Deeper

Deeper are a Chicago quartet whose mix of jagged post-punk and spare, sophisticated indie rock has earned national acclaim. After their 2018 full-length debut, the band continued to evolve their sound on 2020′s dark, synth-heavy Auto-Pain and 2023′s more stylistically diverse Careful!, the latter of which came out on Sub Pop.
In 2014, Deeper was already a semi-established group with a handful of surf pop-oriented demos when founding co-leader Caroline Campbell abruptly left the band. Regrouping, Nic Gohl (vocals/guitar), Mike Clawson (guitar), and Shiraz Bhatti (drums) decided to carry on using the name, bringing in bassist Drew McBride and changing their tonal direction to the sophisticated guitar rock heard on their debut single “Transmogrified.” Cutting their teeth in Chicagoland clubs and basement shows, the band spent 2015 and 2016 shaping their sound and eventually landed a deal with Brooklyn indie Fire Talk Records. Touring their new material throughout 2017, they recorded their eponymous full-length debut later that year, releasing it in the spring of 2018. Two years later, Deeper’s follow-up also saw a shift in their sound with the addition of synths on Auto-Pain, an album which dealt with themes of mental health.
Unable to tour their latest album during the global pandemic, Deeper began recording again, using the time to further their sonic explorations. By early 2023, they had signed with Sub Pop and released “Sub,” a lean, wiry single of interlocking guitar figures that indicated their next phase. Careful!, their third album and Sub Pop debut, appeared in September of that year. While referencing elements of the band’s first two records, it also veered into more diverse territories with neon pop, straight up rock & roll, and even a love song. ~ Timothy Monger