Andy Fenstermaker is a music lover, writer, marketing professional, and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to sharing his passion for music with others. He is the founder of FensePost, a renowned music blog that has been sharing the latest and greatest in indie music since 2006. Andy has always been fascinated by the power of music to connect people, and he started FensePost with the aim of sharing his love of music with others. Andy developed a passion for music at a young age. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Andy grew up surrounded by a vibrant music scene that left an indelible mark on him. He attended Washington State University, where he studied Communication and Business. He holds a BA in Communication and a Masters in Business Administration. After graduating, Andy started writing about music and created FensePost as the outlet. The blog has a strong focus on indie music, but also covers a range of other genres including folk, indie pop, psychedelic, garage rock, and experimental. Andy and the blog relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in 2020.
In my last post, I reviewed the 2023 Record Store Day EP, Become, by dream pop duo Beach House. Become is somewhat of a companion EP to their 2022 album Once Twice Melody. Today, I’m going to look back over the band’s career and rank the eight full-length albums they’ve given us so far.
Read More »Discography Ranked: Beach House Albums (2006-2023)
Record Store Day in April of 2023. It was announced that there was a new companion EP to Once Twice Melody, the 2022 LP by dream pop duo Beach House. It’s called the Become EP, and it was limited to — get this — JUST 8,000 copies on clear wax. Shell out $20-25 for five songs, and you could own a “rare” copy of this!
Read More »Beach House | Become EP | Album Review
I’ve covered Acid House Kings close to ad nauseam at this point, and as I have a handful more releases, it’s going to continue a little bit longer. Prior to Music Sounds Better With You, I looked at the three LPs that preceded it. This, technically, is the band’s fifth–their debut LP is the sole one not on vinyl or in my collection. I’ve also covered a handful of singles. So let’s dig in…
Read More »Acid House Kings | Music Sounds Better With You | Album Review
Andy Rourke, schoolyard friend to Johnny Marr and bassist for The Smiths (among other bands), passed away yesterday at the young age of 59 from pancreatic cancer. I’ve had it on a short list to create some content surrounding The Smiths, and as they’ve dominated my headphones and turntable since yesterday morning, here we go. I’m going to count down my top 10 favorite Andy Rourke bass lines from songs by The Smiths.
Read More »Top 10 Andy Rourke Bass Lines From The Smiths
Today, I’m continuing on my path of counting down the top 20 albums turning 20 in 2023. For the first ten on the list, visit Part 1 where I cover 20 to 11. Today, I’ll be focusing on the top 10. As always, this list is a roundup of my personal selections, so there’s a definite subjective nature to it, but I also tried to inject at least some objectivity into it. Compiling this list has been filled with nostalgic memories of my college days.
Read More »The Top 20 Albums Turning 20 in 2023 | Part 2
This unique little 7-inch single is one of two singles the Swedish indie pop band Acid House Kings released in 1992 along with their first album, Pop, Look & Listen. I’m not entirely sure which came first, this split or their Play Pop! EP, which was also released as a 7-inch. This is the lone split I’ve found from one of my favorite Swedish bands, and it pairs their early sounds with the equally twee band out of Germany, The Bartlebees. This is a co-release bewteen Cornflakes Zoo and Alienor Records.
Read More »Acid House Kings / The Bartlebees | Split 7-Inch Review
I hate to admit it, but I didn’t give Big Thief its due credit until right around moving to TX in early March of 2020. Within a few months I had picked up all of the band’s albums. They have been a top 3 artist on my top Spotify Artists list ever since, and a few of their albums are now in my top 10 records played in my collection of all time. (I starting to track those numbers in 2020.) Today, I’m going to look at their 2022 LP Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You and share some of the reasons I dubbed it my #1 album of last year.
Read More »Big Thief | Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You | Eco-Mix Recycled Colored Vinyl
Today I’m looking back 20 years and counting down my top 20 albums of 2003. In this first part, I’ll be looking at 20 down to 11. As we reach the 20th anniversary of the albums released in 2003, it’s hard not to look back on this particular year as a crucial moment in indie rock history. For me, cemented in my Junior and Senior year of college, I dove deeper into my obsession with music and expanded my horizons even deeper into indie rock.
Read More »The Top 20 Albums Turning 20 in 2023 | Part 1
“No One’s Gonna Love You” is a single by American indie rock band Band of Horses. It was the second single from their second studio album, Cease to Begin from 2007, preceded only by “Is There A Ghost.” While CD singles exist from 2007, this 7-inch single was released in 2008.
Read More »Band of Horses | No One’s Gonna Love You | 7-Inch Review
By the time the single for “Turn on the Water” was released in 1992, The Afghan Whigs were relatively cemented in the underground alt rock scene and either had or were about to release their third album and second on the then go-to Seattle label for the burgeoning grunge scene: Sub Pop.
Read More »The Afghan Whigs | Turn on the Water | 7-inch Single
