OK Cool

OK Cool, the Chicago-based band of Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquist, today announced their new EP fawn will be released on April 28th via the band’s own label, Take A Hike Records. Eight songs clocking in at a head-spinning, 17-minute runtime, their third EP is at heart a direct line into the minds and creative processes of the young duo. It's a kaleidoscopic stride that showcases the ongoing evolution in their charming union of glistening math rock and fuzzed-out dream pop that the two shredders have been working on since their inception in 2020. The EP’s soaring lead single “normal c”–out now on all streaming services–is accompanied by an equally charming video inspired by horror films of the ‘70s and ‘80s and directed by Justin Sheehan & Brian Garbrecht of Roadhouse Productions. “I wrote this song about the heaviness I sometimes feel about being out in public, and the eventual conclusion that sometimes I can just accept that feeling without digging into the underlying meaning, or feeling like it’s something that needs fixing,” explains Stiebris of the shimmering track. 

Directors Sheehan and Garbrecht explain the video: “A chance encounter with a house show flier sends Bridget and Haley to a mysterious manor, where they find familiar foes and something more sinister. Armed with a Polaroid camera and a secret weapon, OK Cool puts on a house show for the ages.”

Written and self-produced over the course of two years, the duo’s curiosity for experimentation is reflected throughout: linear, untraditional song structures are bolstered by their athletic musical precision, acute sense for hooks, and wall-of-sound mastery crafted with reverberated Telecasters and transcendent effects. The two harmonize and play all the instruments on the EP, with Stiebris on guitars and drums, and Blomquist on bass and additional guitar. “We like to record everything as a duo because we've always felt very in sync musically– working as just the two of us helped to cut down on compromise and make something we both feel good about,” says Blomquist.

Though the EP packs a confident punch, neither Stiebris nor Blomquist had ever taken on main songwriting duties in a band before starting OK Cool. “I had never sung on stage in my life and was extremely nervous about it. All we really knew is that we were always on the same page creatively in each project we had been in, and that was good enough to try writing together,” Stiebris explains. The EP’s resultant lyrics are notably honest and vulnerable. Inspired by their queer coming-of-age, its themes range from their internal struggles with depression and external struggles with relationships. 

“It definitely did, and still mostly does, feel like we're just finding our legs in all of this. The idea of a baby deer learning to walk felt pretty appropriate for the title of the EP–it parallels the vulnerability that comes with taking on new experiences,” Blomquist notes. Though they may feel like they’re just finding their legs, fawn stands tall, unafraid to explore and define the unique sonic language of OK Cool.