Biography
Washer emerged as a kinetic lo-fi punk duo hailing from Brooklyn, New York, with friends Mike Quigley handling vocals and guitar alongside Kieran McShane on drums. The pair amassed an array of D.I.Y. singles and EPs while crisscrossing the East Coast underground throughout the mid-2010s, ultimately securing a deal with Exploding in Sound. Their first two full-lengths arrived in rapid order—Here Comes Washer in 2016 followed by All Aboard in 2017—before a five-year hiatus gave way to the rousing and introspective Improved Means to Deteriorated Ends in 2023.
The project originated at the close of 2013 in Brooklyn and swiftly established itself as a fixture in the city’s D.I.Y. circuit through its distinctive brand of skewed, lo-fi punk. Quigley’s parents’ basement on Long Island served as the site for the duo’s debut EP early the next year; Nick Dooley and Dan Francia of Flagland handled production and mixing duties, after which Bighead appeared several months later via East Coast Basements & Bedrooms Records. Throughout 2014 the band maintained a steady schedule of performances, opening for Sleepies, Ovlov, and Mannequin Pussy, and issued a split single with touring companions Big Ups on Exploding in Sound. In 2015 the duo once more enlisted Nick Dooley to track their debut album Here Comes Washer at Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio’s The Barn studio in Panton, Vermont; a split single with Flagland preceded the January 2016 release.
All Aboard, the sophomore effort issued by Exploding in Sound in September 2017, adopted a more introspective stance, distilling themes of self-doubt and anxiety into concise, lo-fi missives. Following the 2018 single “Super Pop,” Washer maintained a low profile for several years until resurfacing in early 2023 with the reflective and rousing track “King Insignificant.” One month later the band unveiled its third album, Improved Means to Deteriorated Ends. Retaining their hallmark minimalism and lyrical intensity, the pair probed the frailties and vulnerabilities of everyday life, posing expansive questions within compact bursts of garage punk.
The project originated at the close of 2013 in Brooklyn and swiftly established itself as a fixture in the city’s D.I.Y. circuit through its distinctive brand of skewed, lo-fi punk. Quigley’s parents’ basement on Long Island served as the site for the duo’s debut EP early the next year; Nick Dooley and Dan Francia of Flagland handled production and mixing duties, after which Bighead appeared several months later via East Coast Basements & Bedrooms Records. Throughout 2014 the band maintained a steady schedule of performances, opening for Sleepies, Ovlov, and Mannequin Pussy, and issued a split single with touring companions Big Ups on Exploding in Sound. In 2015 the duo once more enlisted Nick Dooley to track their debut album Here Comes Washer at Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio’s The Barn studio in Panton, Vermont; a split single with Flagland preceded the January 2016 release.
All Aboard, the sophomore effort issued by Exploding in Sound in September 2017, adopted a more introspective stance, distilling themes of self-doubt and anxiety into concise, lo-fi missives. Following the 2018 single “Super Pop,” Washer maintained a low profile for several years until resurfacing in early 2023 with the reflective and rousing track “King Insignificant.” One month later the band unveiled its third album, Improved Means to Deteriorated Ends. Retaining their hallmark minimalism and lyrical intensity, the pair probed the frailties and vulnerabilities of everyday life, posing expansive questions within compact bursts of garage punk.
Albums
Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends
2023
All Aboard
2017
Here Comes Washer
2016
Big Ups / Washer Split
2014
Bighead EP
2014
Trains & Attitude
2005
Singles
