Cusumano, Joel

***Less than a year after releasing his debut LP Waxworld, literate power popper Joel Cusumano returns with APPENDIX. Apropos of its title, Appendix contains material that existed in various stages of completion during the recording of Waxworld, and is a bleaker, heavier, more angular exploration of certain of that album’s thematic terrain—alienation, nostalgia, impotence, dread, and the inexorable structures that bind our lives.

Says Cusumano: “During the writing of Appendix, I was recovering from a dark time in my personal life, and—not sure if you’ve noticed—the world happens to be on fire.” Unlike much of his previous work, the EP contains no explicit love songs or breakup songs, but plenty of the residual bitterness and cynicism of heartbreak. The songs also reflect Cusumano’s horror at the barbarism unfolding in the US and across the globe, all dressed in a driving, immediate 2-3 minute pop/rock packaging that evokes both ‘90s college rock and ‘80s post-punk, as well as groups such as The Replacements, Elvis Costello, and early REM.

Collaboratively, in order to promote Waxworld and record Appendix, Cusumano assembled the most powerful band he’s ever played with: Brett Austin Eastman (ANDY HUMAN & THE REPTOIDS), Ella Keilt (THE LETTERWRITERS), Owen Kelley (CYAN POOLS), and Julie Barwick (LATITUDE). All members play on and arrange on APPENDIX, with assistance from Cusumano’s frequent collaborators Ray Seraphin (R.E. SERAPHIN, THE PENNYS), Matt Bullimore (THE MANTLES) and Rob Good (RYLI, THE GOODS), who also engineered the EP and will be joining Cusumano on a Fall 2026 European tour.