Are you feeling The Cabin Fever? I know I am.

The Cabin Fever, photo by AmeliaLyon

The Cabin Fever are out of LA but their moody tunes feel more like they sprang from some Midwest forest that just happened to have been plopped down in the middle of an Icelandic plain. But there's a sweetness to the band’s melodies that keeps this from feeling at all oppressive, and the raspy, husky vocals of singer S. Moriarty (a pseudonym) feel inviting and warm. The trio, which includes J. Bedolla on guitar and Tripp Beam drums (both also pseudonyms) up the mystery factor by always appearing in masks and not revealing their true identities. This could come across as super lame, but the EP is such a delight I think it’s allowed. According to their bio, they came up in punk and hardcore bands, so the made up identities feel pulled straight from the more experimental corners of that scene.

Of course there’s no way to tell if they’re lying about their background, but who cares? They could be some secret punk supergroup for all I know. But that doesn't change how good the EP is one way or the other.

The trio has a new EP titled Exercise the demon out at the beginning of February, and you can sample the title track below. Of course if you like what you hear you can always pre-order the album (digital or vinyl!) from the group's Bandcamp page.