Pia-Allison Roa examines personal growth and self-expectations on Getting Better. Photo – Zach Nahshel
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
Pia-Allison Roa makes an honest self-assessment on her Getting BetterEP.
The Detroit singer-songwriter who performs as pia the band recognizes the importance of re-evaluating life plans and priorities and making changes along the way.
“These are the four songs that I felt were most ready to be out,” said Roa about her debut EP. “Once we recorded all four and then put it all together, it popped out to me that these are all about overcoming things.”
As part of that process, pia the band examines past situations and relationships through contemplative lyrics and ethereal indie-rock, dream-pop, and shoegaze-folk instrumentation.
“It felt good to get all those out … but then it was even more special looking back at what the songs meant, what they could mean now, and how they can be interpreted by other people,” said Roa, who’s also a clinical pharmacist specialist at Wayne Health.
To learn more, I spoke with Roa about Getting Betterahead of her May 28 show at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti.
The Detroit indie-rock singer-songwriter shares that realization on her hopeful new single, “I Have Everything.”
“I think at first glance over and maybe with intention when I first wrote it, you can look at the song as definitely being inspired by loss. Maybe bigger than that … that sadness or loss you feel when things don’t really pan out the way you expect them or hope at the time,” said Pia-Allison Roa, aka pia the band.
“As everyone knows, life doesn’t always go as planned, and usually it goes in a way better than you could have imagined. That realization and affirmation that you have everything you need at this moment in time are what I hope people can reflect on to move forward and let go of what their expectations were.”
Backed by soft drums, thoughtful bass and determined electric guitar, pia the band sheds those past expectations and embraces the present as she sings, “I’m trying not to bum you all out / But every time I open my mouth / I convince myself believe / I have everything I need.”
“By the end of the song and after the huge instrumental, I repeat that phrase [‘I have everything I need’] again a couple of times, and to me, it’s a confirmation of ‘Yes, I actually do believe that I do have everything I need,’” Roa said.
“I find myself so many times being in situations with good friends, or being at the beach on a nice day, or even as silly as eating a good burger and being like, ‘Whoa, yup, I have everything I need right now.’”
This month’s edition of “The Soundcheck” deciphers a range of relationships, whether they’re fleeting or everlasting. Some pull the “Ripcord” to break a scary free fall while others cherish “Every Heartbeat” and say a belated “Thank You for Breaking My Heart.” It also reveals the wisdom that comes with age and experience—I Know a Thing and Ronronner—and the potential for future growth.
Adam Liles, “Ripcord”
The Indigo Curve guitarist shares an instant headrush of emotion and energy on his debut solo single “Ripcord.” Produced by Anton Pastoria, the track’s swirling, indie-rock array of pounding drums, glistening electric guitar and humming bass propel Detroit’s Adam Liles into a brief infatuation until the “ripcord” of reality takes over. In raspy, reverb-filled vocals, he sings, “And I’m feeling it all / As far as feeling it goes / She came in like a star / Oh, but she left like a ghost.”
Liles also released a new video for “Ripcord,” which features him strumming a cream Fender Stratocaster on a pedestrian bridge at sunset over an interstate. He teamed up with Love Streams Films’ director Andrew Brumfield and Craigen Z Oster to film the introspective take on his single. Liles and Brumfield also collaborated on The Indigo Curve’s kaleidoscopic video for “But I Wanna Write Love Songs” last summer.
The Indigo Curve seeks inspiration from Arctic Monkeys on their latest single, “But I Wanna Write Love Songs.”
Ish Chowdhury couldn’t get a hypnotic guitar riff out of his head.
The Indigo Curve vocalist repeatedly heard the punchy, terse chord progression of Arctic Monkeys’ 2007 track, “Teddy Picker,” and felt a rush of inspiration.
“I was just listening and thinking, ‘Damn, what a simple thing that is … it hits so fucking hard,’” said Chowdhury, who fronts the Detroit indie-rock quintet.
“I wanna write something like that, so I called our guitarist, Adam Liles, and showed him the riff I came up with. He replied, ‘That’s cool. Now figure it out in bar chords. That’s a good way to kill 45 minutes.’”
Those crucial 45 minutes produced a crunchy electric guitar riff, which Chowdhury also shared with bandmates Niko Kannapell (bass), Mike Liles (organ, keys) and Markus Kennedy (drums).
“I told Markus to go full-out, early Arctic Monkeys mode on it,” said Chowdhury about the band’s first new release since 2021’s “Lucidiscene.” “And Markus fucking did it. That dude is just the best drummer, man. Dude is an artist to the max.”
That maximum overdrive produced The Indigo Curve’s latest propulsive single, “But I Wanna Write Love Songs,” which fuses fiery electric guitar, thunderous drums, smashing cymbals, pulsating bass and smooth organ.
In tandem, Chowdhury sings, “Jekyll & Hyde in the back of the bag/The fact of the matter is a matter of fact/I don’t wanna fall in love/But I wanna write love songs.”
“I’m always in the middle of writing a song as Dr. Jekyll until the Hyde in me takes over … It’s funny because this song has absolutely nothing to do with love, but all the lyrics ended up leading to that,” he said.
“Mike named the song, and that’s how it really came together in the end. He just randomly said, ‘But I wanna write love songs,’ and that’s what we rolled with.”
The band rolled with the track at Royal Oak’s Rustbelt Studios and invited engineer Jake Halkey to help shape it. Also a drummer, Halkey added a larger-than-life drum sound to “But I Wanna Write Love Songs.”
“I think that was the most important part … the song is just meant to feel like driving 120 miles per hour against a marmalade sunset, head-first into a herd of goats crossing the road,” Chowdhury said. “I love goats. No goats were harmed in the making of this song.”
Goats aside, The Indigo Curve also dropped a frantic new video for their latest single. Directed by Andrew Brumfield of Love Streams Films, the kaleidoscopic video accelerates through retro pop-culture images, vintage TV screen shots and recent band studio footage.
“Andrew’s work lined up so well with the track, it was ridiculous. I couldn’t imagine any other music vid for that song,” Chowdhury said.
“Homie styled so hard on that thing. He was in the studio with us. ‘Brummy’ asked if we had any preferences or requests. I just remember saying, ‘Involve as little of us and more zombies,’ and I think he nailed that.”
With a new single and video out now, The Indigo Curve plans to drop additional releases, including singles or an EP, later this year.
“A full-length album is obviously what we want, but we’ll never do that until we know every single song belongs on there,” Chowdhury said. “But our new shit, man, that stuff is miles ahead of anything we’ve just released. You find yourself a little more each day, and we’re chillin’ in that sphere these days.”
The Indigo Curve performs at their EP release show in August. Photo – Chris Sesta
The Indigo Curve provides the ultimate indie rock adrenaline rush.
The Detroit quintet of Ish Chowdhury (vocals, guitar), Adam Liles (guitar), Niko Kannapell (bass), Markus Kennedy (drums) and Mike Liles (organ, keys) instantly kick-starts dormant souls with a welcoming infusion of vigorous instrumentation, contemplative lyrics and emotive vocals.
“With this band, a goal of ours is to make music that’s a story of 2021. I don’t want a feeling of ‘this reminds me of 1995’ or ‘this takes me back to the ‘70s.’ It’s not like that’s bad or anything. That music is sweet as hell, but I just think we’re trying to make today’s song,” said Chowdhury, who formed the band with Adam Liles and their three bandmates in 2020.
Chowdhury, Adam Liles and their bandmates will bring that modern musical mindset to The Detroit Shipping Company live stage on Oct. 16. They will perform two 45-minute, action-packed sets at the Detroit-based restaurant collective.
“We’re a little over a year in, and with this music that we just put out with this EP, we’re starting to find where the five of us come together to make a sound that’s all of us. That’s compared to last summer when we just were playing and writing whatever came to mind,” Adam Liles said.
The Stratton Setlist 