Feat. Robin Peringer (Modest Mouse), sound described
as “Nancy Sinatra’s spaced-out work with Lee Hazlewood, if she was raised on
Slowdive.”
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Robin
Peringer and Gilden Tunador of Figg.
Photo credit: Kelly White.
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& SHARE
Figg put their oft-delayed debut album up on the fledgling
Bandcamp in 2015. It wasn’t up for
long, but the album’s lead track found its way to a KEXP “Song of The Day” nod in 2017.
They said at the time, “Tunador’s voice has a striking clarity in the track mix of lead-off
cut ‘A Case Study in Plagiarism,’
paired with a slightly fuzzed out guitar part, which builds to a beautiful,
layered refrain. Think of Nancy Sinatra’s
spaced-out work with Lee Hazlewood,
if she was raised on Slowdive.” Hear
“A Case Study in Plagiarism” now at
the link below!
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Figg
Figg
June 12th, 2020
(Dissociated Press)
Track Listing:
01. A Case Study in Plagiarism (STREAM)
02. Pink is the New Blues
03. Black Tar of Camden Yards
04. Jack is the Pulpit
05. Bungleweed Motherwort
06. You and Me, Oh Please
07. Baby in a Cage
08. Don't Want to Have to Hate
09. Destroyer
10. Song for Dwyre
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Figg | About
Figg, the Seattle and Los Angeles-based duo of Robin Peringer and Gilden Tunador, was originally scheduled to release its debut album
a decade ago.
Peringer’s musical past is like a giant quilt of the Northwest
music scene, having played guitar in Modest
Mouse, 764-HERO, Love as Laughter and many more luminaries
of the region. When he teamed up with Tunador,
the duo found local admiration and ultimately national attention as part of the
(intentionally misspelled) band Carissa’s
Wierd.
Figg’s sound was perfect for the moment, but, shoved, then
shelved, the album’s champions went away. Jump to a decade later, and now, a
new moment has emerged for Peringer
and Tunador as Figg’s self-titled debut, sounding fresh as ever, will finally see
an appropriate record release on June 12th,
2020.
“Releasing our record has been an ego-smashing lesson
in the appreciation of patience, the unfolding of the creative process, and the
magic of universal timing,” Tunador
says. After the band’s deal fell apart, they shopped the album around, but were
still a bit too shell-shocked from the whole experience.
Five years later, in 2015, just as Bandcamp was becoming the leader in
artist-focused and controlled streaming, Figg
decided to finally make the record available. They posted it without promotion
or any fanfare at all. They just wanted their friends to be able to hear it.
Friends tuned in, and the band felt satisfied that at
least the album was available to the public. Some of that public included
legendary and internationally influential public radio station KEXP. The album’s lead track “A Case Study in Plagiarism” was added
to rotation and anointed as a station “Song
of The Day.”
Figg was revived, at least in this small, but important
way, and this development moved Peringer
and Tunador to start stockpiling new
songs, and to give their generally unheard debut album its due.
“It’s as if the music has a life of its own and is
determined to keep on breathing,” Tunador
explains. “We are at the point in our lives where we understand the importance
of doing what we love and we’re excited that the timing is aligned for this
album to join the world with full promotion and availability across all
platforms.”
Moments can never be forced, they just happen. But one
of the best things about moments is that, when given enough time, they tend to
circle around again.
Referencing the English rock band Gomez, formed in the
late 90s, is a refreshing and genre-bending idea in 2020 as UK and
Brit-admiring songwriting, bathed in psychedelia, becomes more of a thing. The
current flavor of that time is the current flavor of this time.
Artists that Figg
cites as influences include The Cure,
The Smiths, Spiritualized, Nick Cave and
The Bad Seeds, The Velvet
Underground, Jane’s Addiction (“particularly
the song ‘Summertime Rolls,’” notes Peringer), Black Box Recorder, Built To
Spill, Gomez, and Brian Eno.
Tunador says that the album “navigates the positive and the
negative within human relationships to ultimately find balance in love. You
need to feel grief to heal grief,” she says. “Love is not just flowers and
romance, but equal parts fear and worry that one needs to acknowledge in order
to transcend.”
To that end, Figg’s
songs are intentionally recorded in a slower BPM to give space for the process
of reflection.
“We want to take the listener on a contemplative
journey,” Tunador explains. “It’s
meant to be meditative.”
Peringer offers an even more practical explanation: “I wanted
this music to be satisfying to Seattle drivers. The traffic has gotten so bad
that you’re forced to drive ten miles an hour slower than the speed limit. Figg is good to listen to in Seattle
traffic.”
Wise words from a band that knows how powerful a role
patience plays in perseverance.
The debut album by Figg, originally scheduled for release in 2010, is now scheduled
for release on June 12th,
2020. Members of Figg are available
for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom
at Fanatic for more information.
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Figg | Links
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact
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