THE GENESIS
The year was 2013 – the iPhone 5 was released, Breaking Bad was the best show on television, and the formation of THIS MODERN BRIDGE began to take shape. The original idea was to have various Providence-based Indie musicians come together to collaborate on an album. During this period of time, Providence, RI had been known for producing their own distinct Indie sound, which drew from genres such as Americana, Alt-Country, Alt-Rock, Cowpunk, Indie-Folk, Metal, Noise-Rock, and Rock. The ability to bring many musicians together proved slightly more difficult than initially expected, but a handful of these musicians did come together. This handful consisted of Todd Michael Bianchino (vocals, guitars, and keys), Keith John Benjamin (bass), Matthew Richkus (guitars and keys), and Sarah Smith (vocals). Todd, Keith, and Sarah had all been embedded in the Providence music scene, and Matthew was fairly new to it as he was a recent transplant to Providence from Washington, D.C. All 4 musicians had played together in the past, and this new adventure together would prove to be the genesis of the band. They were, however, still missing one crucial member, a drummer. This didn’t stop them from completing their first album together, and the result of their hard work was titled INSIDE SPUTNIK. The drumming on this record was accomplished using drum sequencing as well as live overdubs. After the completion of INSIDE SPUTNIK, the band went on a hunt for a permanent drummer and that hunt ended when they found Paul Lourenco – A Taunton, MA native who had been splitting his time between the Providence and Boston music scenes. Over the years, the lineup has changed a bit. Karen Orsi can be heard playing bass on the SWELL-EP, and various musician’s such as Rob Anastasi (guitar and vocals) and Caroline McDermott (keys and vocals) were brought in to help round out the live performances, but the band is again currently comprised of the original members who started it all.
THE SOUND
The famous psych theorist Erik Erikson postulated the concept of Identity Crisis versus Role Confusion as one of the stages of adolescent psychosocial development. This stage in one’s life is marked by a teenagers exploration to determine who they are and how they fit into the world – in essence they are trying on different personas as though they are an article of clothing to see which one they feel fits and looks the best. A lot of teenagers struggle with stage of development well into adulthood, and THIS MODERN BRIDGE is proud to feel as though they are in this stage musically. It allows them the freedom and ability to produce different sounding songs and albums. Their music is very mood and vibe driven. At a superficial level, one may hear elements of some of that distinct Providence Indie sound, or hear influences from other musical genres such as Jangle Pop, New Wave, Post-Punk, Psychedelic Pop, and Shoegaze. But whatever you hear, their music is certainly a manifestation of the feeling that was experienced at the time when it was created or recorded.
ALBUM BY ALBUM
The first full-length album by THIS MODERN BRIDGE was INSIDE SPUTNIK. It was a culmination of psychedelic pop songs, which sounded like an intertwining of early indie-rock bands such as The Church, Sparkle Horse and Yo La Tengo. The majority of the album was tracked and pieced together separately DIY style in the band’s home studio, which they nicknamed THE BOARD ROOM. INSIDE SPUTNIK was self-released in 2015 through the label RED SUIT MUSIC & ART.
The second release from THIS MODERN BRIDGE was the SWELL-EP (June, 2018), and it would showcase their new drummer, Paul Lourenco. Karen Orsi would replace Keith Benjamin as the bassist for this specific recording. Although only containing 6 tracks, SWELL-EP is chock-full of upbeat melodic songs with influences and sounds reminiscent of the best underground psychedelic pop music of the late 20th century. The band wanted a live feel for the EP, so they tracked most of it together with only certain pieces such as keys and vocals being tracked separately. It was recorded between THE BOARD ROOM and MACHINE’S WITH MAGNETS (Pawtucket, RI), engineered, mixed and mastered by Seth Manchester (Battles and Deer Tick), and was again released on RED SUIT MUSIC & ART.
NEW EP – TO BE RELEASED IN 2024
In early 2023, THIS MODERN BRIDGE tracked their newest songs with the help of Randy Hunicke at NEWCASTLE SOUND (Barrington, RI), and in December, 2023 those songs were mixed and co-produced by Peter Katis (The National, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, Jonsi, Frightened Rabbits, and Kurt Vile). Peter is a legend in the indie-rock world, and we were grateful for his collaboration with us. Over the next few months, we will have an update on when these songs will be mastered, packaged, and officially released, so keep an eye out for the NEWS section of this site.
We hope you enjoy listening to our music as much as we enjoy making it,
THIS MODERN BRIDGE