Brooklyn-based indie pop trio, FORAGER release their first album, “Pipedream Firewood.”

Photo by Evan Carter

A trio making music since 2021, Brooklyn-based FORAGER releases their debut album, Pipedream Firewood. A project under thirty minutes, it extensively explores many genres, leaping between psychedelic rock to jazz pop throughout the album. The trio is composed of Shyamala (vocals), Jack Broza (guitars, keys, bass), and Colum Enrique explain how FORAGER “flirts with slinky R&B vocal runs, buoyant funk grooves, surprising harmonic leaps, and confessional pop hooks, but never fully surrenders to one genre. “ An album that was written and recorded over two and a half years, Pipedream Firewood “recalls the band’s Brooklyn roots, layering frenetic grooves under hazy harmonic leaps and meditative questions. The result is a charismatic, funk, and folk-imbued pop sound, all fat snares and four-part harmonies, oblivious to trend.

Pipedream Firewood - Tracklisting:

01. Edgewise

02. Fuji or a Trek

03. Can Both Be True?

04. Hello to the Kiddies

05. Magical Thinking

06. Slice of the Cloud

07. Fastest Alone

08. If It Floats

FORAGER talks about their inspiration as: “emerges in spontaneous bursts––“Slice of the Cloud” came out of a 10-day isolation-imposed challenge to record a new song daily. ”Fuji or a Trek” was dreamed up mid-bike ride to Coney Island. “Magical Thinking” existed only as a voice-memo of solo acoustic guitar for two years, and was morphed into a full-fledged song in 30 minutes."

A band that has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Top Shelf and has received praise on recent singles from Atwood, Earmilk and The Honey Pop. The trio’s musicianship shines through without ostentation; their songs are structured, direct, and often danceable, revealing fleeting embellishments and lyrical winks on a second or third listen. “Edgewise,” the vigorous opening track peppered with guitarist’s Jack Broza’s nimble melodic cascades, bemoans an old friend who won’t stop talking. On “Can Both Be True?”—highlighted by NPR as a top entry in this year’s Tiny Desk Contest—lead vocalist Shyamala riffs fluidly through a three-octave range, contemplating unknowability in love. And “Fuji or a Trek” laments the deadening impact of age on one’s impulse to make fun mistakes, set to drummer Colum Enrique’s fiendish DnB pulse. “Sex is still a big deal,” announces the narrator ruefully.

Pipedream Firewood is music made to be performed live and in community, deftly rendered in this spirited record. Check out FORAGER’s ever-so-peaceful and beautiful debut album below. 

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