Self-described "bizarre-pop" outfit Summer Like The Season represents the many different talents of bandleader Summer Krinsky, resulting in music that is multi-faceted and ambitiously experimental. With a background in performing arts technologies and years of experience in DIY scenes in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Krinsky channels Summer Like The Season as an outlet for her expansive explorations through sound, performance, and production.
The band's live presence is led by the drums and vocals of Krinsky herself, with help from bandmates Liam McNitt (guitar and vocal harmonies) and Scott Murphy (electric violin, MPC, and synth bass). If you could imagine an alternate-reality Björk playing in a smoked-out New Dodge Lounge, that might be a place to start, but words are insufficient for a band that continues to defy genre and convention at every turn.
The music of Summer Like The Season is both studied and whimsical. Having appeared in basically every bar in Detroit, including performances at Hamtramck Music Fest and Corktown Music Fest, the band has a grit and determination that comes from years of lugging gear through musty back hallways and playing to small but dense crowds of sweaty, enthusiastic listeners. Krinsky has proven that she has a deep passion for the many different aspects of being a musician, and that she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. You can practically hear the dust of dimly lit brick wall basements in the hit of the snare, but these are far from your beloved local bar band's demo tapes.
"Summer Like The Season is a fully DIY band," Krisnky says. "Everything is written, recorded, mixed, [and] mastered by us, and every tour is self-booked. I think that's a really important part of who we are musically and as individuals. In the new media landscape of Spotify algorithmic playlists, there is a lack of representation of non-corporatized art that is at direct odds with what we create."
In 2020, Krinsky received a Gilda Award from Kresge Arts in Detroit.
After several different iterations of band members and instrumentation over the years, the group dropped its first full-length record, Hum, late last year, which hits a sweet spot of collaborative exchange and cohesiveness. The pop sensibilities are evident throughout. "Root Mean Square" features a driving synth almost reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem, if not for the dreamier sections of layered vocals and Krinsky's soft-spoken approach to certain parts of the song. "Stranger," the track that immediately follows, represents a somewhat jarring transition to a more driving, guitar-forward sound while still maintaining some of the textural elements that unite the rest of the record.
With a successful release and a busy touring schedule, the future is looking bright for Summer Like The Season. "There is a new EP that we are going to be putting out sometime in the next year," Krinsky says. "We've been playing some of those songs live on this tour and the way it has been connecting with audiences has us really excited to put this new music into the world."
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