Fallow Land

Ann Arbor, Michigan's Fallow Land employs a richly textured amalgam of intricately layered math pop and post-rock that is steered by both intellect and emotion. The group is comprised of guitarist and vocalist Whit Fineberg, guitarist Evan Veasy, bassist Scott Kendall, and drummer Evan Laybourn -- all of the band's members also contribute synths/keyboards. Fineberg, a Southeast Michigan native who relocated to Chicago in the early 2010s, hit a bad personal patch that saw him mourning the death of a close friend, as well as the end of a relationship and a band. Feeling directionless and disillusioned, he opted to return to Ann Arbor, and in doing so hooked up with versatile guitarist Veasy and began work shopping material. Kendall and Laybourn solidified the line-up and before long the newly minted Fallow Land was up and running. Enlisting production help from acclaimed Michigan singer/songwriter Chris Bathgate, the quartet released their debut EP, Pinscher, independently in 2017. They inked a deal with Seattle-based boutique label Spartan Records the following year and returned to the studio, this time with Matt Bayles (Minus the Bear, Pearl Jam, Isis) behind the board. The resulting Slow Down, Rockstar was released in 2019. ~ James Christopher Monger