Milwaukee’s Fellow Kinsman are situated between “twee and twang,” as we described it for their 2025 Milwaukee Music Premiere of “Love Came Through,” the lead single from forthcoming album Break Room. They dub their music “land-locked surf rock.”
Any way you slice them, the band has a persistently high-energy nature. But with their newest batch of songs, originally anticipated for sometime this fall, Fellow Kinsman are sneakily teaching their fans a valuable exercise in patience and holding tight for the good stuff as they put the finishing touches on it.
Nate Kinsman formed Fellow Kinsman when he had his ears tuned to the sounds of Foxygen, Ty Segall and Dan Auerbach’s project The Arcs. After enlisting a crew of Will Hansen (pedal steel/guitar), Erin Bagatta (vocals/keys), Cleo Jackowick (bass) and Duwayne Davis (drums), they soon coalesced to put their own spin on those influences. It didn’t take long to cement an audience with great live shows and fun energy that stems from the vibes in their rehearsal space — their own veritable break room, if you will.
The upcoming album that bears that name was built in the spirit of collaboration and, more importantly, inspired by the important lesson of slowing things down. Now set for release May 18 of 2026 (because life happens, as you’ll hear in the full interview), Kinsman isn’t worried about the delay in the slightest.
The group’s lead instigator, singer and guitarist shared that when it comes to making a full album, he’s learning that taking one’s proverbial “sweet time” can underline the truly important things. Considering the album’s title, it feels almost like kismet that we’re all sitting in this waiting room, together.
Fresh off his decision to postpone the release date, Kinsman and I caught up about making a record with legit friends, and getting even more collaborative and closer in the process. “I'm with my best friends and just playing music,” he shared. “I'm so thankful for it. I always gush about them.”
It’s clear Kinsman means that, as he and his bandmates opted to literally (in the words of Vanilla Ice) stop, collaborate and listen to create their newest batch of high-energy songs that are actually an exercise in slowing things down.
The 88Nine interview with Nate Kinsman
On being in a band with your friends and actively collaborating as a group:
Everything is subject to change when I show them a song. Most of the time, the lyrics aren’t finished, and I just try to keep it really open because Erin’s a great songwriter. Will's a great songwriter. Duwayne's a great songwriter. Heck, the whole band! [laughs]
When we were working on these songs, we were trying to find a cool way to keep an ambiance or tone, but also switch it up where we'll have a dark organ sound, then switch over to pedal steel and then a lead guitar. Really, though, it’s all about the balance.
Erin and Will helped write lyrics, and when we're doing structures, it allows me to dial back on my guitar playing. I came from a two-piece band where I was doing all the heavy lifting. Now, I can back off. With the new songs, I'll write the progression, but then they'll counter it with a different melody or structure that kind of sits on top. That’s a huge thing with this new record.
On hitting those inevitable life snags while making a record:
Going into the new year, life got a little bit crazier, but we were staying really busy and just trying to practice. Those songs were forming with rehearsals, and we were getting excited. Then my brother had an accident. A huge chunk out of the record was just hospital visits. Then my fiance broke her ankle, and there was a lot of troubleshooting and just trying to figure out where my head was.
A lot of it goes into the mental-health scope — using music as a way and means to get away and as an outlet. … In the summer, we got really busy, we got excited. Now, my brother's happy and healthy, my family's happy and healthy. … This album has literally been sharing one of the best feelings in the world, which is making music with my friends.
It’s been a long time coming trying to put it all together, and deadlines are missed, and you can't rush a good thing, but I think that's where being honest with yourself and your music and not trying to force it out to the world happens. Sometimes, it’s just capturing lightning in a bottle. But it’s also discipline and putting yourself to work and also having fun with it, not trying to rush each part.
How the framework came together and the importance of having fun while creating it:
Will and I engineered it, and Josh Everett helped with the mixes and mastering. It really sends that album home to make it what we really want. And this is on our time; we're gonna have fun, regardless, even if we don't do anything. Maybe we just sat there and had a Miller Lite. That's fun. That’s the beauty of music. But we're not rushing the process.
It’s sometimes easy for people to dump a record every year, and there are some artists that don't release records for several. Again, you’re going to be your own harshest critic. People really want to hear new music and to have you perform and do all these things, but also it’s worth the wait.
On the title, Break Room:
I think it has a lot of symbolisms and means something different to everyone. That's why I think it has so many characteristics in my head! I always think about how uncomfortable and quiet and stale the environment can be in a place where you should be taking it easy or resting.
I think of a stereotypical office building where someone just nuked popcorn and burned the heck out of it, and then you’re like, “I don't wanna sit in here!” [laughs] I also feel like it's an anxiety thing. I have a weird issue with sitting quietly with headphones on, 'cause I'm thinking about my breathing and the nature of that. But also it's the room for me. It’s a depiction of being uncomfortable in a comfortable place — or vice versa, where it's being comfortable in an uncomfortable place.
Also, just the same thing mentally, where it's like, “What are we finding comfort in, and where's our safe space?” These songs are like a break room in that way, too. Music can be a safe space. That’s our break room. It's our place of rest.
But I think there's so many meanings behind it, and I thought it was a cool way to conceptually put them together, where you ask yourself, “How do you take a break? How do you get away from the world? What’s going to get you to sit down for five minutes and just relax?”
I think that's what I wanted the record to kind of reminisce with. I always go back to where it's really hard to make music, but even though it takes a lot of effort, it’s something that gives you peace and joy.
