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Pity Sex are an American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band from
Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. The band formed in 2011, and released two studio albums – ''Feast of Love'' (2013) and ''White Hot Moon'' (2016) – prior to their split. The band combined elements of indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop and noise rock in their music, and were described by ''Pitchfork'' as "post-coital pop-punk". The band announced its reunion in 2022, as part of the Sound & Fury festival line-up.
Pity Sex has cited several bands as influences, including
My Bloody Valentine,
Pixies
A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas arou ...
,
Pavement,
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...
, and
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...
.
History
Formation, split demo, and debut EP (2011–2012)
Having formed and recorded a demo in 2011, eventually releasing it as a split cassette with
Brave Bird
Brave Bird was an American emo band from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
History
Brave Bird began in 2011 with the release of a split with the band Pity Sex. In 2012, Brave Bird signed to Count Your Lucky Stars Records. In 2013, Brave Bird released their fir ...
, Pity Sex would go on to release their debut
EP,
Dark World a year later on Forward Records to positive reviews.
[Absolute Punk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...]
">
''Feast of Love'' (2012–2015)
In 2013 the band released their debut album, ''
Feast of Love
''Feast of Love'' is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, and starring an ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, and Jane Alexander. Th ...
'', on
Run For Cover Records
Run for Cover Records is an American independent record label based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Casazza at the age of 17 with a $1,000 loan, the label functioned as a small one-person bedroom operation in Brighton, until Casa ...
.
Following the band signing to Run For Cover Records the ''Dark World EP'' would also be re-released through Run For Cover Records. 2014 saw them touring with labelmates
Adventures
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...
,
Basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
, and
Tigers Jaw
Tigers Jaw is an American rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, formed in 2005. Their first album, ''Belongs to the Dead'', was released in 2006. They released a 7-inch single, "Spirit Desire", in 2009, on Tiny Engines. They released two more a ...
, among others. In September of that year, the band also toured
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
for the first time. In October 2014, the band released a
split EP
A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "var ...
with Adventures, with each band's side featuring one original song and one cover. Pity Sex chose to cover the Pixies' "Gigantic". Guitarist Brennan Greaves helped to create the artwork, in collaboration with Kimi Hanauer of Adventures. In the summer of 2015, the band completed a US tour with punk rock band
Ceremony
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secular) ...
. It was around this time that recording for their next album would be completed.
''White Hot Moon'' (2015–2016)
On September 28, 2015, the band released a new digital single, entitled "What Might Soothe You?", through
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
.
The single was released alongside a statement announcing the impending release of their new album "White Hot Moon." The album was released in the spring of 2016, and was preceded by a vinyl edition of "What Might Soothe You?".
In August 2016, it was announced that vocalist/guitarist Britty Drake was to leave the band after a final show supporting
Best Coast
Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The band consists of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a former child actress, began w ...
. The band completed their remaining tour dates in Japan and Australia with Greaves taking on full lead vocal duties and Anthony Heubel joining the band on lead guitar. Following the conclusion of their tour, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in October 2016. The band released their final single and video, "Burden You," created by Playlab, in conjunction with the announcement as a parting gift of sorts.
Other projects and reunions (2016–present)
The members of Pity Sex largely ceased playing music following the end of the band. Greaves formed a new band, Goodyhead, in 2018; they released their debut EP ''Proof of Life'' in July 2021. Heubel formed a solo project, Anthony Heubel & The High Lonesome, which released an EP entitled ''Tell Me What You Find'' in February 2021.
On May 5, 2022, Pity Sex made an announcement on their Twitter and Instagram page that they were playing Sound and Fury in Los Angeles, California in July. Greaves, Drake and St. Charles all participated in the reunion, with Drake's husband Michael Cesario joining on bass.
In June 2023, the band announced an anniversary vinyl reissue of ''Feast of Love''.
In February 2024, the band announced they would perform at the Tied Down festival in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
in June. Greaves, Drake and Cesario are set to be joined by new drummer Derrick Daniel of Never Ending Game.
Members
;Current members
* Brennan Greaves – guitar, vocals
(2011–2016, 2022, 2024–present)
* Britty Drake – guitar, vocals
(2011–2016, 2022, 2024–present)
* Michael Cesario – bass
(2022, 2024–present)
* Derrick Daniel – drums
(2024–present)
;Former members
* Sean St. Charles – drums
(2011–2016, 2022)
* Brandan Pierce – bass
(2011–2016)
*
Michael Politowicz – bass
(2015; UK tour)
* Anthony Heubel – guitar
(2016; Japan/Australia tour)
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Feast of Love
''Feast of Love'' is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, and starring an ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, and Jane Alexander. Th ...
'' (Run for Cover Records, 2013)
* ''
White Hot Moon
''White Hot Moon'' is the second studio album by American shoegaze band, Pity Sex
Pity Sex are an American alternative rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The band formed in 2011, and released two studio albums – ''Feast of Love'' (2013) and ...
'' (Run for Cover, 2016)
EPs
* ''
Dark World'' (Forward Records, 2012)
Splits
* "Brave Bird / Pity Sex" (2011)
* "
Adventures / Pity Sex
''Adventures / Pity Sex'' is a split EP between the American rock bands Adventures and Pity Sex, released on October 7, 2014, through Run for Cover Records
Run for Cover Records is an American independent record label based in Boston, Massachuse ...
" (Run for Cover, 2014)
Music videos
References
External links
Pity Sex on Bandcamp
{{Authority control
2011 establishments in Michigan
2016 disestablishments in Michigan
Indie rock musical groups from Michigan
Musical groups established in 2011
Musical groups disestablished in 2016
Musical groups reestablished in 2022
Run for Cover Records artists
Musical groups from Ann Arbor, Michigan