Apex Manor

Ross Flournoy conceived Apex Manor as an outlet fusing melodic pop instincts with vigorous, guitar-driven indie rock, seeking to rebuild creative momentum after a stretch of writer’s block triggered by the breakup of his earlier group the Broken West. The 2011 album The Year of Magical Drinking marked his return, sharpening the hook-focused style of that prior band through increased guitar prominence, a retreat from 1960s touches, and lyrics shaped by more private reflections. Subsequent shifts in his circumstances placed the project on hold until 2019, when Heartbreak City arrived, shifting between harder-edged, assertive indie rock and atmospheric, inward-looking numbers.

After the Broken West ended its run in 2009, Flournoy moved from Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood to Pasadena and began mapping out plans for a new band. A car breakdown frequently left him housebound, where he drank beer while attempting to generate fresh material. An NPR-sponsored online songwriting contest called Monitor Mix prompted him to submit an entry as a self-imposed challenge. The resulting track, “Under the Gun,” captured the strain of a creative deadline, yet completing it sparked additional writing, some solo and some in collaboration with Adam Vine. Accumulating 25 songs, Flournoy tracked them with Vine, engineer Dan Long, and former Broken West bandmate Brian Whelan. The Merge-issued The Year of Magical Drinking appeared in 2011 under the Apex Manor name, drawn from the apartment where much of the work occurred.

Though the album received favorable notice, its title proved apt when Flournoy’s ongoing struggles with alcohol led him to rehab in his hometown of Memphis, where his parents remained. After a week of inpatient treatment he stayed with his family, his father—sober since 2009—serving as a steady supporter. His father had launched a pimento cheese business that Flournoy joined as it grew. He also scored instrumentals for commercials and web series, including the theme for CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper. In 2016 he began composing for a follow-up Apex Manor record, finishing 35 songs in nine months. Merge green-lit the project, and Flournoy recorded with bassist and producer Rob Barbato and drummer Dan Allaire. Two weeks of sessions produced Heartbreak City, issued in May 2019.