Best of What's Next: Theodore

Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Album: Hold You Like a Lover
Band Members: Justin Kinkel-Schuster (vocals, guitar), J.J. Hamon (guitar, trombone, harmonica), Andy Lashier (upright bass, trumpet), Jason Torbitzy (drums)
For Fans Of: The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams, Jolie Holland

Theodore frontman Justin Kinkel-Schuster spends his days pouring over heavy-hearted musical narratives in his own head while his hands stay busy pouring coffee and making soup in the kitchen of a St. Louis tearoom. “I’ve had the same job in a kitchen for three years, and a fair amount of songs I’ve written in that time have started while I was working,” he says. “When you work a menial job like I do, it gives your mind time to turn things over—and over and over.”

Kinkel-Schuster and his band play songs in the tradition of the old-time country and folk greats—thoughtful music by the workingman. Their songs are reminiscent, too, by works of writers like Raymond Carver and Flannery O’Connor. On Theodore’s third album, Hold You Like A Lover (out now on Misra imprint Moon Jaw Records), protagonists grapple with morality in the face of desperation. “An idea that interests me is the tension between sort of knowing the right thing to do, but not doing it because something else seemed better at the moment,” the frontman says.

It’s heartbreaking material, especially when savored alone. But live, Theodore brings a raw energy reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, not to mention unexpected feedback and brass instrumentation. “When we first started out, everyone had a bunch of instruments lying around, and trumpet was one of them,” Kinkel-Schuster says. “Andy played in junior high and picked it up again. J.J, too, with the trombone.” The band calls it simple instrumentation, but it’s what makes their sound stand out in a sea of alt-country quartets. They’re helped along, too, by that autobiographical spark at their lyrical core. “I just watched this documentary about Cowboy Jack Clement, and he said: ‘Reveal some of yourself in all your songs,’” Kinkel-Schuster says. “That rings true to my approach.”