Andy Fenstermaker is a music lover, writer, marketing professional, and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to sharing his passion for music with others. He is the founder of FensePost, a renowned music blog that has been sharing the latest and greatest in indie music since 2006. Andy has always been fascinated by the power of music to connect people, and he started FensePost with the aim of sharing his love of music with others. Andy developed a passion for music at a young age. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Andy grew up surrounded by a vibrant music scene that left an indelible mark on him. He attended Washington State University, where he studied Communication and Business. He holds a BA in Communication and a Masters in Business Administration. After graduating, Andy started writing about music and created FensePost as the outlet. The blog has a strong focus on indie music, but also covers a range of other genres including folk, indie pop, psychedelic, garage rock, and experimental. Andy and the blog relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in 2020.
It’s hard to think of Menomena topping Friend And Foe. After all, that album made #3 on my Retrospective Top Albums of 2007. But they make a fair attempt with Mines. There’s plenty of solidity here, from opener “Queen Black Acid” to the final track, “Intil”. I guess only time will tell. Read More »Menomena: Mines [Album Review]
Why hello there Hardly Art, I hear you have a few new signings, one being La Sera (new project of Vivan Girls’ Katy Goodman), the other being the glorious bubbly lo-fi pop group Fergus & Geronimo. Calling their home New York City and Denton TX seems fitting for a band that plays delightfully soulful, super catchy lo-fi garage-ish pop. It should be no surprise that this band has released before on Woodsist Records — they have that sound. But they find a welcome home on Hardly Art aside greats like Golden Triangle and Seattle locals Unnatural Helpers. Read More »Fergus & Geronimo [Feature]
It’s interesting to hear the progression No Age has made since Nouns. “Glitter” is an entirely different beast. Sure there are elements of noise that the band so favored on that brilliant debut from 2009, but here it’s contained and restrained. They’ve tamed the beast. No longer do they shout to be heard amidst overwhelming, clever guitar riffs. No, here they focus on a consistent drum beat and actually… wait for it… sing! Still, the song builds and grows into a noisy little creature, vicious yet slumbering. I doubt this band has tamed to the point of being domestic — after all, “You’re A Target” was pretty f*ing mad, and that came out pretty recently. Frankly, I’m torn as to which side of No Age I like better, the insane noise or the restrained madness. Either way, you’ve got a winner. Read More »No Age: Glitter [mp3 Review]
Jen Wood is perhaps best known for her role as the female vocalist accompanying Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello on that Postal Service album for a few years back. Listening to her new solo album, Finds You In Love, it’s instantly apparent that this work is about as far away as you can get from that well-known piece of pop art. So get your expectations in order. Her melodies are just as simple and just as catchy, but this is pure folk-pop; simple, beloved and true.
Read More »Jen Wood: Finds You In Love [Album Review] 
Contrary to your own beliefs, whatever they may be, I feel that shoegaze is, more often than not, a very visual style of music. That’s why select bands choose to accompany the music with visual elements. This trait lends itself to music videos. Panda Riot mixes their shoegaze with indie pop, emphasizing a domineering, precocious drum machine beat accompanied with playful female vocals. Read More »Panda Riot: Motown Glass [Video]
Were Grizzly Bear to don summer wear and instead create lo-fi acoustic beach pop, they might sound like London’s Family.… Read More »Family: Family [Album Review]
From the drummer that accompanies, in my humble opinion, two of the greatest current bands in existence today, Papercuts and Beach House, comes Roman Ruins whose 7″ single Pastor/Al is now out on Gold Robot Records. Like the two greats, Roman Ruins creates surreal pop music with a dreamy edge that is inherently cool. Read More »Roman Ruins: Pastor/Al
So it’s 10:10pm and I’m a bit exhausted. Today was busy, tomorrow will be as well, and that will continue through the weekend and into next week. I wasn’t planning to write more tonight, but in perusing a few of the many emails I receive on a daily basis, I stumbled on Burnt Ones and felt oddly compelled. Backed by a few repeated, fuzzed out chords and fronted by punk-influenced vocals, the music just kind of washes over you – especially after a few good local brews. Read More »Burnt Ones [Feature]
You can make a valid argument that bouncy throwback pop heavily influenced by folk-pop artists from the 60s and 70s are not only a dime a dozen, but they all fit a fairly consistent mold. When it comes down to it, you’d be pretty much right — for the most part. But that doesn’t really matter, because these bands tend to also be great more often than not. Foxymorons aren’t your run-of-the-mill folk-pop group, and thus the mold is broken for them. They make their own mold and you can hear that displayed perfectly on “Skinny Cow Blues”. Read More »Foxymorons [Feature]
French group Viking Dress is new to me, but their sound flirts with the same from a lot of the artists I’ve been listening to of late so it’s a welcome introduction. Band’s new EP, titled Summarize, was produced by Frederic Landini (Get Back Guinozzi) and mixed by David Wrench (Caribou, Bat For Lashes) and it includes “Lalie’s Game”. Read More »Viking Dress: Lalie’s Game [Video]
