New Jersey quartet, Flycatcher, is an up-and-coming indie rock/pop-punk band who just released a brand-new EP, Stunt, dubbed by Greg Pease (lead vocals), “the best representation of what we want to sound like and how we want to come across.” Flycatcher writes unbelievably infectious songs and features four members: Greg Pease (vocals), Justin VanNiekerk (guitar), Jack Delle Cava (bass), and Connor Carmelengo (drums). 

The band has only been around since 2017; however, they already have a full-length LP, Other Things, released in 2018, and Songs For Strangers in 2019. Since then, the band has achieved several accomplishments: the band was signed to in demand producer, Will Yip’s Memory Music label, and began working on their latest EP, Stunt, which was released in early April 2023.

‘Stunt’ is an EP that comes from a band that sounds like they know what they want to sound like. ‘Stunt’ is a super cohesive set, that delivers a modern take on today’s indie rock scene.

“The progression that led us to ‘Stunt’ was pretty organic considering how much time had passed between the two releases,” Pease notes. At the time, he says, he thinks that “we just did our best to stay true to what we wanted to hear and that included honoring our changing tastes.”

The band’s sound has varied, based on its members’ musical tastes.  Their 2019 EP, Songs For Strangers, is a great example of a pop-punk quartet blended with 90s indie rock spread throughout the band’s tracks. Songs For Strangers is an album that shows off the band’s versatility, musicianship, and ability to deliver an infectious rock song.

“‘Songs For Strangers’ definitely feels like a pretty accurate representation of the band at the time. I think it was made out of the necessity to document where we were at,” lead vocalist Greg Pease explains.

In the first 2-3 years, Pease adds, “Our attitude and approach were always changing, especially in terms of the kind of music we actually wanted to make. ‘Songs For Strangers’ felt like a logical conclusion to those hectic, early years. It sort of encapsulates where we landed with our influences and what we wanted to sound like.” Sometimes, artists try to “match” new songs to successful old songs, but they [Flycatcher] quickly disregarded that notion. “I think having every project evolve and develop is the most fulfilling way to make music.”

As a band grows and develops, so does the artist’s sound. From ‘Songs For Strangers’ to ‘Stunt’, the listener can hear the musical growth in their sound and songwriting.

“Musically, I think the growth comes across in a pretty nebulous way. Just being a band for more and more time each year allows our songwriting and sound to grow the way anything else would over time,” Pease explains.

Of course, over time bands focus on style changes, but they want to be comfortable with the type of music they are playing, both lyrically and instrumentally. “Lyrically, I think, on our previous releases, I was writing lyrics out of a place of necessity, but I wasn’t sure what I was exactly trying to pin down. I’ve grown and spent more time songwriting, and it’s definitely gotten easier for me to encapsulate a feeling/emotion without feeling like I’m just treading water.”

Pease and the guys, “want to avoid being too genre-d. I think the best way to keep our sound developing is to remain open to all our influences and really dig into why we like those things. I never want to be a band that people say is just a carbon copy of a band that came before, there wouldn’t be any point in doing this if that were the case.”

The thing about Flycatcher is that they have the x-factor: their songwriting, raw musicianship, and dynamic songs. It’s clear the band has grown significantly from Songs For Strangers to Stunt, but the main difference between the two is that Songs For Strangers “is trying to figure out itself a bit more…lyrically, the record feels very inquisitive and worried, but not in a bad way,” Pease notes. “However, with Stunt, it felt much more cut and dry when I wrote lyrics for these songs. Each song felt like it knew what it wanted to say pretty distinctly,” adds Pease. “I think the authenticity and vulnerability aspect really just comes from working on songwriting for the last 4-5 years. I think that’s allowed me to be a little more pointed with what I want to say and how to say it.”

Make sure to check out the band at their shows in Pennsylvania on April 28th in Pittsburgh at Roboto and April 29th in Philadelphia at Milkboy. More tour dates to come this summer.

order Stunt by Flycatcher HERE