Chicago indie rockers Reserver have released their debut LP Reverser through Funambulist Recording Company, bringing together shoegaze, noisy psychedelia and ‘90s alternative rock on a record shaped by grief, survival and the restorative power of playing music with other people.

The band features vocalist/guitarist Chad Preston, guitarist Adam Penly, bassist Crawfie Ward and drummer Dan Wendt, with members previously playing in projects including The Laureates and Moon Mannequin.

Much of Reverser originated during an extraordinarily difficult period in Preston’s life. In 2018, he stepped away from The Laureates to care for his wife Kerri following her cancer diagnosis. Music became an outlet during that time, with several songs beginning as solo recordings before Kerri’s death in 2022. Ward later encouraged Preston to record the material, and the addition of Wendt helped transform the songs into the foundation of a new full-band project.

That evolution is central to Reverser. Rather than remaining isolated expressions of sadness, the songs grew louder and more physical as the musicians began playing together, turning personal grief into communal rock music filled with distortion, energy and controlled chaos.

Current single “Spirit Fauna” captures Reserver’s shoegazier side, surrounding its loose, impressionistic lyrics with dense guitars and an immersive atmosphere. Elsewhere, “Server” pushes toward noisy psychedelic rock, while “Creams” explores nostalgia and the difficulty of moving forward. Opening track “Heart Is A Bomb” confronts mortality through the image of the human heart as something simultaneously fragile and finite.

Across the album, traces of Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth and Pavement mingle with the heavier atmosphere of bands like Cloakroom and Hotline TNT. Yet Reverser ultimately derives its identity from the circumstances that created it, documenting how private songs born during an unbearable period gradually became something louder, shared and alive.