Varsity - Souvenirs (2024)

Varsity have built an impressive catalog in the past decade, becoming Chicago's lead indie-pop band in the process. But after releasing 2015’s self-titled debut, 2018’s Parallel Person, a run of singles collected on 2019’s The Basement Takes, and 2020’s Fine Forever, the band sought a new approach for their fourth full-length, Souvenirs.

Vocalist/keyboardist Stef Smith, guitarists Dylan Weschler and Patrick Stanton, bassist Paul Stolz, and drummer Jake Stolz set out to not only release but also record a new album less conventionally. With their 2023 experiment to write, record, and release a song a month throughout the year, they knew they could take more creative risks and take on different influences or sounds while recording. All 12 tracks have been compiled on their latest release, Souvenirs.

They're still working in indie and pop tradition — one that recalls groups like Fleetwood Mac, Rilo Kiley, and Alvvays — Varsity has taken the recognizable pieces of their sound and reached across sonic boundaries to reframe the genre in their own image.