Saturday Stream | Solo Bands

Solo projects don’t always remain solo as musical interests and ambitions expand both in the studio and on stage. Sometimes its a natural evolution born out of collaborations that grow a solo effort into full on band membership. Other times the addition of revolving cast of non-permanent touring members are brought in to expand a one-person recording into a full fledged live show. This week’s Spotify playlist —Solo Bands –presents 25 musicians who double as solo artists and rock bands regardless of billing. These are the artists that show up alone in band publicity photos, that can play solo gigs under the band name and that are the driving forces propelling the projects forward. 


Take for example Vetiver, ostensibly the work of frontman Andy Cabic –who issued a sublime new record Complete Strangers this week –and his approach to the Vetiver moniker: 

“Vetiver is what I’ve been calling my songs and recordings since about 2003 or so. I live in San Francisco, have since 1998. My touring band and the musicians I’ve recorded with over the years are always changing, though many friends and players have stayed with me over albums and tours. The one constant has been Thom Monahan who has engineered and co-produced every Vetiver album.”
[Andy Cabic of Vetiver, Photo by Terri Loewenthal]

Leading off the playlist with a track from Complete Strangers Cabic is joined by the following projects (along with the group’s primary member):

Phosphorescent (Matthew Houck)
Strand Of Oaks (Timothy Showalter)
Bon Iver (Justin Vernon)
Beirut (Zach Condon)
St. Vincent (Annie Clark)
Telekinesis (Michael Benjamin Lerner)
tUnE-yArDs (Merrill Garbus)
Washed Out (Ernest Greene)
Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor)
Mutual Benefit (Jordan Lee)
Califone (Tim Rutili)
Howlin’ Rain (Ethan Miller) 
Destroyer (Dan Bejar) 
Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst) 
Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield) 
Pink Mountaintops (Stephen McBean) 
Gap Dream (Gabe Fulvimar) 
The Mountain Goats (John Darnielle) 
Bleachers (Jack Antonoff)
Delicate Steve (Steve Marion) 
Eels (Mark Oliver Everett) 
EMA (Erika M. Anderson) 
Ducktails (Matt Mondanile) 
The War On Drugs (Adam Granduciel)