Signals Midwest

Since 2008, the Cleveland quartet Signals Midwest has cultivated a distinctive strain of angst-ridden indie punk. Their output has ranged from a 2009 debut long-player to the 2019 EP titled Pin, allowing the ensemble to navigate its own course within the densely populated emo punk realm.

Maxwell Stern (vocals, guitar), Steve Gibson (vocals, drums), and Loren Shumaker (vocals, bass) established the initial trio, drawing on the emo template shaped by Fairweather, Small Brown Bike, and Hot Water Music while incorporating post-punk elements reminiscent of the Menzingers. Approximately one year after forming, the group issued its self-released debut album Burn the Blueprints. Extensive touring ensued before the band, now expanded to a quartet by guitarist Jeff Russell, signed with Tiny Engines for its second album. Adam Wagner recorded the sessions in March 2011, and Latitudes and Longitudes appeared late that year after a preceding split single with Shady Ave.

Touring alongside Run Forever and Banquets preceded the 2013 release of the third album, Light on the Lake. Sidekicks member Toby Reif produced the record, which Wagner again engineered and which included guest appearances by Restorations musicians. The following year brought the five-track acoustic EP Wherever I Might Land, issued to support fundraising for Signals Midwest’s debut European tour. Continued road work over the ensuing period included shared stages with Braid and Timeshares before the band returned to the studio, this time with Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It. The resulting fourth album, At This Age, surfaced in 2016 and reflected a pared-down approach to songwriting shaped by nearly ten years of shared history.

After Shumaker left and Ryan Williamson joined on bass, the members became geographically divided among Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Only at the close of 2018 did they resume recording, collaborating with Matt Jordan—whose credits include Sincere Engineer and You Blew It!—and Adam Beck. Lauren Records issued the six-track EP Pin from those sessions in mid-2019.