Photo courtesy And the Echo
Oxford’s very own And the Echo just debuted its self-titled album. Morgan Pennington and Winn McElroy created an eight track masterpiece– the first official release for this dynamic duo.
McElroy described the album as simply “bangin’,” and his short and sweet response is no exaggeration. And the Echo’s ethereal synth-pop sound radiates throughout this album, creating songs both dreamy and electric.
In the fall of 2014, the duo released a 45rpm with the songs “Smoke and Mirrors” and “The Parade,” but this album serves as their first formal music release, something that, McElroy explained, has been a long time coming.
“We wanted to allow enough time for us to develop our writing and sound before we formally released anything,” McElroy said. “A lot of this material was written in 2014 and 2015.”
Long time followers of the band will likely recognize the tracks featured on this album, which they have been promoting around town since its release on April 21. Lyrics laced with heartbreak come together with catchy, synthesized beats to create the songs that have been drawing in crowds since And the Echo began performing locally in 2014. To create this dichotomy, Pennington and McElroy combine their efforts in a unique way.
Photo courtesy And the Echo
“Our process is pretty different than most bands,” McElroy said. “I usually come up with a musical idea and then pitch it to Morgan. She’ll then take that music and begin the lyrical process while I finish the music. After that, we’ll merge the two and begin editing vocally and musically in order for the track to pass the litmus test. Sometimes, though, a track comes together overnight. That happened with ‘Smoke,’ ‘The Parade’ and ‘Year Three.’”
Now, they are busy planning for the future. And the Echo will soon put out a follow-up.
“We’ve already begun recording our next record and it’s most likely going to be notably darker than our current release,” McElroy said. “The time spent writing together and developing our sound was definitely well spent, and the releases will be coming a lot faster now as we have lots of material to work with.”
As far as touring goes, And the Echo is promoting close to home for the next few months.
“For this summer we’re going to be working on press for the current release,” McElroy said. “We’re playing a few festivals and have some regional dates, but we’re saving a lot of touring for the fall.”
This has been a big year for the local band and it appears to be getting bigger by the second. The secret to their success, perhaps, has been cultivated from the very town in which they were created.
“The Oxford music scene has been absolutely wonderful,” McElroy said. “Oxford is a town full of the arts, which makes it both an inspiring and an encouraging place to live. We have had nothing but a positive experience.”
And the Echo’s album is available on iTunes and Spotify.
