CRUSHED SIGNS WITH GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL

crushed by Corinne Schiavone

ANNOUNCES REISSUE OF EXTRA LIFE EP DUE MARCH 15TH

SHARES “MILKSUGAR” REMIX BY DJ PYTHON

What the press is saying about crushed:

“destined to give dream pop a fresh new face” – Alternative Press

“A Portishead for a nostalgia-pilled generation” – NPR

“sexy, woozy, familiar yet alive with fresh possibility” – Pitchfork

Los Angeles duo crushed announces that they have signed with Ghostly International. In conjunction with the signing, the band announces the first vinyl pressing of their 2023 debut EP extra life, set for release on March 15th. The extra life reissue will include two new remixes of tracks from the debut EP, the Real Lies remix of “waterlily” and the DJ Python remix of “milksugar,” the latter of which is out today. DJ Python, who is known for his mutations of “deep reggaetón,” leans into the breakbeats and textures of “milksugar” for an even hazier, atmospheric feel. extra life is available for pre-order on poisonbloom colored vinyl now HERE.

Speaking about their new label and extra life remixes, crushed shares, “We’re so thrilled to be partnering with Ghostly to bring our debut EP to vinyl. As long-time fans of the label we couldn’t have asked for a better team and can’t wait for all that’s to come. We wanted to ask some of our favorite artists right now to remix tracks from ‘extra life’ for the physical release, and DJ Python and Real Lies absolutely smashed it. We’re huge fans of both artists and to hear these songs reimagined from their perspectives has been such a cool and special thing.”

Additionally, crushed will be performing a string of four North American shows this March and April, with performances in New York City, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Montreal, before the duo head to the United Kingdom for Outbreak Festival in June. Tickets are available at crushedworldwide.com.

A love letter to ‘90s radio, extra life is the first collaboration from musicians Bre Morell and Shaun Durkan and finds them tuning a shared taste for maximalist dream pop. Open-hearted hooks and melodic riffs move through a haze of breakbeats, spliced sound design, and distortion. Faithful yet fluid in its channeling of golden age alt-rock, Britpop, trip-hop, and electronica, there’s a refreshing freedom to the sound, which quickly resonated with fans and critics upon initial release. Pitchfork called it “effortless, widescreen dream pop that’s serene without being sentimental,” and NPR cited its “deep sense of place and time.”

The story of crushed is written across midnight transmissions. In the early 2010s, Morell, who fronts the band Temple of Angels (Run For Cover Records), hosted a graveyard shift college radio show and used to play music from Durkan’s former band Weekend (Slumberland Records). In 2020, Durkan, having focused on production work (Tamaryn, Young Prisms) following Weekend’s run as a formidable shoegaze act, hosted a late-night program on a community radio station in San Francisco. Driving one day, he heard Temple of Angels by chance and was immediately drawn to Morell’s voice. He added a song that night to his on-air tracklist. Morell saw it and reached out to thank him and point to that connection made a decade earlier.

The exchange sparked a long-distance project. First, they filled an audible moodboard with ‘90s classics from the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, Sneaker Pimps, and The Sundays. Songs that transported them back to places of comfort and discovery; Morell’s memories of a metallic, lavender boombox that dispatched past sounds from a world beyond her Houston suburbia, and Durkan, in his mom’s car on the way to band practice. These touchpoints provided a palette for crushed to experiment without expectations, purely for the fun of it.

A creative intimacy emerged; stepping outside the reverb walls of her full band, Morell embraced more clarity and a range of emotions in her vocals, while Durkan looked inward as a producer, collaging fragments from their everyday lives: voice memos, piano recordings, even the panting of Morell’s late dog on “milksugar.” The wistful ballad embodies extra life’s feeling as a whole. “I am home again,” sings Morell; her refrain cycles above a drum machine beat as Durkan colors their universe with star-lit strums, synth swells, and the crackle of fireworks in the distance. Elsewhere, the duo’s uptempo mode is equally effective, like the super-charged duet “coil” or the propulsive opener “waterlily,” which sets a cinematic tone for the set.

Bold, bright, and replayable, extra life presents crushed as a project of immense promise, two artists unlocking something special within themselves, a space to hold both melancholy and bliss. Durkan adds, “To me, [extra life] is true and pure – in a way I haven’t felt about music in a really really long time.”

Pre-order the extra life EP on vinyl and listen to the DJ Python remix of “milksugar” above. See below for EP details and upcoming 2024 tour dates and stay tuned for more from crushed coming soon.

Upcoming Live Dates

3/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye
3/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s Lounge
4/01 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern
4/02 – Montreal, QB @ L’Esco

6/28 – 6/30 – Manchester, UK @ Outbreak Festival