End of an Error, the new four song EP from independent Nashville rock duo The Minor Toughs, is now available digitally via Dazed and Defused Records. The Toughs are a recording project featuring Ryan Ervin (songwriting, guitar, bass, vocals), and Todd Kemp (drums, percussion), a couple of Music City rock lifers who were previously bandmates in beloved local indie bands The Carter Administration and Century Club.
The Minor Toughs get their name from a deep cut on Spoon's seminal album A Series of Sneaks. "I always thought that was a great band name. I pictured a gang of first graders roaming the halls, shaking down the kindergartners for milk money," laughs Ervin. "The name sounds similar to Minor Threat, but with absolutely zero menace." Ryan and Todd have been playing music together for nearly 25 years, and while their sounds lean more towards 1990 than 2020, they're not on a nostalgia trip - they're just tapping into the influences that have long been a hallmark of their brand of power-pop infused rock n roll.
Recorded and mixed by longtime collaborator and recent Grammy winner Jeremy Ferguson (Cage the Elephant, Lambchop), End of an Error eschews modern rock production flourishes and sticks to rock's fundamentals. Fuzzed out wah, thick rhythm guitars, layered harmony leads and loud drums run a strong line through the EP, with a strong focus on lyrical melody.
The bombastic leadoff track "Try Harder" was written with lyrical and musical assistance from Ervin's eight year old daughter, who came to her dad with a lyric sheet inspired by frustrations with the current political and societal unpleasantness. "Shakedown Cruise" is an anthemic pep talk to a friend going through some difficult circumstances, and features an intro/outro riff that tips the hat to the G n' R classic "Sweet Child O' Mine". "Morning Television" takes some cues from late-era Replacements, but trades in Westerberg's melancholy moods for sing along simplicity and a massive chorus. "Like It's 1969" is a more atmospheric, mellow nod to Macca and Dark Horse, addressing two loving parents on their 50th anniversary, featuring mellotron and slide guitar harmonies.
credits
released December 11, 2020
Songs written by R. Ervin, except "Try Harder", words and music by Ryan Ervin and Amelia Ervin
Ryan Ervin: guitars, bass, vocals
Todd Kemp: drums, percussion
Recorded and mixed September 2020, by Jeremy Ferguson
Battle Tapes Recording, North Inglewood, TN
The Minor Toughs are a recording project featuring Ryan Ervin (songwriting, guitar, bass, vocals), and Todd Kemp (drums,
percussion), a couple of Music City rock lifers who were previously bandmates in beloved local indie bands The Carter Administration and Century Club....more
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