On May 18th, Darren Vorel, (The Scissors, Showoff, TLB) will release his debut solo EP, More Today Than Ever. Written over a period of several years, these songs didn’t necessarily gel with his current band, TLB, so Vorel opted for the solo route. He explained, “I like to make creative goals for myself at the beginning of every year. I knew that Tom and Dave from TLB were going to be busy with their other group in 2018, so I decided to put more focus on writing, with equal attention to TLB and any other outlet I might have to release music. I’ve written a full EP for The Scissors and I’ve written some new songs for another solo release as well. It feels good to have a lot of stuff ready to go.”

Vorel recorded these songs in his Chicago apartment and was responsible for all vocals, as well as guitar, bass and keyboard duties. For drums and percussion, he enlisted the help of his friends Mike Rataj and Chris Mason. When asked about the recording experience, Vorel said “I had to invest in some software and some mics and monitors. I also had to do a ton of research on recording in general. The other half was just recalling what I’ve picked up from watching engineers I’ve worked with over the years. Nothing I have is super fancy, but I think this turned out sounding great for what I had to work with.” He added, “After it was all mixed and ready to go, I still had to master the album. I don’t think I really understood mastering before this experience. I called up my old pal Matt Allison and he came in to help me really put that final glaze over everything to make it real.”

We’re streaming the record’s leadoff track below, “Come Back Girl,” which Vorel described as a good blend of the music he’s created in the past. To celebrate the EP’s release, he’s playing a show at Beat Kitchen on Saturday, May 26th, along with The Cold Mourning, The Hoodie Life, and Daniel Wade. It starts at 7:00 PM, is 17+ and tickets can be purchased here. Joining Vorel onstage that night will be two of his Showoff bandmates, brothers Dan and George Castady. When speaking about playing with them, he said “They can both sing better than I can and are absolute experts when it comes to their craft. I’m really fortunate to have known them this long and I know they’ll be able to give the audience the truest representation of these songs.” Check out “Come Back Girl” now and preorder the record here.