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Virgin Forest, formerly of Castanets and currently 4/5 of Phosphorescent, have logged more miles together than some bands twice their age. Countless tours, drinks, laughs, drugs, fisticuffs, stories and friends made and forgotten in service of something larger have resulted in hard-won chemistry and fluidity. So when it came time to record their first album for Partisan Records, Easy Way Out, no rehearsals were necessary. The band had lived and breathed these songs.

Virgin Forest and Phosphorescent both offer a unique take on traditionally 'American' music, but the similarities end there. Easy Way Out is a balls-out rock record made by guys who make no bones about who they are and where they're coming from: people ill-suited for the 'straight' world and often at odds with it. Guys who learned their craft in front of a live audience, not laptop-jockey rock warriors celebrating their first legal drink simultaneously on Twitter, Facebook and the bar they're actually in.

The album was recorded in Brooklyn, produced by Alex Lipsen (Nada Surf, Santigold, Okkervil River), Matthew Houck (Phosphorescent) helped out on production and mixing, and Christoph Hahn of Swans laid down pedal steel to 'Antichrist Blues' and 'Different Blues.' Wes Jones, part of production/songwriting team 1984, assisted on production/engineering.

"Virgin Forest's sound is concise and 'Don't Be Afraid' is a clear example of the crafty work they have completed - powerful". -Paste

"Some of the most clear-eyed songs we've heard in years". -The FADER