In 2019, Apex Manor returned to the fold with Heartbreak City, an album that Closed Captioned described as “more than a proper return to melodic indie rock—it’s a manual on how to lead the genre.”

Today, Apex Manor’s Ross Flournoy shares the early draft of that indie rock manual with us. Available on all digital platforms, Blueprints contains demos, alternate versions, and songs left on the Heartbreak City cutting room floor. Listen now, and catch Apex Manor on tour supporting Strand of Oaks!

Flournoy expounds on the release:

Two of the tracks on this EP—“Morning Light” and “Actual Size”—are demos of songs that made it onto Heartbreak City. The “Morning Light” on the record is really sparse; the demo has acoustic and electric guitars, harmonies, and synths. I originally wrote “Actual Size” as a really uptempo, almost Queens of the Stone Age-meets-Can kinda thing. Then when we got in the studio, producer Rob had an idea to slow it way down. I like both approaches.

“The Long Goodbye (Alt. Version)” is just a stripped-down, acoustic version of the album track. I like this version too for its tenderness (yes, I used that word). The stars of this are the sick players who joined me: Dan Iead on pedal steel and Scott Claassen on piano (both from The Broken West), and Mindy Jones (Moby) on vocals.

The skeleton key—or keys, if you will—to what Heartbreak City might have been are the songs “Chosen One” and “True Love Runs Away.” I’d originally envisioned Heartbreak City as sort of a dark, nocturnal LA record: more synth-y, midtempo, moody. These songs give a sense of what that record would’ve sounded like.

Apex Manor hits the road tonight with Strand of Oaks. Pick up a copy of Heartbreak City on CD or red Peak Vinyl at the merch table or in the Merge store, or wherever music is sold!

Apex Manor on tour:
Sep 06 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern*
Sep 07 Asheville, NC – The Mothlight*
Sep 08 Nashville, TN – The Basement East*
Sep 10 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club*
Sep 11 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar*
Sep 12 Bloomington, IN – The Bishop*
Sep 13 Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar*
Sep 14 Denver, CO – Globe Hall*
Jan 14 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre^
Jan 15 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge^
Jan 17 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall^
Jan 18 San Diego, CA – Casbah^
Jan 19 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour^
* w/ Strand of Oaks
^ w/ Nada Surf