A Perfect Day: Buffalo's Passed Out Set for Simultaneous Drop of Two Exceptional New Records

Passed Out (Photo by Photo by Peter Heuer)

It’s rather remarkable what Buffalo indie band Passed Out will be pulling off on Friday.

Not only will the group release its fourth EP, ‘Do You Miss Anything at All?’, it also will be dropping at the same time its first-ever full-length album titled ‘I Just Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore’ — a work that was nearly a decade in the making.

But that’s not all.

The band will be celebrating both records — issued on the widely regarded Buffalo label, Harvest Sum Recordings — with a dual release show at Milkie’s Friday night, featuring a bill that includes West Ferry, Fear of Sleep, and Roger Bryan and the Orphans (RBATO).

So, yeah, Friday will be remarkable, indeed — a perfect way, in fact, for Passed Out to mark its 10^th anniversary which is being observed this month.

Friday will also be — as Andy Pothier, the band’s principal songwriter, says — “cathartic,” given that the writing of ‘I Just Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore’ first started way back in 2016.

‘I Just Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore’ - LP

“It’s hard to describe how we all feel about releasing the LP,” Pothier said. “Waiting this long was not intentional. We started recording these songs right after our first EP, ‘Infinite Regression.’ Not that we’re slowing down these days by any means, but Infinite Regression had such a ferocious pace to it, and we were all super excited to keep the wheels turning with another release. Initially, the LP had a different name and three additional songs. It’s equal parts enriching and alarming to go back and listen to earlier session bounces and alternate takes of the songs that made the final 2025 cut, as well as those few songs that didn’t make the cut. Perhaps they should be left to the dustbin of history.

“By the time I wrote the songs for ‘Do You Miss Anything at All?’,” Pothier added, “we started having conversations as a band about what to do with the LP. We reached a point where we were mixing it ourselves, re-tracking some parts, and ultimately faced this point of no return: either we spend who knows how long working on it ourselves, or we get our shit together, work with someone new or completely scrap it and re-record.”

Enter Justin Smith of Mammoth Recording Studio.

“Justin saved the record,” said Pothier. “We felt so strongly that we captured something special during those (early) sessions with Cody (at Afterglow Studios) — something about time, set, and setting brought out the best ideas and performances. Justin masterfully updated these songs without sacrificing anything that made them so meaningful to us in the first place.”

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Formed in Niagara Falls in 2015 and now based in Buffalo, Passed Out is made up of Pothier on vocals and guitar, Jake Rogers on bass and vocals; Dominic Sciarrino, guitar; Nick Spacone on keys and trumpet, and Dan Swach on drums.

Given the years between the writing of the LP and new EP, Friday’s dual release offers an interesting glimpse into Passed Out’s songwriting development and trajectory as a band, which throughout its existence has traversed genres from indie to pop-punk to folk.

The two records — mastered by the highly sought-after Buffalo recording engineer John Angelo — are stellar pieces of art. Musically, they span a range that runs from atmospheric to driving, from gazey to urgent, emanating vibes of Death Cab for Cutie and Built to Spill.

Pothier is a gifted songwriter who possesses an extraordinary ability to paint vivid landscapes of angst, rage and introspection through lyrically evocative songs — all of which are brought melodically to life by a band comprised of highly skilled musicians.

“‘Do You Miss Anything at All?’, to us, is a more dynamic record,” said Pothier, explaining

‘Do You Miss Anything at All?’ - EP

why the two records were issued separately as opposed to the EP’s songs being worked into the LP. “As a songwriter, my approach — if there is such a thing — changed, or at least, something seemed different this time around. Even though I wrote each song rather quickly, I took a lot of time thinking about them structurally. I’d play them differently every time I sat down to play them. Lyrically, they’re closer to the chest than any other song. I can’t remember exactly when, but it was a long time before I brought them to the group, and they changed, even then, when we all started playing them together.

“If you listen to ‘Fistful of Teeth’ or ‘You Only Listen’ from the LP, and then catch those tunes live, people might say, ‘Yeah, same band, nice,’ or something; I don’t know. When we started recording with Jon (Bobowicz at The Garden recording studio), we knew we wanted to track them live and, more than that, that we wanted them to reflect how we’ve grown as a band, as individual performers, as buds,” Pothier said. “So, hopefully, when people listen to Do You Miss Anything at All? and then catch the songs live, they’ll see a similar change over time in that moment.”

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Friday’s dual release comes just a few months after Passed Out joined Harvest Sum, a label founded by Roger Bryan and Mark Nosowicz and whose roster is built of artists who exude a craftsmanship prowess to songwriting. Thus, Passed Out is a perfect fit.

“I was still in high school when I first heard RBATO’s ‘Wolves,’” said Pothier. “My very

first band was recording — or had recorded, I can’t exactly remember when, now — with Matt Smith at Hi/Lo right around the time that record came out. I’d been following RBATO and the Harvest Sum Recordings roster — especially Johnny Nobody and BEARHUNTER — almost as long as I’d been playing in a band.”

Pothier said Passed Out becoming part of Harvest Sum, which is now managed by Bryan and Ryan Besch, is “something I personally always wanted to happen, but never actually thought would.”

“The Eaves brought us all together,” Pothier recalled. “RBATO and Passed Out played The Eaves’ ‘Lately, I Don’t Have a God… And Other Obvious Epiphanies’ release show in 2023, one of my all-time favorite records. We played together a few more times, and then, at the Cave, Roger asked us, ‘Where’s the record? When’s it coming out?’ Within a few minutes, we divulged that we actually had two records and, yeah, we wanted to drop them on the same day. And, well, Roger didn’t think twice, or walk away, like we thought he might. We’re so grateful he didn’t!”

On Friday, that wish to drop two records at once will become reality for Passed Out, and Pothier said it’s a moment that’s not lost on the band.

“We’ve got so many people to thank, so many friends and folks that have played a part in this thing,” he said. “It means the world to us that we can celebrate these records with some of our favorite bands, who are also some of our favorite people in the galaxy: West Ferry, Fear of Sleep, and RBATO, of course. Yace Booking, too. Mac and Mike have been there for us since the very beginning and are still making things happen in this scene. Next to Mohawk, Milkie’s has been our home rink, so we’re grateful Nikki’s done such fantastic things to the place. What’s left to say? See you there! Can’t wait!”