Aloha

Ohio's experimental rock quartet Aloha comprises guitarist/vocalist Tony Cavallario, bassist Matthew Gengler, multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Eric Koltnow, and drummer Cale Parks. Blending jazz and post-rock textures with introspective, emotionally direct songwriting, the group showcased that approach across its first two Polyvinyl Records releases—a limited-edition 7" issued in 1998 and the subsequent EP The Great Communicators, the Interpreters, the Nonbelievers—while delivering equally fervent, frequently improvised concerts. The band’s debut full-length, That’s Your Fire, appeared in 2000 and drew praise from reviewers along with a devoted indie audience. Two years afterward, drummer/multi-instrumentalist TJ Lipple replaced Koltnow, steering Aloha toward denser sonic terrain on Sugar; Some Echoes arrived in 2006. After issuing the EP Light Works in January 2008, the quartet scheduled a spring U.S. tour. Although the members had dispersed to separate cities by 2010, they sustained their collaboration by exchanging song ideas online and eventually reconvened at Lipple’s Silver Sonya studio to complete Home Acres. Following a six-year hiatus, Aloha released its seventh LP, Little Windows Cut Right Through, extending the band’s post-rock palette with 80’s-era synths and faint prog-rock hues.