Another Charlotte band strikes label deal

HRVRD, the Charlotte-based band formerly known as Harvard, announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with Equal Vision Records. The Albany, NY independent label is home to bands like Eisley and Say Anything and is distributed by RED, which also distributes labels like Victory, Fat Wreck Chords, Fat Possum, Razor & Tie, Metal Blade, and other well known indies. That means you should be able to find HRVRD's upcoming album almost anywhere.

The band recently finished up recording the follow-up to 2009's "The Inevitable and I" at Baltimore's Salad Days Studios with producer Brian McTernan. It's the group's second album with McTernan, who is known for his work with bands like Circa Survive and Senses Fail (although I remember him best for his late `90s work with Hot Water Music, the Explosion, Converge, and Cave In).

HRVRD consists of Jesse Clasen, Lee Herrera, Jason Shaw, Tim Cossor, and Garret Leister (those shadowy figures pictured above). Shaw and Herrera founded the group in 2004. For anyone that has followed HRVRD from early on this announcement is a long time coming. Like a handful of young local bands, HRVRD has grown up in the Charlotte scene. In that time it's evolved from a scrappy post-hardcore band into a more experimental and more original group boasting complex and inventive arrangements. Imagine a collaboration between Minus the Bear and Explosions in the Sky with a vocalist as soulful as Adam Levine or Jay Kay from Jamiroquai.

The group has also grown in popularity as its matured drawing a few hundred fans to shows locally, which isn't always an easy feat for a local band.

Equal Vision Records, in partnership with Enjoy the Ride Records, will release HRVRD's new album later this year. HRVRD headlines Neighborhood Theatre May 25. For more information on the band check out http://hrvrdmusic.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/harvardband.