EarthQuaker Session: Stems - "Good Times"
Aaron Rogers
Akron’s goodtime indie-rockers Stems (featuring EQD wire wizard Justin Seeker on vocals and guitar) stopped by the studio to tear through this earworm of a track titled, appropriately enough, “Good Times.”
Drummer/vocalist Joshua Weiss’ bouncy double-timed hi-hats set the pace for this up-tempo post-punk cut propelled by steady four-on-the-floor rhythms while Mike Voris’ steadily rolling bassline is kept under wraps (and sits comfortably in the mix) thanks to a healthy dose of compression courtesy of The Warden.
On guitar and keys, Joel McAdams (Harriet the Spy, Beaten Awake, The Man I Fell In Love With) alternates between ambient leads using the Dispatch Master, Disaster Transport SR, and Afterneath, and cutting overdriven rhythm work using the Gray Channel for extra sparkle and grit.
Justin Seeker keeps it tight and dry, stacking the Speaker Cranker and Westwood for a harmonically rich but not-too-saturated overdrive tone to compliment McAdams’ washed-out sound as the two rip some seriously sick dual-guitar harmonies between verses. Subtle settings on the Avalanche Run, Space Spiral, and Ghost Echo give Seeker’s guitar some haziness around the edges without blurring into double-vision. Good Times.
Stems’ new album Your Sullen Ways Are Getting Boring is out now on cassette and streaming on Bandcamp.
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