Biography
Restorations arose after the dissolution of post-hardcore outfit Jena Berlin, fusing post-rock, punk, Americana, folk-rock, and anthemic indie into a turbulent whole. Their self-titled debut arrived in 2011, after which the group refined that restless approach across the expansive LP3 in 2014, whose urban-meets-heartland atmosphere gave way to the taut self-titled set issued in 2024.
The Philadelphia-based act formed in 2008 when singer-guitarist Jon Loudon and guitarist Dave Klyman sought a casual weekly outlet following the end of Jena Berlin. Little more than that modest aim guided their first rehearsals, yet by 2010 a sequence of releases had drawn sustained critical notice for its blend of post-rock, emo, punk, folk-rock, and Americana. A run of singles and the 2010 EP Strange Behavior preceded the 2011 Tiny Engines debut album Restorations, also known as LP1, whose swift evolution underscored the band’s versatility.
Growing support secured a deal with Los Angeles indie SideOneDummy Records. Producer and collaborator Jonathan Low, previously linked to the War on Drugs and the National, supplied an exploratory sensibility that enlarged the muscular textures of 2013’s LP2. October 2014 brought the sweeping heartland statement LP3, again recorded with Low.
By then the lineup had settled around Loudon, Klyman, guitarist Ben Pierce, bassist Dan Zimmerman, and drummer Jeff Meyers. Working once more with Low across studios in upstate New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the quintet completed LP5000, which Tiny Engines released in September 2018. The album alternated working-class uplift with wearying sociopolitical material.
After Bean Friend replaced Pierce, and with members now scattered between Philadelphia, Asheville, and Buffalo, Klyman engineered the next project during several years of intermittent sessions. Rehearsals held in Philadelphia and across the river in New Jersey yielded a more urgent, dissonant balance, resulting in the self-released second self-titled album of March 2024.
The Philadelphia-based act formed in 2008 when singer-guitarist Jon Loudon and guitarist Dave Klyman sought a casual weekly outlet following the end of Jena Berlin. Little more than that modest aim guided their first rehearsals, yet by 2010 a sequence of releases had drawn sustained critical notice for its blend of post-rock, emo, punk, folk-rock, and Americana. A run of singles and the 2010 EP Strange Behavior preceded the 2011 Tiny Engines debut album Restorations, also known as LP1, whose swift evolution underscored the band’s versatility.
Growing support secured a deal with Los Angeles indie SideOneDummy Records. Producer and collaborator Jonathan Low, previously linked to the War on Drugs and the National, supplied an exploratory sensibility that enlarged the muscular textures of 2013’s LP2. October 2014 brought the sweeping heartland statement LP3, again recorded with Low.
By then the lineup had settled around Loudon, Klyman, guitarist Ben Pierce, bassist Dan Zimmerman, and drummer Jeff Meyers. Working once more with Low across studios in upstate New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the quintet completed LP5000, which Tiny Engines released in September 2018. The album alternated working-class uplift with wearying sociopolitical material.
After Bean Friend replaced Pierce, and with members now scattered between Philadelphia, Asheville, and Buffalo, Klyman engineered the next project during several years of intermittent sessions. Rehearsals held in Philadelphia and across the river in New Jersey yielded a more urgent, dissonant balance, resulting in the self-released second self-titled album of March 2024.
Albums
Singles
