Finish Ticket

Finish Ticket is a quartet from San Francisco whose sound fuses indie-rock textures with the immediacy of mainstream pop. The group first surfaced in 2009 via the EP Life Underwater, then delivered the album-length Tears You Apart four years afterward. After issuing several shorter releases, moving cities, and adjusting personnel, they returned in 2024—eleven years after their debut LP—with the sophomore set Echo Afternoon.

The band originated in 2008 among students at Alameda High School just outside San Francisco. Its current lineup comprises Brendan Hoye on lead vocals and keyboards, Alex DiDonato on guitar and vocals, bassist Michael Hoye, and drummer Gabe Stein. Life Underwater appeared in 2009, followed in 2010 by the EP Shake a Symphony. Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley produced the 2013 full-length Tears You Apart, which included the singles “Catch You on My Way Out” and “Doctor.” Elektra signed the quartet in 2014, and the EP When Night Becomes Day arrived the next year; its track “Color” became their first Billboard Alternative Top 40 entry. After an intensive touring cycle, the band shifted operations to Los Angeles in 2018 and parted ways with Michael Hoye and keyboardist Nick Stein. They continued issuing occasional new songs while concentrating on fresh material. In 2022 Finish Ticket signed with Better Noise Records and began recording their second album. Working with Jim Kaufman (Helmet, Atlas Genius) and Michael Coleman (Chappell Roan, Sure Sure) in addition to self-production, the resulting Echo Afternoon surfaced in the middle of 2024, introduced by the advance tracks “Let You Go” and “Float Away.”