Photo courtesy Fellow Kinsman
Nate Kinsman
Nate Kinsman
Nathan Kinsman can’t surf, nor does he pretend that he can. But it’s not a required skill for playing land-locked surf rock, a genre that Kinsman coined for his band Fellow Kinsman.
“I’m a Norwegian Wisconsin boy that loves hanging out on the beach,” Kinsman says. “It’s in the realm of surf-indie rock that has a punk edge—we’re on stage and we go nutty.”
What Kinsman calls land-locked surf-rock is a blend of genres – at its core, it’s alternative-indie rock riddled with surf-rock riffs. But like a choppy ocean wake, unpredictable waves of psyche-rock and punk propel the band into jamming and aggressive outbursts.
It’s a sound that Kinsman has been working on since high school when he played in a band with his brothers. But as family members began moving away, Kinsman found himself taking on every role of the band, becoming a multi-instrumentalist. A drummer by nature, Kinsman eventually picked up the guitar thanks to his musically inclined father.
Scuttling the Name
Kinsman played mostly solo in those early days, and when it came time to pick the band name that would appear on show fliers and album covers, he didn’t want to just settle on his first and last name. “I didn’t want to go by Nate Kinsman because I felt like it would be really corny,” Kinsman says. “My last name in Norwegian means ‘family and friends,’ and I wanted to dedicate (my music) to everyone—‘fellow friends and family’ is my persona.”
Fellow Kinsman eventually evolved into a two-piece, performing as a stripped-down alternative rock duo akin to groups like The Black Keys or The White Stripes. But as Kinsman’s musicianship began to evolve, so did the need for other instruments. Fellow Kinsman became almost like a collective. Musicians would hop on for a gig or two, filling in where needed. It's a quality of the band that really drives the “kinsman” part of the Fellow Kinsman name home.
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Solid Lineup
Fellow Kinsman 'Where Were You'
Fellow Kinsman 'Where Were You'
Now, Fellow Kinsman has a solidified lineup. On drums, Mark Soriano provides the rhythmic waves that drive the Fellow Kinsman surf session. Soriano is joined by Erin Bagatta, who adds thick layers of dreamy synthesizer, and bassist Cleo Jackowick, who brings a frenetic and fun energy to the band's live shows.
Those who want to immerse themselves in the soundscapes of this niche genre are in luck. Fellow Kinsman recently released an eight-track album titled Where Were You, the band’s first collection of songs since 2017.
Where Were You is an exploration of perception and self-evaluation, asking one to contemplate where they were mentally, emotionally and physically at certain points in their lives.
Haunting Feeling
“There isn’t a specific narrator, but there’s all of these feelings and stories where it's very outworldly – there’s a weird spiritual sense with these songs,” Kinsman says. “There’s a haunting feeling with these songs.”
The album begins with “Buy Sell Trade,” a song that Kinsman wrote back in 2020. It’s a dancey number that builds up to a heavy instrumental break, showcasing the band’s ability to invite you onto the dancefloor only to slip into something more suited for a dingy punk venue.
“Surprise Party” is a guitar-driven rock-and-roll track that follows a traditional verse-chorus-verse formula, but by the end of the second verse it transitionszfor just a few moments, the band shifts to a punchier rhythm while Kinsman’s vocals become unhinged as he sings, “Maybe I drink to blur out all the lines/Maybe I’ll do it twice and roll the dice.” But before he fully loses control, the band smoothly transitions back into the track’s catchy chorus like a car crash narrowly avoided.
On “Bad Luck,” Fellow Kinsman manages to mesh together surf-rock with folk, as a lap steel accompanies Kinsman’s reverb-drenched strumming. The gears switch for “Mind Made,” where bass becomes the driving force. It’s a groovy track that puts Kinsman’s guitar work in the background and lets his vocals truly shine. The track concludes with a bridge that would make Hot Fuss-era The Killers blush—a gradual build-up leads to a short but sweet explosion of crash cymbals, wavey guitar and Kinsman’s driving vocals.
The album concludes with “Trippin’,” a track featuring fellow Milwaukee indie-rocker Old Pup.
“It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written because the whole ensemble is a little bit slower,” Kinsman says. “It’s very ominous and weird—it encapsulates this feeling of being done and getting through the recording process.”
The melancholic finale features mood swings courtesy of an ever-present lap steel and opens up to give Kinsman a final chance to jam some solos on the band’s long-awaited release.
When listening to a record that flirts with as many genres and ideas as Where Were You does, it's easy to forget that many of the tracks were written by one person. Kinsman confesses that he spent 16 hours in the studio meticulously writing every part for “Buy Sell Trade” until the song was perfect. But focusing too much on Kinsman himself would be a disservice to the band’s name. The other members, regardless of their permanence, are just as important.
And the “kinsman” part extends to the audience as well. Those who become entranced by Where Were You should be pleased to know that there’s always room for more friends and family at a Fellow Kinsman show. For more, visit: fellowkinsman.bandcamp.com/album/where-were-you-2.
