Lapse is the first new album from IDAHO since the cult indie rock band's 2011 release, You Were A Dick. Emerging in the early 90s, often linked to the seminal bands of the era’s post-grunge 'slowcore' movement (hear the dirgeful sounds of: Low, Songs: Ohia, Codeine, etc), IDAHO is distinguished by the ragged elegance of frontman Jeff Martin’s songwriting, his gentle but strained vocals leading the airy, earthen synergy of the music’s meticulous layers. The ten new songs of Lapse are engraved with the strains of four-string guitar feedback and keyboards that are Idaho’s long-standing signature: rich melancholia lavished by Martin, with bittersweet delivery, on his heartrending, cinematic songs. Set against the desert backdrop of 29 Palms, California, near Joshua Tree, where it was recorded, Lapse is an album about relationships, and relationships based on music: a snapshot of IDAHO's quintessential evolving sound, reclaiming a feeling, anew and in flux. Martin calls the album "a harkening back to the beginnings of IDAHO" – not as a ‘return to form’; but a deep visitation with the muse that ignited more than three decades of canonical output. An open letter to all who have delighted in IDAHO – from its 90s albums on Caroline Records, through its stellar 00’s independent output, to the new era on the Arts & Crafts banner – Lapse is steeped in nostalgia, without ever succumbing to nostalgia. An album of pure sonic, emotional accrual: a lightning strike destined to enrich the legacy of an already enduring, yet still undersung band.
The close communion of IDAHO and its audience is clear on the introductory single “On Fire.” A wistful anthem with reflexive lyrics in whisper quiet verse, the song kowtows to the healing-transcendent-generative force of music – the very spark that keeps driving Martin and IDAHO faithful together. He says that “On Fire” “sounds like IDAHO circa ‘96 when we were a full band.” To wit, Lapse marks the first time in over twenty years – since IDAHO’s origins as a duo with the late John Berry, who left after the 1992 debut album Year After Year – that Martin has recorded in such close collaboration, here with newcomer Robby Fronzo on guitar. In contempt of obscurity and inertia, with “On Fire” Martin conjures, renews, and compels the rebellious excellence of its earnest, ornate, vanguard indie rock. “Break some records break a sweat / Before you’re fuckin dead,” Martin sings softly, but with righteous incision – a reminder of the punk ethic at the core of making tirelessly slow, passionately sad music – a force that in IDAHO, even after all these miles, is still very much on fire.
“Recording Lapse commenced on January 1, 2022, following a lively New Year’s Eve at the Out There bar in 29 Palms,” says Jeff Martin. “Nursing a rare hangover, I welcomed guitarist Robby Fronzo, fresh from LA, into my mother’s desert house amidst much excited barking from my pit bull Thurmon and producer/engineer Bill Sanke’s pit/lab mix Maggie. Over the next few months, this record took shape, inadvertently paying homage to IDAHO’s past, largely influenced by my collaboration with Robby. Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, Robby reached out to me on Instagram and offered his assistance in completing the demo snippets I was sharing online... Every record since Hearts of Palm in 2000 has been more of a solo effort so the synergy of collaboration is a cool thing to have back in the fray. The high desert setting lent its voice to this LP… how could it not? The colors, textures and endless sky sunsets. Thank you mother Lynda for letting us desecrate your sanctuary for the good part of ‘22. The large living room afforded us a chance to spread out, get loud and let the sound waves develop the way they should. As fate would have it, Bill had to depart, leaving me with the task of mixing the album alone. I often wonder if a professional could have achieved a better result, but nevertheless, I take pride in finally breaking IDAHO’s dry spell.” – Jeff Martin