Episode 198: Josh Malerman of The High Strung

Episode 198 of Look At My Records! features an interview with Josh Malerman of Detroit power-pop band The High Strung. These prolific indie rock veterans have been active for two decades, and over the course of their storied career, they’ve released a ton of great music and toured at a frenetic pace, at times playing a whopping 250 gigs a year. Their most recent release, HannaH, takes listeners back to where it all started for the quintet, as it was originally recorded in 2002, just weeks prior to the studio sessions for their debut, These Are The Good Times. In the intervening decades, Malerman and his bandmates shelved the tapes for HannaH, but during the pandemic, a chance connection with producer Zach Shipps inspired them to dig them up and put the finishing touches on the tracks. The end product provides a glimpse of the band in its infancy and gives greater context to the work that followed it. During the interview, Malerman reflected on the recording sessions for HannaH, what exactly inspired the band to resurrect the album from their archives, what he learned about songwriting from Bob Pollard of Guided By Voices while on tour, and more. Malerman is also an accomplished horror novelist. His most notable work, Birdbox, was adapted into a Netflix film starring Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock. So, Josh dished on his writing as well, particularly, how he reconciles crafting sunny, power pop tunes as a musician with the gory, scary narratives in his books. Malerman also curated a stacked playlist of records, including choice cuts from Guided By Voices, Stereolab, and The Soft Machine. Follow along with his picks via the official playlist for Episode 198. HannaH is out now via Park The Van. You can order a copy on vinyl via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.