Big Bliss

Emerging from Brooklyn, the post-punk trio Big Bliss draws on the genre's foundational acts—the Cure, Joy Division, and Echo and the Bunnymen—to shape its propulsive yet tuneful approach, evident across its catalog and particularly on the debut album At Middle Distance from 2018.

The group came together in 2015 when brothers Tim and Cory Race chose to collaborate musically for the first time. Raised by different parents while growing up in Ohio, the siblings ended up living only blocks apart once they both settled in New York. They completed the roster by adding bassist and vocalist Wallace May, a longtime friend of the Races who had previously played in Young Tides, pairing his input with Cory's drumming skill and Tim's vocals, guitar work, and post-punk tastes. At first the project stayed confined to the studio, producing the 2016 EP Keep Near. Before long, however, Big Bliss built a following through live appearances, which gained momentum from singles including the 2017 track "Fortune" and the next year's "Contact." The band's first full-length, At Middle Distance, arrived in October 2018.