Chris Farren

Hailing from Florida, Chris Farren first earned recognition as frontman of the Naples-rooted group Fake Problems, whose fusion of alt-country, punk, and emo cultivated a devoted hardcore audience throughout the late 2000s. He also performed with Antarctigo Vespucci, yet his solo output, encompassing Can't Die (2016) and Born Hot (2019), shifted toward melodic bedroom indie pop. Over the following decade he pursued further stylistic range, creating an imaginary spy-thriller soundtrack before joining Jay Som for the expansive 2023 release Doom Singer.

Once Fake Problems disbanded in 2014, Farren launched a series of independent solo projects that began with the holiday album Like a Gift from God or Whatever, then continued in 2015 through a demo compilation and several singles. His first official solo effort, Can't Die, appeared in 2016 via SideOneDummy Records and brought a pronounced melodic pop sensibility to his work. After moving to Los Angeles and signing with Polyvinyl, he delivered the 2019 follow-up Born Hot, which reached the Billboard charts and broadened his indie-pop palette through bright synths and vintage drum machines. In 2020 Farren issued the standalone single "FALL IN LOVE2NIGHT," a dreamy power-pop track. His subsequent album adopted an unusual premise: conceived as the score for a nonexistent spy thriller, the largely instrumental Death Don't Wait (2022) drew inspiration from Marvin Gaye's 1972 Trouble Man soundtrack and included contributions from former bandmate Jeff Rosenstock. The next year he partnered with bedroom-pop artist Jay Som, who produced, engineered, and mixed Doom Singer. Fronted by the heavy bubblegum-punk single "Cosmic Leash," the record traversed Farren's wide-ranging quirks, spanning understated singer-songwriter material and abrasive, high-volume hardcore passages.