Don't Go Alone - CRUISR

CRUISR began in 2012 as the solo project of Andy States and quickly morphed into what it is today; an indie-pop band whose summery, feel-good hooks are infectious and stadium ready.

States wrote and recorded the band’s first EP in his Philadelphia bedroom, fixated on the idea of what it means to craft a pop song. “I have an obsession with writing pop music and the idea that songs can transcend people.,” States says. “I saw that producer Jeremy Park started writing blog articles about how he recorded Youth Lagoon, so I wrote to him and sent him my songs asking for advice and knowledge. He wrote back and loved my stuff and helped me produce the first EP.”

The six-song self-titled EP was released in the summer of 2012 and quickly garnered attention online and in the press. With all the newfound awareness Andy promptly realized he needed a band to bring his songs to the stage. “Jon was always my sounding board. I’d show him songs in the making and get his advice. It only made sense that he’d become part of CRUISR,” Andy notes. With the addition of Kyle and Bruno the quartet set out performing whenever possible. And of course, they continued to write.

“The writing process definitely changed once we became a full band. I’ll work on my computer and bring the idea to Jon. By that time it’s structured and has a backbone, guitars are figured out etc. Jon elaborates on the idea with drums and it goes from there.” In late 2013 CRUISR released a new track online, “Kidnap Me,” which attracted even more positive attention than the EP. Representative of CRUISR as a cohesive unit, “Kidnap Me” was the first track written as a band and showcases what CRUISR does best; sunny, warm, indie-pop. “It’s funny because we’re from Philadelphia and we write songs that sound like summer, which is a fleeting season here. I guess it’s just because Philly is where we feel happiest, and when we’re happy we write happy music.”

Fast-forward to present day when CRUISR is gearing up to release their second EP, All Over, which features definitive recordings of "Kidnap Me" and "Don't Go Alone" as well as the brand new title track "All Over"; all of which were produced and mixed by Andrew Maury (RAC, Panama Wedding, Ra Ra Riot). All Over demonstrates how fantastically Andy’s mind is able to translate pop hooks. “How does pop music make everyone like it so much?” States laughs, “Little kids hear it on the radio and just go crazy, singing stupid songs. There’s something that’s so smart about it, and a lot of things that people don’t notice are the key ingredients to writing a pop song. I’m just really into trying to decipher what those things are and trying to make pop music in our own way.”

All Over will be released on September 23 via Vagrant Records.

CRUISR is Andy States (vocals / guitar), Jonathan Van Dine (drums), Kyle Cook (bass), Bruno Catrambone (guitar) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.