ERIE CHOIR
Erie Choir Golden Reviser
(PotLuck Foundation, 11/07/25)
Music Video for "Summer Bummer"
Golden Reviser tracklist:
- Artifacts
- Summer Bummer
- Bad Luck
- National Malaise
- It's So Strange
- Whatever the Night #2
- Old Enemies
- Sweet Apple
- Old Friend
“Erie Choir is almost an anagram of my name,” Eric Roehrig explains with a slight chuckle. “The album titles are all anagrams—the first one is called Slighter Awake, which, taken altogether, says ‘Eric Roehrig takes a while.’” It’s been eight years since Old Rigs, Erie Choir’s second album, which arrived nine years after the band’s 2006 debut. Roehrig characterizes himself as “easily distracted,” but “patient” is a better descriptor for his songs and their lengthy gestation periods. The gorgeous arrangements, the earwormy melodies, the layers of sly humor and poignant observation in the lyrics—all of this comes from Roehrig’s unwillingness to rush, to let the songs appear and dictate their direction.
The Carrboro, NC-based songwriter came up in the Chapel Hill indie rock scene, splitting lead duties in Sorry About Dresden with the late Matt Oberst. Roehrig first started Erie Choir in the early 2000s as a channel for his acoustic folk musings that didn’t quite fit with his main band, but over the past 20 years, it’s morphed into a full-throated, muscular rock and roll outfit. What began as a quiet solo project gradually accrued trusted collaborators, slowly solidifying into the longstanding lineup of today: Roehrig, fellow Sorry About Dresden alumnus James Hepler, Bob Wall, Jack Watson, and Ben Spiker.
Golden Reviser is a glowing addition to the classic Americana songbook, a record that feels like a late summer evening before the humidity’s fully burned off. It’s concerned with history, both personal and otherwise, and the ways memory can warp and sand down the stories that have come to define us. “These songs are about dealing with your past,” says Roehrig, “confronting it, understanding it, and getting some freedom from it.” There’s always a temptation to succumb to nostalgia, but throughout Golden Reviser, Roehrig advises against conceding to its allure. “You get that feeling of the feeling being gone,” he sings on “Summer Bummer.”
Although he didn’t intentionally set out to create an album full of classic rock touchstones, Roehrig noticed specific sonic themes as he gathered recordings. “We all grew up listening to classic rock,” he says. “There’s all kinds of other stuff in there—New Wave, punk, jazz—but there is that classic rock base.” Consider the heartland choogle of “It’s So Strange,” which layers modulating Steely Dan chords with a motorik drum machine, landing somewhere between Dire Straits and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. There’s the country-rock shuffle of “Old Enemies,” which evokes Creedence Clearwater Revival and Saturday Looks Good to Me in equal measure. “National Malaise” has shades of Neil Young and Adam Granduciel, and reaches skyward in its final moments, slide guitar and piano billowing around Roehrig’s quiet vocals. Rich acoustic guitars, sputtering tambourine, and doo-wop harmonies all share the same space, all part of a distinctly American, distinctly Southern sound. It all feels familiar, as if Roehrig plucked these songs fully formed from the ether.
Set to be released on November 7, 2025, by PotLuck Foundation, Golden Reviser features contributions from Tim Kasher (Cursive, The Good Life), Greg Humphreys (Dillon Fence, Hobex), Sara Bell (Shark Quest, Lud), Reid Johnson (Schooner), and Joshua Carpenter (Carpenter/Cohen). It was recorded at Duck-Kee Studios by storied North Carolina recording engineer Jerry Kee.
The Carrboro, NC-based songwriter came up in the Chapel Hill indie rock scene, splitting lead duties in Sorry About Dresden with the late Matt Oberst. Roehrig first started Erie Choir in the early 2000s as a channel for his acoustic folk musings that didn’t quite fit with his main band, but over the past 20 years, it’s morphed into a full-throated, muscular rock and roll outfit. What began as a quiet solo project gradually accrued trusted collaborators, slowly solidifying into the longstanding lineup of today: Roehrig, fellow Sorry About Dresden alumnus James Hepler, Bob Wall, Jack Watson, and Ben Spiker.
Golden Reviser is a glowing addition to the classic Americana songbook, a record that feels like a late summer evening before the humidity’s fully burned off. It’s concerned with history, both personal and otherwise, and the ways memory can warp and sand down the stories that have come to define us. “These songs are about dealing with your past,” says Roehrig, “confronting it, understanding it, and getting some freedom from it.” There’s always a temptation to succumb to nostalgia, but throughout Golden Reviser, Roehrig advises against conceding to its allure. “You get that feeling of the feeling being gone,” he sings on “Summer Bummer.”
Although he didn’t intentionally set out to create an album full of classic rock touchstones, Roehrig noticed specific sonic themes as he gathered recordings. “We all grew up listening to classic rock,” he says. “There’s all kinds of other stuff in there—New Wave, punk, jazz—but there is that classic rock base.” Consider the heartland choogle of “It’s So Strange,” which layers modulating Steely Dan chords with a motorik drum machine, landing somewhere between Dire Straits and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. There’s the country-rock shuffle of “Old Enemies,” which evokes Creedence Clearwater Revival and Saturday Looks Good to Me in equal measure. “National Malaise” has shades of Neil Young and Adam Granduciel, and reaches skyward in its final moments, slide guitar and piano billowing around Roehrig’s quiet vocals. Rich acoustic guitars, sputtering tambourine, and doo-wop harmonies all share the same space, all part of a distinctly American, distinctly Southern sound. It all feels familiar, as if Roehrig plucked these songs fully formed from the ether.
Set to be released on November 7, 2025, by PotLuck Foundation, Golden Reviser features contributions from Tim Kasher (Cursive, The Good Life), Greg Humphreys (Dillon Fence, Hobex), Sara Bell (Shark Quest, Lud), Reid Johnson (Schooner), and Joshua Carpenter (Carpenter/Cohen). It was recorded at Duck-Kee Studios by storied North Carolina recording engineer Jerry Kee.