Life Coach

Life Coach emerged as a post-rock supergroup in 2012, its roots extending from an elaborate prior narrative. Phil Manley, functioning as producer and multi-instrumentalist while counting among the founding members of early post-rock legends Trans Am, issued a solo album under his own name in 2011 that he called Life Coach. Minimal Krautrock textures formed the core of that project, anticipating the palette Life Coach the band would later refine, even as it leaned on drum machines and extensive self-overdubbing by Manley. To document a follow-up set of comparable material, Manley recruited drummer Jon Theodore of Mars Volta and Golden to supplant the programmed beats with live playing. Guitarist Isaiah Mitchell was added next to handle lead shredding, completing the lineup that then claimed the Life Coach name for itself. Thrill Jockey released the group’s debut album, Alphawaves, in 2013.