Any band that, whose label describes their debut album as an exploration of “the delicate balance of life’s heavier choices vs. the need for a sense of humor and a healthy dose of alcohol and weed” will grab my attention. Especially the bit about the alcohol and the weed.

Ears should perk up when Stove’s debut album  Is Stupider drops on November 20th via Exploding In Sound Records. The project of Steve Hartlett following the breakup of Ovlov, it seems to be the result the “2nd album + of songs” Hartlett referred to in his Facebook post that announced the end of his former band.  At the time, Hartlett debated whether to use the songs for Ovlov or a vehicle to a new realm in his career. The answer is now clear.

Straight out of Newton, CT and recorded in Panton, VT, Hartlett wrote and performed the album by himself with help from producers Nick Dooley and Dan Francia of Brooklyn’s Flagland.  Recording concluded on 4/20 of this year, which this author speculates as a necessary end date. It was either finish in a blaze of glory or be derailed in a blaze of fury. Looks like glory won out, and we all now get to reap in the benefits of Hartlett’s work. Listen to the first single, “Jock Dreams,” below.

Side note: Track 3 is “Dry Food”, is this a nod to label mate Palehound’s debut album Wet Food? Is there a pet food conspiracy brewing at EIS?