QUICK FICTION

Sometimes, records don’t come easy. Bands can struggle for years with how to make the metaphorical music in their minds a flesh-and-bone reality. Songs are built up, taken apart, and put together as something entirely different than the original demo. San Francisco’s Quick Fiction show exactly how that process can lead to an incredible artistic statement on their debut Fingers Crossed. 

From the ashes of folk-rock band The Nest, Steve Landey, Fred Hatfull, and Eric Shaw joined with Cody Krivacic and AJ Ferrick to form a band that combines pop punk, folk, and prog rock into a tight, upbeat sound. For the past three years, this crew has been chasing down a sound. The band recalls, “We wrote, refined, and recycled dozens of instrumental arrangements, searching for a sound that resonated with us.” A lot of bands start out with a sound in mind, but the freedom of this search allowed Quick Fiction to create something that felt truly theirs. Amidst the tumult of adult life – jobs, moves, marriages – these five people have managed to create a sonic landscape bigger than they could have initially imagined.

This constant cycle of revision has led them to their debut album – Fingers Crossed. Combining their folk roots with the urgency of pop punk and the technical precision of prog rock, Fingers Crossed is an ambitious, genre-defying record with frequent timing changes and warm, inviting chords. Thinking back on the recording sessions, the band says, “Our goal became to create songs that have plenty of hooks to draw you in, with enough complexity beneath the surface to reward repeated listens.” Nowhere is this more evident than songs like “Moonroof.” Riffy, catchy bursts of melody give way to moodier, almost ambient passages. It’s a song that begs you to listen to it again and again. To figure out how it works.

In a timeline where quantity is often better than quality, Quick Fiction has taken the road less traveled. They’ve meticulously turned over their songs, searching for the right combination of sonic elements. They’ve devoted themselves to the process. And now, we all get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“With the release of Fingers Crossed upon us, Quick Fiction is thinking big again, ready, willing, and able to introduce another side of themselves as a unit that is more than just a studio entity.“

V13

“Quick Fiction makes swift work in their debut, Fingers Crossed, displaying an array of genre-melding intersections of pop punk, progressive rock, and post-rock.”

Big Takeover