{"title":"Apex Manor","description":"\u003cp\u003eRoss Flournoy founded \u003cstrong\u003eApex Manor\u003c\/strong\u003e after the 2009 demise of The Broken West. Named after his Los Angeles “zen place,” Apex Manor was the idyllic apartment of his close friend and long-time collaborator Adam Vine.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"apex-manor-the-year-of-magical-drinking","title":"Apex Manor - The Year of Magical Drinking","description":"\u003cp\u003eRoss Flournoy founded \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/apex-manor\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eApex Manor\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e after the 2009 demise of The Broken West. Named after his Los Angeles “zen place,” Apex Manor was the idyllic apartment of his close friend and long-time collaborator Adam Vine.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Year of Magical Drinking\u003c\/em\u003e was recorded at three different studios around LA and was produced by Dan Long (Film School, Local Natives) and Brian Whelan.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739163390263,"sku":"MRG395cd","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739163423031,"sku":"MRG395digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/1903aadb99af1725af11099903e857fbd7fbeeb9_1a6060b79cce27e0f3ae0a5b13fc9e8baa4ed889_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380176"},{"product_id":"apex-manor-heartbreak-city","title":"Apex Manor - Heartbreak City","description":"\u003cp\u003eRequiring less than two weeks of studio time to complete, it’s accurate to say that \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/apex-manor\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eApex Manor\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e’s \u003ci\u003eHeartbreak City\u003c\/i\u003e was captured more than it was recorded due to the “everybody in the same room” live sessions featuring songwriter Ross Flournoy on guitar and vocals, Dan Allaire (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on drums, and Rob Barbato on bass and production duties. The raucous result is a sonic spectacle that cleverly balances aggressive Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitars with dreamy synth work that’s reminiscent of The Cure, all mixed together with spirited instrumental performances, nuanced melodicism, and lyrics that swing wildly between being cryptic and being profound. In short, it’s everything there is to love about early ’90s pre-commercialized alternative rock but with a refreshingly modern absence of pretense or nostalgia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Red)","offer_id":52739222995255,"sku":"MRG629lp-C1","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52996577493303,"sku":"MRG629CD","price":13.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739223028023,"sku":"MRG629digital","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/7477d69adc86efd1254cde654c97660026ac728b_d6aad2cfba55ef88da3ebb35f091374b18010718_medium_jpg_4a235d2d-fc5d-4b4f-8841-886b51e31910.jpg?v=1789587575"},{"product_id":"apex-manor-blueprints-ep","title":"Apex Manor - Blueprints EP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlueprints \u003c\/i\u003econtains demos, alternate versions, and songs left on the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/apex-manor-heartbreak-city\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeartbreak City\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ecutting room floor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/apex-manor\"\u003eApex Manor\u003c\/a\u003e's Ross Flournoy:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo of the tracks on this EP—“Morning Light” and “Actual Size”—are demos of songs that made it onto \u003ci\u003eHeartbreak City\u003c\/i\u003e. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“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 \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/the-broken-west\"\u003eThe Broken West\u003c\/a\u003e), and Mindy Jones (Moby) on vocals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe skeleton key—or keys, if you will—to what \u003ci\u003eHeartbreak City\u003c\/i\u003e might have been are the songs “Chosen One” and “True Love Runs Away.” I’d originally envisioned \u003ci\u003eHeartbreak City\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739239149879,"sku":"MRG719digital","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/f7974323d4da04753ccc3a4a702887806408d4cc_09134436ef85e8fe7a9b2edc6c41907903cb78dc_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785381948"}],"url":"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/collections\/apex-manor.oembed","provider":"Merge Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}