Through a blend of understated rock, baroque pop and wide-skied atmospheres, The Ophelias explore the juxtapositions of youth in their album Almost. Having formed the band while still in high school, bassist Grace Weir, guitarist/lyricist Spencer Peppet, percussionist Micaela Adams, and violinist Andrea Gutmann Fuentes first met at a time when each were independently serving as the "token girl" in various dude-bands from their hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Coming from varied musical backgrounds (ranging from garage-rock, to surf, to opera), the distinct talents and influences of each member collided in unexpected ways at the band's first rehearsal. It was here the band discovered that their chemistry wasn't rooted in a shared musical reference point, but in the creative relief from the expected censorship of being a sideperson. "In the past we had all kind of been the `girl in the band,' in some capacity," Peppet said. "Having a band of all women eradicates that possibility logistically, but also makes for a really creative environment without the patronization that often comes along with being the `girl in the band.'" Produced by Yoni Wolf (WHY?), the new album Almost glides between palatial assuredness and pallid introspection, looking back on youthful yearning_the uncertainties, the traumas, the anxieties_ without discounting its soft beauty. The Ophelias steer Almost through the lineage of coming-of-age confessionals, and affectionately document their growth into a warm, fractured adulthood.
