Listen with headphones in ‘The Upstairs District’
The Upstairs District is home to soft chords, wavy guitar licks, and angelic synth sounds. It’s a place where punchy snare hits marry a growling bass groove, and epic build-ups followed by humble breakdowns hit you right in the feels.
With, Ryan Gies on keys, Casey Davey behind the kit, Mac Almeida on guitar, Darby McCullough on bass, and singer-songwriter Milou Rigollaud up front, The Upstairs District is a Massachusetts-based indie electronica band that recently released two singles — “Soft” and “In Color.”
The songs are known as Part Three of a series of singles the band released in pairs.
“We wanted to bring it back to what it used to be — a little 45 with an A side and a B side.” Milou told Through the Monitor. “You get the retention of your audience because it’s manageable. And if you do like that first song, you're going to listen to the second song.”
According to Milou, each pair of songs share a theme. In Part Three, that’s desperation.
“This world is falling apart in the worst ways. It used to feel great when I was younger, and I don't know if it's because I was younger or if I'm just more aware now,” Milou said of the feelings the songs evoke.”It’s about coming to terms with a harsh reality, and then just trying to enjoy it more — to be more colorful.”
With influences from Strfkr to the Marías, the band’s releases sound meticulously arranged with surprising rises and falls of energy.
“We don't want you to be able to actually know where it's going on your first listen,” Milou said. “ It's all about building to something bigger, and then bringing you back somehow” by repeating the same part with a switched up arrangement or new lyrics.
The songs feel personal, and that’s exactly the band’s intention. According to Milou, the songs are meant to be listened to with headphones on rather than queued up at a party.
Milou formed the band in 2019, but the current members have been together for about a year. And all have a hand creating these dynamic jams.
The songwriting process typically starts with Milou, who brings a rough track to the band. Then they morph it as a group. Once it feels finished, the band sits on the track for as long as a year and a half before releasing the final version.
“We don't feel like there's a huge rush because we'd rather have something really good that can last for a really long time,” Milou told TTM.
When it comes to the live experience, The Upstairs District doesn’t recreate the studio sound. Instead, they come up with versions of their songs designed to bring more energy in concert.
To see for yourself, catch The Upstairs District in Northampton to kick off your summer.