Lodgings

You’re making a mix-tape, but the flow is all wrong. There are gaps. You’re trying to fit a song between Archers of Loaf and XTC, another between Slint and Guided by Voices, another between Squeeze and My Bloody Valentine, another between Neutral Milk Hotel and Cursive, and still another between Boilermaker and Radiohead.

The band you want is Lodgings.

Lodgings transcends genre, but if you need one, try post-punk-power-pop-alternative. Whatever they are, their hooks are undeniable, shifting effortlessly between haunting, earthy, driving, angular, swelling, and heart-wrenching—all made possible by the alchemy of Lodgings’ members, a cast of Omaha legends.

There’s no mistaking some vocalists and their lyrics: Alex Chilton, Jarvis Cocker, PJ Harvey, Thom Yorke. Add to that list Lodgings’ Bryce Hotz (Eyes of Verotika, NAWAS). Hotz’s voice is distinctly his own, intense even when it purposely wavers. That vocal thread seamlessly connects each song, its melodies as vital an instrument as Hotz’s guitar. He’s joined on leads by Steve Micek (The Stay Awake, Real Time Optimists), whose style spans the spectrum from intricate and delicate to ear-shredding walls of fuzz; Michael Laughlin (Eric in Outerspace, Dirt), whose bass is syncopating and driving; and drummer Eric Ernst (Fullblown; Sound of Rails), who provides the shuffling, the pounding, and the perfect fills.

Combined, Lodgings creates classic songs you’ve somehow never heard before.
-Chris Harding Thornton