Indie folk duo The Nautical Theme releases EP
The Nautical Theme has been in EP mode since the pandemic hit. That era has reached its final chapter with the release of
“Do Something” at Blind Bob’s in Dayton today, Feb. 23. The Sam King Trio, Max and Jason from the Shady Pine and Elanore Dakota will also perform.
An EP is an extended play track, or longer than a single.
The Dayton indie folk duo came out of the gate with full-length albums “Float” (2018) and “Lows & Highs” (2020), which was released the week of the COVID-19 shutdowns that March.
Matt Shetler (vocals, guitar) and Tesia Mallory (vocals, keyboards) recorded the three-song collection, “Something Old, Something New,
Something Borrowed” (2021), during lockdown. They also started work on “Get Somewhere” (2023) and its companion “Do Something.” Those two EPs are being released together on CD.
Shetler: “We tried doing just a digital release with ‘Get Somewhere’ for the first time but there’s something about having a tangible thing. It was weird not having anything physical for the merch table at our release show. We did have download cards printed up. We moved a couple of those, and people bought T-shirts.”
Mallory: “We have the physical release coming out with both EPs. We wondered if the time had passed to put ‘Get Somewhere’ out on CD, but I don’t think so. We had planned it to be a duo release.”
Double duty
Shetler: “We were recording this stuff simultaneously while we were recording the other EP at Trojan City Studios. They’re all from the same batch of songs. The new one is more like what you get from a live show.”
Mallory: “They’re stripped down and pretty basic.”
Shetler: “We did some little flourishes here and there, studio magic for layering, extra harmonies or whatever. We did what is manageable in my studio. We had the same guy master both projects.”
More music
Mallory: “We’re even working on an album for the fall. We’ve never been this far ahead. With ‘Get Somewhere’ we were really struggling but it bought us time to get ahead. Now we’re just cranking them out. I’d like to wrap up the album before summer. If we want to release it in the fall, we definitely need to get it done.”
Shetler: “Part of the reason for breaking these two releases into EPs instead of doing a full-length was to stay in the release cycle. As long as you have something recent to talk about, you’re in good shape. Knowing we’re going to get through the cycle of ‘Do Something’ and have another release to coming out right away is cool.