LA trio Force Model wrote Barricade scattered across time zones. Edie Vogel had just moved to New York. Ken Arimura was mostly in Japan. Maxwell Moore stayed put in LA. Everything was off-axis. The year had been messy. So naturally, they wrote songs over email.
What came out of it is a short, tight EP — five songs in fifteen minutes — recorded in August with Andy Oswald at Paradise Recorders. It’s louder than their debut Found Camera, a little more direct, but no less weird or sincere. Vogel’s wiry guitar hooks, Moore’s solid bass work, and Arimura’s hyper-precise drumming hold it all together, even as the band leans into a sound that’s sometimes poppier, sometimes more abrasive.
“We were really trying to make the most out of the EP format,” Vogel says. “We had all been writing separately for months so putting our songs together and trying to figure out how to tell a story as tightly as possible was a really exciting process.”
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The storytelling here is personal, but filtered through distortion and sneers. “I had a really negative year leading into making this record,” Vogel continues. “But in trying to convey those feelings I found they were always accompanied by various sorts of lightness and silliness. Not just tears but also eye rolls and sneers.”
our new song “all expectations” is out now!!
find it on spotify / apple music / anywhere you listen to music!! pic.twitter.com/57PBb2EUav
— Force Model (@force_model) May 20, 2025
She also plugged into a Marshall JCM800 using Arimura’s Gibson SG, dialing things back to basics. “Barely any pedals were harmed making this record,” she jokes. “The boomers were really on to something with that.”
Moore reflect on the process: “Barricade was written after a pretty chaotic year for all three of us. We demoed the record all in different time zones… I was a little nervous about that at first.” But it worked. They swapped files and ideas in a group chat. Then they flew to LA, rehearsed for a few days, and cut the record that same week.
People keep bringing up the sound shift. Moore get it. “It was a lot of fun for us to take the EP in new directions and experiment,” he says. “It feels like for bands there is more of an expectation that you have to stay within a specific genre… but some of my favorite artists change sounds and genres on each record.” He namechecks Bowie, Gorillaz, Toro y Moi, Neon Indian — musicians who reinvent as they go. “I’m glad that the idea of what makes a Force Model song can morph and change to whatever feels like us.”
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It’s not reinvention for its own sake. There’s a thread here — something dry, slightly jaded, but deeply felt. Vogel puts it plainly: “As a band we’re on a constant quest to be more honest and sound more like ourselves. I feel this record was another step in that direction.”
The EP drops June 20 on Bug Body Records. Catch Force Model live at their record release show on June 19th with PUNXSUTAWNEY and TAM.EXE. Also, catch them on tour this summer playing across the Midwest, East Coast and Canada for the first time.
we are excited to announce our new EP Barricade is out 06/20 via @bugbodylabel
the lead single All Expectations is out now! stream and download by following the link in the replies
catch us on tour this summer playing across the midwest east coast and canada for the first time pic.twitter.com/MGiTXncjs3
— Force Model (@force_model) May 15, 2025
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