Welcome to this week’s Launch Box featuring Harriet
If you like: Radiohead, AltJ, Absofacto
Harriet is an L.A. band fronted by song-writer and keyboard player Alex Casnoff (formerly of Dawes and Papa) with Henry Kwapis on drums, Patrick Kelly on electric bass, and Matt Blitzer on guitar. Casnoff spent time in previous bands as a sideman playing keys, but eventually began to want his own project.
“I’m just starting to be ready for it,” he says. “I didn’t have the confidence before. I was waiting and watching, learning and taking notes. I feel ready now. And I love singing. It’s direct emotional contact.”
The single from their debut EP, Tell the Right Story, instantly creates many interesting scenes on first thought. It’s a break-up song, but it definitely takes an unexpected trajectory with the idea of sleeping with all of their mothers. The song sounds upbeat, full of passion and quite triumphant with heavy guitar lines and choral echoes that contrast nicely with Casnoff’s slightly edgy voice.
Citing Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead and The Weeknd among his favorites, Casnoff’s songwriting is often declared by critics and fans to fit within the Americana vein. Strong on storytelling and melody.
More difficult a task than songwriting, he says, was the challenge of coming up with a band name. “My mom and I were in the car and I was complaining about how every band name was taken. She was like, ‘Why don’t you name it Harriet after your grandmother?’ I said, ‘No, that’s a stupid idea. That’s actually the worst idea ever.’ But over time I gave into it. I like the idea of my mom naming the band, since she made me.”
The band signed with Harvest Records, recorded a second self-titled EP and in January 2016 their first full length LP American Appetite will be released. Check out the videos for “Ten Steps” and the title track from the new album.