Press

  • “Seldom has an album title been more self-explanatory. As intriguing as previous Stimmerman releases are, little in them could have led anyone to predict what happens here. The project spearheaded by NYC singer, writer, and multi-instrumentalist Eva Lawitts has left plenty of left turns in the rearview mirror, but nothing to prepare for the all-directions-at-once explosion that is Challenging Music for Difficult People. In terms of evolutionary leaps, imagine if King Crimson had gone straight from the lushly symphonic, evil-brothers-of-Moody-Blues sound of In the Court of the Crimson King to the rabid, don’t-get-too-close-to-the-cage menace of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. In place of the artfully off-center melodicism of its predecessors, Challenging Music presents a brain-battering assault that simultaneously spews out shards of brutal prog, arch experimentalism, lo-fi alt-rock, mammoth metal, in-your-face art punk, and more. It’s a world where nothing operates in a way that you’re used to, keeping you constantly on your toes. Lawitts played the majority of the music herself, but monochromatic is the last word anyone would ever apply to the constantly shifting Sturm und Drang here. If God Is My Co-Pilot, The Mars Volta, and Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 all slept in the same room, their collective dreams might sound something like this.”

    -Bandcamp Daily

  • "In a play on Leonard Cohen’s famous phrase, Stimmerman’s Eva Lawitts starts the latest record with the lines, “sewed the wound / where the light gets in / and stayed.” On a record that deals with sexuality, consumerism, “Comedy Gold,” and existential struggles, Lawitts makes the most of their jagged guitar and haunting keys and composition, to communicate with those people who don’t find comfort in easy answers.  “Anchored by the same star / but untouched by its warmth,” is how they put it on their song, “Outer Planets,” which recalls those indie rock pioneers, Deerhoof, with its complex vocal melody and guitar synchronicity and frenetic drumming, which teeters on punk music. There are more traditionally beautiful songs on the record, like the song “Trust,” with its Pile-like spooky beauty, showcasing Lawitts’ ability for straight-forward songwriting. But mostly, it’s pretty “challenging” music, like they say. A beautiful record, that makes me want to embrace being a “difficult person,” a bit more, if that means I can connect with real souls like Lawitts and artists of their ilk. “

    -Gregory Walker, Prism Review

  • "“Eva Lawitts’s Stimmerman is a band like few others. The tradition they spring from is a fertile one, and Stimmerman makes the most of the available fecundity.  Their heavy, all-fucks-given variety of jazz-inflected heavy rock is built on the sort of abstracted ethos of Sonny Sharrock,  ’70s Ornette Coleman, Mister Bungle — a note here for fear of the sound you may be conjuring in your head: this is not the knowing kitsch, half-ironically complex, fetishistically idiomatic fusion offered by acts like Hiatus Kaiyote, Jacob Collier, Domi & JD Beck, Snarky Puppy, Vulfpeck, or Pomplamoos. Stimmerman is not atonal, odd-meter disco or chiptune meets J‑Dilla or a hyper-tight variety show band goofing through meme-lyrics. If I were tasked with nailing down, in as few words as possible, what the sound is at it’s most fundamental, I’d have to say something like  ‘Pop-Punk left in the back of the fridge for too long, the curdling growth of which ought to spawn a new branch of musical mycology…”

    -New Haven Independent

  • “Witnessing the online circle jerk that followed the release of Geordie Greep’s The New Sound, I’d like for there to be that same level of prog snob enthusiasm for Stimmerman, a project helmed by musician Eva Lawitts. The band’s third LP, Challenging Music For Difficult People, should be celebrated not only for its intense and manic creativity, but for its total lack of predictability. Written and composed by Lawitts, Challenging Music For Difficult People defies ease of categorization by bending rock sub-genres till they’re cracked while developing an idiosyncratic musical language that demonstrates both precision and restlessness. This is immediately clear with “Before the Dove,” whose melodic theme is lush and relatively calm till its hammering third act, a raucous and unexpected crescendo loudly closing the track.* Challenging Music For Difficult People’s title is appropriate to its contents, Lawitts finding ways to answer questions like, “How might Sleeytime Gorilla Museum interpret Frank Zappa’s ‘The Black Page #1 and #2?’” (“Year End Clearance”) and “Does improv belong in pop music?” (“Bent”). Theatrical and ambitious, the multi-act frameworks composed by Lawitts evade the trappings of self-indulgence and there’s as much attention paid to dramatic shifts in sugary tone (“Outer Planets”) and heightening severity (“Trust”) as there is to jamming econo. Truly, this is music for listeners of anotherkind”

    -Letters from a Tapehead

  • "[Challenging Music for Difficult People] is amazing! Mixing parts math rock, art rock, prog, experimental metal and more, this one will not land with everyone but I am excited for those that it does. Albums like this do not come around very often and they can get buried by other, more digestible albums. It may take a listen or two but the juice is worth the squeeze. Insanely good.”

    -Monuments in Ruin

  • "Brooklyn’s Stimmerman make music on their own wavelength and it’s time for everyone else to catch up. Eva Lawitts’ band colors way outside the lines and it’s all the better for it, swerving between deranged art rock, grungier tones, and a kitchen sink of noise ridden indie weirdness...the melodies sharpen and every piece of the instrumental swings for the fences. It’s brief but vivid and you’re going to want to hit repeat.”

    -Dan Goldin, Post-Trash

  • "“a powerful new sound…a pummeling new track…Ferocious, sludgey punk”

    — Billboard Magazine

  • "[Stimmerman] masters distinct sounds and simultaneously blends them and pits them against each other...a combination of seemingly simple parts, but they make up a harrowing whole.”



    -The Wild Honey Pie

  • "Undertaking is a complete and total freefall from the weight of feeling; its ugly beauty lies in continually knocking you off balance every time you achieve even a modicum of emotional closure. The permanent pinballl ride is one we all take together, but the random course that chooses us is ultimately traveled alone.”

    -Full Time Aesthetic

  • "exhilarating compositions that run the gamut from punk to pysch to prog and beyond. Lawitts’ dynamic playing brings emotional heft and complexity to heavy sounds and subject matter making Pleasant Vistas In a Somber Place not just a snapshot, but a breathing portrait of a vivid time and place.”

    -Impose Magazine

  • "[Stimmerman is] self-aware yet unvarnished and unafraid baring of the soul — and its deepest desires and thoughts.”

    -Joy of Violent Movement

  • "“High energy — even scattered, at times — this collection of tracks feels experimental, cutting edge. While Stimmerman plays with sonic boundaries and far-reaching, impactful vocal abilities, we get a look into the mind of no less than a genius…one of the most insightful and impactful albums of 2019.”

    -Imperfect Fifth

  • “[Get-a-Grip Chip's] eclectic score courtesy of Eva Lawitts’ project Stimmerman propels the platforming to new heights with a toe-tapping mix of loungey jazz, hypnotic hip-hop, and even surf rock. And the best part? No head-mounted magnetic grappling hook required to headbang along.”

    -Gamepress.com

  • “[Get-a-Grip Chip's] real stand out is the soundtrack. It’s an interesting mix of electronic, rock, and jazz, all fused together. The chase songs are energetic and will keep your pulse pounding while you flee for your life. Even the mellow tracks are lively and interesting, though. It’s the kind of soundtrack you can listen to even if you’re not playing the game.”

    Heypoorplayer.com

  • “The soundtrack for Get-A-Grip Chip has a massive industrial feel featuring tunes based around rock, electronic and funk, which fits the nature of this game so much. The level of intensity the audio builds, the further you progress. On the final level of each floor you have an outrun sequence which the audio amplifies the urgency and really gets the adrenaline pumping.”

    -Mkaugaming.com

  • "“some fucking great art…Goofballs runs the gamut on vibes that only someone with genius-level skills in songwriting and a penchant for keeping listeners slightly off-kilter while assaulting–nay–gifting them with loud, sometimes dirty, sometimes beautiful, and haunting music that feels just as satisfying on the 30th spin as it was on the first."

    Ohio Noise

  • “Hot tracks accompany the fresh platforming challenges throughout - the original soundtrack is not only chock full of slappers by Stimmerman, but the final level of each world is timed to the beat of its track, so getting into the music will also get you into a perfect gameplay flow.”

    -Nintendo.com

  • "“masterfully placed...each twist and turn leaves you wondering what’s next. Eva Lawitts’ vocals are beautifully haunting during the verse and the chorus until she suddenly changes her approach to a scream, asking “is that how you say goodbye?” ..Lawitts’ lightning fast but ultra smooth bass is also great on this track, especially during the peaks...Every note and every beat of this song fill your ears with intrigue. “Painted Smile” is an amazing combination of harmony and dissonance.”

    WXVU Barricade

  • "“Eva Lawitts, the powerhouse and brains that fall under the moniker Stimmerman, is an artist that genuinely makes you fall in love with rock again. Loud and riveting with emotional bursts and a college rock chord, the track dips back into this art-rock composition with a solid indie-quirk break. It’s true noise rock that drips from the same bucket of its distant relative, progressive rock. No matter what you call it, Lawitts delivers.”

    Girl Underground Music