Vacation Manor - Vacation Manor
Much like photos, songs enable us to relive the most special moments of our lives. Thumbing through the pages of a scrapbook or scrolling through your phone resembles dropping the needle on your favorite record or scouring a playlist. In similar fashion, Vacation Manor crystallize those moments and memories in the echoes of shimmering guitars, glistening keys, upbeat sunny grooves, and iridescent melodies. On their 2021 self-titled full-length debut, Vacation Manor [Nettwerk], the Virginia duo—Nathan Towles [vocals, guitar] and Cole Young [drums]—stitch together shared and personal experiences in a patchwork of vibrant and vivid alternative anthems.
“To us, the album feels like looking at photos on your phone from the last few years,” says Nathan. “The music is very experiential. We believe songs are like lifeboats. You use them to get back to shore again. Once you’re there, the song is for whoever needs it next.”
Vacation Manor continue to sail those lifeboats back and forth. In 2016, they introduced themselves via the debut Girl, Say EP followed by Everything I Can’t Say Out Loud two years later. Racking up over 35 million streams, they continued to entrance and engage listeners. During 2020, they teased out the album with the Thoughts In Progress, Pt. 1 EP—comprising four songs from the upcoming full-length. Garnering critical acclaim, Atwood Magazine applauded it as “another installment of what Vacation Manor does best – creating songs laden with earworm lyrics and bright sounds.” Over the past two years, they carefully architected this body of work. Vacation Manor retreated to Joshua Tree to record with producer Charlie Stavish before making intermittent trips back and forth to Nashville from February 2020 through September 2020 where they worked with Kyle Cummings.
“All of these places and people gave the album different vibes,” Cole goes on. “It made it feel interesting, because there were a lot of peaks and valleys. Nathan and I had been quarantining together in Virginia, because we lived one street away from each other at the time. We would drive to Nashville, go to the studio, and head back to our hotel room. The Pandemic made everything a lot more intense. The good thing was there were no distractions.” (Continue reading full bio on download page)