Voxtrot is an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band formed in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

in 2003. Their first recordings were released in 2003, and their debut EP, '' Raised by Wolves'', was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, garnering attention from music

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

gers as well as major publications such as ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' and ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''. The band released two additional EPs in 2006, ''

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives ''Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives'' is an EP by Voxtrot, released on April 4, 2006, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Contine ...

'', and ''

Your Biggest Fan ''Your Biggest Fan'' is the third official EP by the Austin, Texas-based indie pop band Voxtrot. Released on November 17, 2006, in the United States, it was available as both a three track CD and a two track 7" single. The track "Trouble" was la ...

'', before releasing their debut self-titled album in 2007. After releasing their first album, the group continued to perform live and released several singles before announcing their impending disbandment in April 2010. The band performed a short tour of the United States leading up to their dissolution, ending in New York City on June 26, 2010. On May 6, 2022, the group announced they were embarking on a reunion tour through the latter part of the year.

History

Early work; ''Voxtrot''

Voxtrot was formed in Austin, Texas by singer-songwriter and Texas native

Ramesh Srivastava Ramesh McLean Srivastava (born June 26, 1983) is an American singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Voxtrot, active from 2003 to 2010. After the dissolution of Voxtrot, Srivastava has also rele ...

in the early 2000s. Srivastava had previously studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

before dropping out of the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

and returning to Texas. Early incarnations of the group included Jennifer Moore and Brandon Eastes, but by 2005 when the band's self-released debut, a five-song EP entitled '' Raised by Wolves'', was released the lineup had been solidified to include Srivastava, Jason Chronis, Matt Simon, Mitch Calvert, and Jared van Fleet. After the release of '' Raised by Wolves'' in July 2005, the band began touring nationally and received accolades from various online and print publications such as ''

'' and ''

''. ''Spin'' noted that ''Raised by Wolves'' was "...a stunning mini-collection of John Hughes-heyday paeans, twitchy pop, and surging,

Strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

-y dancefloor fillers." A second five-song EP, ''

'', arrived in stores on April 4, 2006. The three-song EP ''

'' followed on November 17 of the same year. Voxtrot 215 (871582132)

On October 26, 2006, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' reported that the group was entering the studio to record their debut album. Initially, the group had sought

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...

, who had previously worked with

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

and Blur, to produce the album, but Street was unable to due to scheduling conflicts. The band's first full-length self-titled debut album was released on May 22, 2007, by

Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Young. History The companies’ roots stem from the Beggars Banquet record shops, whic ...

. The album peaked at number 42 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Independent Albums chart. Eric Harvey of ''Pitchfork'' awarded the album a 5.9 out of 10 rating, writing: "''Voxtrot'' shows a young band eagerly trying to have it all: attempting to establish a mature musical identity while aiming for a wide audience. Voxtrot may very well have a great pop record within them, yet their first effort stumbles from the band's enthusiastic, ambitious attempt to produce it immediately." The album's first single, "Blood Red Blood", was released as a 7" limited to 1,000 copies June 4, 2007 by Playlouder Recordings. In June 2007, the band performed a Take-Away Show acoustic session shot by

Vincent Moon Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Saura, born 25 August 1979) is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris. He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field work music vide ...

. To promote the album, the band toured with

Au Revoir Simone Au Revoir Simone is an American indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The group is composed of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard/bass) and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard ...

and

Favourite Sons The Favourite Sons is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, made up of Ken Griffin (former member of Rollerskate Skinny) and four members of Jagjaguwar's Aspera.Raper, Dan (2006)Favourite Sons ''Down Beside Your Beauty'' (review), ''PopMatters'' They ...

in the summer of 2007.

Later singles and dissolution

In March 2009, Voxtrot released the single "Trepanation Party", which received significant airplay on the Sirius/XM's influential

Sirius XMU SiriusXMU (formerly XMU, and known as Sirius U on Sirius Canada, although Sirius receivers list it as Sirius XM U) is an indie pop, indie rock, unsigned artist music channel on XM Satellite Radio channel 35 (previously 43). On November 12, 2008, ...

channel. The track was recorded and mixed with Jim Eno of the band

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

. The sound of "Trepanation Party" is a significant departure from their indie sound, towards a more synth-pop feel. Voxtrot released a limited edition 7" single "Berlin, Without Return..." on August 3, 2009. The single contained the song "The Dream Lives of Ordinary People" as a B-side and was initially released in a limited pressing of 400 copies. The single was self-released by the band's own Cult Hero Records. On April 21, 2010, lead singer Srivastava announced on the band's website that they would be breaking up following a short tour, entitled the 'Goodbye, Cruel World..." tour, which consisted of a total of seven dates. In the letter addressed to fans, Srivastava noted that "The career path of Voxtrot was truly one of long, simmering build, explosion, and almost instantaneous decay. Slowly, I am learning to replace any feelings of regret with positive memories of how amazing the whole thing was, and how it has, in an unexpected way, fortified my character." The band performed their last show on June 26, 2010incidentally Srivastava's 27th birthday at the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

in New York City. Former lead singer Srivastava released his first solo album, ''The King'', in 2014 after releasing several tracks and an EP.

2022 reunion

On May 6, 2022, the group announced they were embarking on a reunion tour through the latter part of the year, along with the release of archival recordings.

Discography

Albums

* ''

Voxtrot Voxtrot is an American indie pop band formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. Their first recordings were released in 2003, and their debut EP, '' Raised by Wolves'', was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, garnering attention from music bloggers as ...

'' (2007) Playlouderecordings / The Beggars Group * ''Early Music'' (2022), a remastered release of the band's first two EPs * ''Cut from the Stone: Rarities & B-Sides'' (2022)

EPs

* ''

Raised by Wolves (EP) ''Raised by Wolves'' is the debut EP by the indie rock band Voxtrot, released in 2005. Release The title track of the EP was initially released as a 7" single by the Portland, Oregon-based independent label Magic Marker Records in 2005, featurin ...

'' (2005) Cult Hero Records * ''

EP'' (2006) Cult Hero Records * '' Your Biggest Fan EP & 7"'' (2006)

/Playlouderecordings

US singles

* ''The Start of Something'' 7" b/w "Dirty Version" (2004) Cult Hero Records / The Bus Stop Label * ''Raised by Wolves'' 7" b/w "They Never Mean What They Say" (2005) Magic Marker Records * ''Trepanation Party'' digital single (2009) Cult Hero Records * ''Berlin, Without Return...'' 7" b/w "The Dream Lives Of Ordinary People" (2009) Cult Hero Records

UK/Europe singles

* ''

'' 7" b/w "Rise Up in the Dirt" (2006) Full Time Hobby Records * ''

'' EP & 2x7" (2006) Re-Issue /

/Playlouderecordings * ''Trouble'' 7" (limited to 1000 copies) and digital single, from the ''

'' EP (2007)

/Playlouderecordings * ''Blood Red Blood'' 7" (limited to 1000 copies) and digital single, from ''

'' (2007)

/Playlouderecordings * ''Firecracker'' 7" (limited to 1000 copies), CD and digital single, from ''

'' (2007) No. 19 UK Indie

/Playlouderecordings

Compilations

* "The Start of Something" featured on ''Bang Crash Boom'', Little Teddy Recordings, 2005 (Germany) * "Warmest Part of the Winter" featured on ''Little Darla Has a Treat for You, vol. 24'' ·

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis. Background The music of the artists on the ...

, 2006 (US) * "The Start Of Something" featured on ''The Kids at the Club'',

How Does It Feel To Be Loved How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seid ...

, 2006 (UK) * "The Start of Something" featured on the feature film ''The Ex'' 2007 (US) * "Whiskey & Water" featured on ''P.E.A.C.E.'', Buffet Libre/

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, 2010 (Spain)

Videos

Firecracker
on YouTube.com
Steven
on YouTube.com

Chart positions

Members

vocals,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

*Mitch Calvert

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

*Jason Chronis bass *Jared van Fleet

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, guitar, strings *Matt Simon

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

History

Early work; ''Voxtrot''

Later singles and dissolution

2022 reunion

Discography

Albums

EPs

US singles

UK/Europe singles

Compilations

Videos

Chart positions

Members

References

External links