Philadelphia's Square Peg Round Hole is an instrumental percussion-based trio described by NPR’s Bob Boilen as a “creative adventure.” Evan Chapman, Sean M. Gill, and Carlos Pacheco-Perez utilize drum kits, vibraphone, samples, found objects, synths, and vintage analog keyboards, to create music that draws on elements from post-rock, electronic, ambient, and contemporary classical genres. The music is expansive, intricately textured, and dynamic, but the group’s knack for hooks and melodic structure provides a soulful center.
Square Peg’s studio albums illuminate the group’s capacity for exploration. The second record, Juniper, released in 2016 on Spartan Records, garnered the band national attention. The introspective album was composed rural Maryland and remote Wisconsin, and was recorded almost entirely live in full takes. The creative process around Juniper established a tighter sound, with more clearly defined roles, and greater confidence.
Square Peg’s third LP, Branches, stands as a more collaborative and outward-looking artistic endeavor. The album was recorded in Nashville with producer and drumming legend Darren King (MuteMath, Kanye West, Sucré). Living in King’s attic and immersing themselves in his studio opened the group up to new techniques, and pushed them into unexpected sonic terrain. The performances are also more collaborative with Branches featuring Variant 6 (members of Grammy-award winning vocal ensemble The Crossing), and Brooklyn-based powerhouse pop-duo Gracie & Rachel (fresh off of tours with Ani DiFranco and San Fermin).
Square Peg Round Hole’s fourth LP, Reservoir, was self-released in August 2023 and is “a world where color and feeling are privileged over structure, one where wordless bursts of sound convey as much meaning and emotion as the most piercing cries” (The Alternative). Born from a quarantine trip to the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York in June 2020, Reservoir is an introspective project cherishing more than ever the opportunity for the three members to reconnect in person after the abrupt cancellation of all commitments in the lockdowns of early 2020.
Square Peg Round Hole formed in 2011, when the members met while studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The band has performed at venues and festivals across the US, headlining a showcase concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2019 and sharing bills with Rafiq Bhatia, The Album Leaf, The Bad Plus, Kneebody, Dawn of Midi, and touring the East Coast with Son Lux’s Ian Chang and post-rock legends The Mercury Program. Collaborators have included Sō Percussion, Gracie & Rachel, and Variant 6.