Heartbreak City

After the release of Apex Manor's 2011 album The Year of Magical Drinking - which critics declared "whipsaws between pure-pop jingle-jangle, lo-fi droning, and pensive acoustics, all of it as catchy as it is manic" (SPIN) and praised for "taking influences like The Replacements or Wilco and then cranking up the 'Accessibility Dial' to 11" (Consequence of Sound) - Ross Flournoy's tongue-in-cheek album title turned into a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

At the recommendation of a friend, Flournoy traveled from Pasadena, CA back home to Memphis, TN to live with his parents and check into rehab. "This wasn't a Promises in Malibu kind of place. It had more of a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest vibe. But I really wanted and needed to go, and it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I always knew I wanted to make another Apex Manor record though," revels Flournoy. "I just didn't know when it was going to happen."

The songs on Heartbreak City furiously rumble with Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitars and float on the synth-work of bands like The Killers. Flournoy also invited two friends to help flesh out some of the extra sonic splashes on a few of the songs. Singer- songwriter Courtney Jaye can be heard adding ethereal background vocals while talented multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy added some shimmering guitar work.