The growing musical affection Stepdad has received through its steady growth as a rising band may be just enough to soon push them over the edge into the indie pop mainstream. Don’t think it’s as easy as it sounds, as reaching this level of popularity doesn’t just happen overnight.
Although acceptance of their style of music has been more easily obtained as indie serves as a genre safe-spot in the music industry, this Grand Rapids-based electronic pop band has taken the buzz they’ve received from fans and several online music publications to ensure the highly anticipated release of Strange Tonight trumps their past releases in an effort to expand their already nationwide fan base.
Strange Tonight is the band’s newly unleashed four-track EP released on Quite Scientific Records, which serves as the band’s third release after the 2010 EP debut of Ordinaire and 2012 LP, Wildlife Pop. Following a switch of record labels and an intense touring schedule, Stepdad managed to squeeze in some time to appease their fans with an early debut of Strange Tonight’s first track, “Running (Does That Mean You Care?)” as a tease to set the stage for high hopes towards what we’re anticipating to be the band’s most successful release.
The EP features a new taste of the band’s electro-pop style which seemingly blends their past indie pop sound into a slick reverberation. You can expect to hear the group’s infamous catchy synth-beat combo behind Ultramark’s (aka Mark Tafel) unprecedented vocals which altogether help tie the EP into a multi-faceted, digitally-layered sound.
Simply choosing one track was a hard feat, but we feel “Evening at Marie’s” serves as a different taste to the band’s usual sound. It has a softer ballad-esque feel, with a successful intertwinement of a punchy chorus. Before we give too much away, press play and listen for yourself.
