The Weird Years are a freshly-conceived indie folk outlet based out of Brooklyn and Nashville and fronted by a quartet of burgeoning names from both scenes – Hannah Winkler, Bess Rogers, Billy Libby, and Chris Kuffner. Although the band is a project newly conceived, each of its members has a notable musical past to contribute, taking a page from out of the workbooks of boygenius, I’m With Her, and the Highwomen in forming a lasting super-group. Winkler and Libby both play a part in separate bands–Human Natural and Fort Gorgeous, respectively–the latter of which has previously received praise from PopMatters. Rogers, meanwhile, is a reputable solo artist and has recently performed as a guitarist for Broadway’s Head Over Heels, while Kuffner has a broad range of producer and instrumentalist credits to his name–among which are A Great Big World and Secret Someones.
While as much of a ragtag sortie would be mishandled in the hands of artists with lesser tenures, the members of the Weird Years carry their goodwill into work with the ethereal beauty of their take on folk music. Recalling instantly the best we’ve heard from Conor Oberst, Phoebe Bridgers, and the like in recent years, the Weird Years’ starlit sound fits snugly with the rising indie folk scene without encroaching on others’ artistic identities. Rather, the quarter handles their take on the genre with an effortless individuality, as can be attested through their single, “Ticking Time”. Finding itself basking in beauteous melancholy, the song is one that tends to linger with listeners after it’s over.
The Weird Years tell PopMatters, “This was the first song The Weird Years ever wrote. It started as a song Bess had been working on and she brought it to Billy before the idea of the Weird Years even was a thing. Lyrically the song is about finding someone you love and feeling like the only thing that could separate you is time and the melancholy that eventually it will. We wanted the music to feel intimate and small, sort of like as if you were watching a time-lapse of two people in love sitting in a cozy living room as time passes from seconds to hours to weeks to years.”
Featuring “Ticking Time”, the Weird Years’ debut EP is set to release on 29 March.