While attending high school together in Springfield, Missouri, lead guitarist Will Knauer, drummer Philip Dickey, and bassist Tom Hembree established Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin as a pop outfit. Philip Dickey selected the ensemble’s moniker during a shopping excursion with his mother at a nearby mall and composed the bulk of their initial songs. Upon entering college, the group incorporated singer/guitarist John Robert Cardwell along with bassist/recording engineer Jonathan James, then set up a temporary studio inside Knauer’s residence to capture their 2005 independent debut, Broom.
Although Broom was conceived solely as a local release, the musicians uploaded tracks to their site, prompting music journalists to notice the breezy pop sound and ignite widespread online curiosity. Alongside several peer acts, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin emerged as a blogosphere favorite during 2006. That spring, the single “Oregon Girl” aired on an episode of The O.C., confirming that interest extended past the web. A deal with Polyvinyl Records ensued, and a remastered Broom reached stores before year’s end. By then, however, both Hembree and James had departed, restoring SSLYBY to a trio supplemented by rotating guest players.
James later returned in time to contribute to the 2008 full-length Pershing, which the bandmates produced themselves. For the follow-up they enlisted Chris Walla, whose involvement shaped Let It Sway, issued to favorable notices in 2010. The next year Polyvinyl issued Tape Club, a collection of previously unreleased B-sides and demos. Fly by Wire, the 2013 Polyvinyl album, reunited Knauer, Dickey, and James as a three-piece and adopted a more seasoned perspective together with a stripped-down approach recorded once again at Knauer’s home.
The band’s fifth studio album, 2015’s The High Country, was tracked at Chris Walla’s Hall of Justice studio, where the musicians increased tempos and added electric force while retaining melodic warmth, resulting in a feedback-tinged reunion of the original lineup with Hembree back on bass.
