Okay, let's break this down: Philadelphia Collins is the new collaborative project of drummer Theo Hartlett from sadly defunct Connecticut band Ovlov, and guitarist Devin McKnight from Boston's best band, Speedy Ortiz. For "Sofa Queen," the first single from their debut EP for Exploding in Sound Records, the pair called on Ellen Kempner, the singer-songwriter behind scene staple Palehound.
Kempner, who actually shares an apartment with Speedy Ortiz frontperson Sadie Dupuis, recorded her parts in "someone's bathroom" while on tour. Her striking, sort of fuzzy vocals coast atop the duo's noisy instrumental, which snowballs from some stoned chord changes into a loud, mindfuck breakdown. "I remember us coming into the practice space having no clue what to do," Hartlett told FADER in an email. "Then Devin played those opening chords and we had the instrumental written in no time." McKnight adds: "I'd forgotten I'd asked [Ellen] to record vocals, and some time passed. I checked my email and this amazing song was there. Needless to say, I was blown away."
The pair's EP, Derp Swervin', features contributions from members of Dirty Dishes, Two Inch Astronaut, and more. It's out July 21st.
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