Pseud
Jimmy Figliola and Alex Bass started making music together nearly a decade ago under the name Pseud. After the pair drifted apart, Jimmy moved to Richmond, VA while Alex lived in College Park, MD, the duo were eventually drawn back together to Alex’s home music studio once more. They decided that this effort would be different. No idea was too basic, no part too precious to be workshopped and formed into a coherent song.
The two found a personal escape in the studio together. Figiola, having just started his first office job, describes the sessions as a way to “hold onto a part of myself I was afraid of losing. Knowing that after work I could go make music with Alex, workshop inside jokes, screw around like we were 19 again”. The two parsed through borderline defunct, out-of-date recording equipment, including a giant recording desk scored for free from an old DC Hardcore musician, a ribbon mic built in the Soviet Union, and a slew of modded guitars to find the sounds they were looking for.That’s what Pseud’s Self Titled LP reflects. Chasing time with our friends that doesn’t naturally materialize anymore, with gear that’s all but extinct, finding analog enjoyment in an increasingly digital world.
As a songwriting duo, Jimmy and Alex were used to doing everything themselves, but for this album they expanded beyond themselves and enlisted the help of violist/violinist Veronica Mumm, bassoonist Joey Figliola, and additional vocals from Annie Dempsey. After four years of on-and-off writing, recording, and revision, Pseud emerged with a guitar-driven album reminiscent of alternative records of the 90s, with a modern feel and sensibility.