs Dream-Poppers build a massive musical home on new album Weight of Matter
There’s an undeniable and unmistakable buzz in the air at the Flux Capacitor right now, Friday August 26th; and it’s hard not to get caught up in it. Cigarette smoke and excited conversations waft through the cooling night air outside beloved Colorado Springs underground DIY venue. Inside, it’s small performance space is packed to the gills; the walls reverberating warmly with the buzzsaw thump of the opening acts. Tonight’s atmosphere has a real make-hay-while-the-sun-shines quality to it.
Which isn’t really hard to do. Because tonight, we’re all here for the same reason; to bear witness and celebrate the newest album of one of our own.
Colorado Springs based Eros and the Eschaton may have been born in North Carolina, but they’ve made their home and damn near exploded out of little old Southern Colorado; their potent meld of dream-pop and fuzzed up indie bliss has been winning over fans all over the country and beyond since their inception as a two-piece in 2012. But the best may be yet to come from E & E.
On their newest album Weight of Matter, Eros and Eschaton reach dizzying new heights in both songwriting and sonic progression, and now as a full band, have thrillingly redefined their own sound yet again, taking the aforementioned qualities and expanded on them while drawing from new musical wells.
We had a quick chat with founding member Kate Perdoni about the continuing evolution and of Eros and the Eschaton.
PULP: Eros and the Eschaton was initially a duo act the first time I saw you a few years back. Was there always a plan to expand on members?
Kate Perdoni: In 4 years since starting Eros, we’ve been a two piece, a three piece, a four piece, and back to a two piece — depending on where we lived and the tour schedule. It was definitely natural to work toward having a full band once settling in Colorado. Alex has been playing with us for almost two and a half years. Ryan and Mitch joined about a year ago.
Has expanding the group out been a pretty easy process for everyone involved?
It’s not easy to coordinate five humans with human tendencies. We’re all pretty passionate people, so with the growth of the band has come a need to be more intentional about how we interact and incorporate everyone’s ideas. We have so, so much fun, and laugh so much, it’s just great. These guys are for sure my kindred music-making weirdos.
Was the whole band involved in the creation of the songs that ended up on Weight of Matter?
Yup, everyone in the band played on the record, and four of us wrote songs for the album.
Your current record label Bar/None has a roster of killer bands. Everyone from Dinosaur Jr and Yo La Tengo to some modern heavy hitters. How did working with them come about?
It’s a classic tale of discovery. They reached out after they saw a live music video some friends made.
You’ve been in near constant motion and have toured long and hard; How has staying put here in Colorado been for you?
Prior to moving back to Colorado at the tail end of 2013, I’d spent half my life living in a place no longer than two years, and usually much shorter. I romanticized the idea of home as something that I carried with me. I still love to travel and tour, but am super relieved to have bought a home and set up shop in Colorado Springs. I’ve been able to plant deep and get involved with a lot of things that I am passionate about.
The list of bands the members of E & E have as a unit is staggering; Do you feel like your other musical projects are an extension or continuance of Eros, or another thing entirely?
We all play and record various incarnations of our own solo music, and play with other bands. The seasons change and the bands change as we change, but certainly everyone has a musical career with legs outside of this group.
You were a part of the (artists development and discovery platform) Red Bull Sound Select roster. How did getting picked up as an artist for it come about?
It was really the folks behind the Underground Music Showcase (UMS) that got us under the Redbull spotlight. James Irvine, Jason Hoke, Will Dupree, and Kendall Smith, for starters, have been ridiculously supportive of our music career. Those awesome connections in the Denver scene also turned into some of my favorite friendships.
Any big plans for the rest of the year?
We’re touring the midwest and east coast in September and October. I’m stoked to shoot a music video for “Rxx” in New York this fall.
Weight of Matter is out right now! Streaming on Spotify and more importantly available for purchase from Bar/None Records
