New Jersey slacker-rock group LKFFCT – we’ll get to that later – have made a name for themselves playing basement shows. And now, the four-piece band are gearing up to release their new album Dawn Chorus, dropping October 6th via Sniffling Indie Kids. With influences like early Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement, members Max Rauch, Keith Williams, Brian Legentil, and Ryan Baredes have created their most expansive record yet, melding elements of psych, power-pop, and even hints of hyper grunge into a premium package of jams ready to be plucked and swallowed. And today, we’re happy to premiere new single, “Anesthesia,” an infectious jangly track “about being in love and allowing that love to quell your anxiety.” Says guitarist/vocalist Rauch,

“I had been listening to a lot of 70’s Power Pop (Todd Rundgren/Big Star/Badfinger) and was inspired to write a song that dealt with adoration in a very immediate kind of way. When I brought the demo to the rest of the band the song really came to life. Brian added a melodic & snappy bass line, Ryan made the groove bounce and Keith added lead guitar parts that manage to be both  heartwarming and heart-wrenching.”

So press play on “Anesthesia,” and read about what’s behind that band name below. –Maya Eslami

WHAT YOUTH: I have to ask. What’s the name about?

LKFFCT: Haha! You’re definitely not the first person to ask us this. I bought a random hat before the band even started. It was corduroy and had “Lake Effect” embroidered on it with a little picture of the Great Lakes. I thought the name was cool, and we went with it. A few years later we got an email from a bluegrass family band from the Midwest that claimed to own the trademark. We had already been using the no vowel styling of “LKFFCT” for online usernames and the like so we decided to just embrace it fully.

Tell me about “Anesthesia” and how you came to write it? Is the song autobiographical? 

The song is definitely autobiographical. In the first verse I reference my lack-luster mood on some of the days that I am separated from my significant other, and in the second verse I recount a carefree weekend we spent together. (Labor Day weekend 2016 to be exact.)

“Anesthesia” is about being in love and allowing that love to quell your anxiety. I had been listening to a lot of 70’s Power Pop (Todd Rundgren/Big Star/Badfinger) & was inspired to write a song that dealt with adoration in a very immediate kind of way. When I brought the demo to the rest of the band the song really came to life. Brian added a melodic & snappy bass line, Ryan made the groove bounce and Keith added lead guitar parts that managed to be both  heartwarming and heart-wrenching.

How do you guys, as a band, approach songwriting?

Usually Keith or I will bring the skeleton of a song to practice and then Ryan & Brian will help to flesh it out. This is how most of our previous material was written. More recently, we have have been writing in a more collaborative manner. A few of the songs from the new record were written together in the practice room. (“Hatchling” the single we released last week being one of them.)

And what was it like recording the new album? 

This time around we decided to record the album ourselves. This allowed us to track at a more leisurely pace & to take our time getting the tones we had envisioned for each song. It was recorded over the span of 7 days and I am happy to say that we never really hit a snag. As obvious as it sounds, I think that one of the most important things a band can do before making an album or hitting the studio is to practice. We practiced twice a week for months so that when it came time to setup the mics & press record, all we had to do was get a good take! There was very little discussion or confusion in terms of song arrangement or parts. That was all figured out beforehand. Once the album was finished being tracked, we sent it over to our buddy Skylar Ross who mixed and mastered it. He was completely in tune with our creative vision and brought a fresh set of extremely skilled ears to the table. We love you Skylar! Thank you!

I read that it’s your most “expansively”, in terms of instrumentation as well as length. Was that daunting for you guys? Or was it fun pushing yourselves to achieve that? 

Well, I think we consciously set out to incorporate certain instrumentation that we hadn’t previously used before. I had originally thought that scheduling the guest performances would be a lot more difficult but it seemed to all fall into place. A big part of what I love about this band is how we always seem to challenge & push each other musically. We wrote a few full songs for this record that were scrapped because new material would surface and it better suited the album as a whole.

Who all plays on the album?

Well.. besides the four of us:

Frank Defranco – Guitar (Guitar in the band NGHTCRWLRS, He also runs the awesome NJ based record label called Sniffling Indie Kids)

Evan Luberger – Keyboards (Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist of the band Rosey Bengal)

James Abbot – Guitar & Lap steel (Singer / Songwriter also plays lead guitar in Rosey Bengal and C.R & The Degenerates)

Harrison Bieth – Sax (Keys and Sax in C.R & The Degenerates)

Chris Gennone – Additional Vocals (Singer / Songwriter of C.R and The Degenerates)

Liz Lee – Additional Vocals

Ken Depoto – Trumpet (Solo artist + Incredible singer / songwriter / guitarist)

What’s next for the band? 

We’re gonna continue to do some regional weekend trips this fall after the album is released. We’ve also started writing for two more releases (an EP called “Cayenne” and another Full Length) Our goal as a band is to continue to grow together as musicians and friends, create the best music we possibly can, and to have fun. As long as we’re enjoying ourselves then it’s all gravy.