While the pandemic was filled with uncertainty for many, that era was something else for Stephen Favazza, Matthew Derouin, and Harold Covey. For these local musicians, those years served as a time of creative clarity. Sparked by collaboration, the three musicians—all veterans of other prominent local acts—came together to form a band.
The wreckage of 2020 allowed the trio to explore their passion for post-punk, shoegaze, and instrumental textures as they entered their next musical chapters. As the world was shutting down, Future/Modern was starting up.
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“The bands we were in had broken up and I had been wanting to start up something with both Matt and Harry for a long time,” says Favazza, who has played with several outfits, including Hands and Feet, They Need Machines To Fly?, and Golden Curls.
For Derouin, a former member of Pat Sajak Assassins, Buttercup, and Sounds Like Noise, taking on a new endeavor was appealing.
“Harold texted me one day and asked if I would be interested in playing with him and Stephen. Having played with him in The Pat Sajak Assassins, I knew I would love the opportunity. I was already an admirer of Stephen’s, so for me it was like, Are you kidding?! This is my dream line-up’” Derouin says.
Breaking up can be hard for musicians who put blood, sweat, and time into a band. For Covey, the collapse of The Pat Sajak Assassins left him looking to return to performing with a simple acoustic drum kit.
“For years I’d wrangled a hybrid electronic/acoustic kit with The Pat Sajak Assassins,” Covey says. “At times it was a real horror show. Then, Stephen posted that he was looking to start a project with two drummers. I knew Stephen well from several shows PSA did with Hands & Feet over the years, so I jumped at the chance to collaborate. After a few months of Stephen and I messing around and liking what we heard, we ditched the idea of a second drummer and contacted Matt.”
Collectively, the trio are unabashed followers of uniquely textured sounds. At times similar musically to Mogwai, Film School, or Godspeed You Black Emperor, Future/Modern is expansive and sonically dense with electronic spasms that buoy their opaque droning and ambient tinges.
After coalescing as a unit, the trio released their debut EP, Chroma, in late 2022. Dead Mall, a collection of those same songs remixed and reimagined by friends and members of the band, was released on the same day.
These recordings led to Phantom Power, the band’s latest set of songs, released on April 20. Opening with the tightly wound “We Are From This Town,” the album is a collection of constructed tracks underpinned by Covey’s driving percussion set amidst a din of fuzzy guitars and grimy melodies.
While the record is mostly instrumental, there are cuts with vocals. “Boson” features a driving beat, and “Dream Alive” finds the trio unleashing a capacious cacophony. Together, these songs emit a Pavement or Yo La Tengo vibe that slides nicely into the instrumentation.
The more minimalist “I/O” features some ethereal singing from Jessica Halbower of They Need Machines To Fly? “Daybreak” straddles ambient and shoegaze bliss that is punctuated by a noisy crescendo.
“We recorded the whole project in just a few days, aiming to capture everything live with very minimal overdubs,” Favazza says.
As Derouin sees it, the release of the album underscores Future/Modern’s musical progression.
“Chroma was us just figuring out who we were. Phantom Power is us growing and branching out. A lot of times, when you start a band, you have ideas of what it’s going to be and often it doesn’t work out that way. By the time we were into recording the Phantom Power material, we had worked through that phase,” Derouin says.
In addition to dropping a new record, the band has contributed “Hey Tree” (Hands and Feet remix) to Songs About Ice Cream: Tasty Tracks On Wax, a compilation album celebrating the 10th anniversary of Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Ice Cream. The record features local artists performing songs about the frozen treat.
“Jim Harper, CMO of Clementine’s, reached out to us. He and I have been discussing the possibility of working together for quite some time, and this presented a great opportunity to collaborate,” Favazza says.
Whether making an album, remixing tracks, or playing live, Future/Modern’s creative process emanates from the chaos of three friends making music.
“Our process is from all over the board. Sometimes, one of us will have parts come together from improv sessions. One thing I appreciate about this band is that we don’t rush the process. If someone wants to scrap everything they’re doing and start over with their parts, that is completely okay. We don’t play it until we’re all happy with it,” Derouin says.
Energized by ambition, the band is currently working on a new EP with 10, a fellow artist from Texas-based label El Gran E Records, as well as another remix album.
Future/Modern is supporting Phantom Power with a series of live dates, including the El Gran E Records showcase at The Heavy Anchor on July 18.
