Biography
Robert Earl Thomas performs as guitarist in the dreamy, unhurried indie-rock band Widowspeak while also issuing his own recordings that summon images of arid trails. After Molly Hamilton and Michael Stasiak moved from Tacoma, Washington to New York in 2010, he joined the pair. That fall the trio tracked their six-song cassette The October Tape using only a laptop microphone and GarageBand, securing a deal with Captured Tracks as a result.
Widowspeak’s self-titled debut, produced by Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere, appeared in August 2011. Following tours in support of the album, Stasiak exited; Thomas and Hamilton then enlisted Kevin McMahon to accentuate the folk and Fleetwood Mac-like qualities of their music on the 2013 album Almanac. Later that year the Swamps EP was positioned as a link between prior work and forthcoming material.
Soon after these releases Hamilton and Thomas settled in New York’s Hudson Valley region and reunited with Taveniere for All Yours, issued in 2015. The record featured Woods drummer Aaron Neveu and moved further into the velvety country and classic-rock territory explored on Almanac. While visiting Tacoma again, Hamilton wrote Expect the Best; in the studio the group offset her reflective lyrics with a denser sound supplied by touring bassist Willy Muse and drummer James Jano.
At the same time Thomas began composing and home-recording his own material. He blended two years of personal recordings with the output of a two-week session with McMahon in 2016 to assemble his first solo album, Another Age. Calm and introspective, the expansive set revealed traces of Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, and Tom Petty; Captured Tracks released it in early 2018.
Widowspeak’s self-titled debut, produced by Woods’ Jarvis Taveniere, appeared in August 2011. Following tours in support of the album, Stasiak exited; Thomas and Hamilton then enlisted Kevin McMahon to accentuate the folk and Fleetwood Mac-like qualities of their music on the 2013 album Almanac. Later that year the Swamps EP was positioned as a link between prior work and forthcoming material.
Soon after these releases Hamilton and Thomas settled in New York’s Hudson Valley region and reunited with Taveniere for All Yours, issued in 2015. The record featured Woods drummer Aaron Neveu and moved further into the velvety country and classic-rock territory explored on Almanac. While visiting Tacoma again, Hamilton wrote Expect the Best; in the studio the group offset her reflective lyrics with a denser sound supplied by touring bassist Willy Muse and drummer James Jano.
At the same time Thomas began composing and home-recording his own material. He blended two years of personal recordings with the output of a two-week session with McMahon in 2016 to assemble his first solo album, Another Age. Calm and introspective, the expansive set revealed traces of Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, and Tom Petty; Captured Tracks released it in early 2018.
Albums
Singles
