Konnor Ervin is a singer/songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri, and a founding member of influential Midwestern indie groups the ACBS, Shy Boys, and a new self-titled solo venture, Koney. For nearly a decade, the ACBS packed Kansas City dive bars and regional music venues, with 2011’s “Stona Rosa” and 2013’s “Little Leaves” reaching a wide audience in concert, online, and through TV soundtracks. Ervin is also a core member of Shy Boys, whose debut full-length of “landlocked surf music” was hailed by Pitchfork as a “triumph of ramshackle aesthetics and homespun hooks.” Shy Boys quickly began touring in support of groups like STRFKR, Cut Worms, and Wavves, eventually releasing two more acclaimed albums via Polyvinyl records in 2016 and 2020. Following the relocation of several ACBs bandmates in 2015, Ervin headed into the studio with a new batch of songs and the goal of transforming the ACBs signature upbeat, guitar-heavy sound into a more stripped-down, groove-based collection of songs. Koney is both a solo venture and a collaborative project, fueled by nearly a year of rehearsal and collaboration with the rest of Shy Boys and the mixing talents of Portland-based sound engineer Mike Nolte. The group of friends holed up at home and in West End recording studios, playing for hours until they found the right grooves to build the tracks around. The result is an introspective, enigmatic album whose infectious hooks, poetic lyrics, and warm sonic atmosphere invite repeated listening. Nearly five years in the making, Koney contains an extraordinarily resonant collection of songs that have stood the test of time and point toward a promising musical future. –Luke Wetzel
