Planer blends the atmospheric density of heavy shoegaze with the expansive dynamics of post-rock, channeling the emotional weight of Deftones and the raw intensity of Dinosaur Jr, but leaves out the guitar heroics in favor of cinematic immersion.
I caught up with drummer Eric Frame to talk about the bands early influences, how they got together and the making of their debut E.P. “The End”.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artist or band did you all enjoy the most?
Eric-We have a really diverse set of influences, but some of the places our Venn diagrams overlap are in the heavy yet ethereal sounds bands like Deftones and Dinosaur Jr were crafting in the 90’s. It’s fair to say we arrive at the same place via different routes, though. Maybe some sort of metaphysical hopscotch tracing a route from Neutral Milk Hotel to Hum via American Football.
CMM-When did you all start playing music and writing songs and what led to the formation of Planer?
Eric-Planer actually got together based on a post in the musicians section of Craigslist, of all things. Jack and Zack had some songs put together, and I happened to see their post looking for a drummer. The three of us started songwriting around May of 2025, and added Matt Day on bass in June. The band formed up based around the music, and once we figured out we were all friends as well, it really gelled.
CMM-You recently released a three song E.P. called “The End” What was the writing and recording process like and were there any particular pieces of gear you all used to get the sound you all were looking for?
Eric-The writing and recording of The End EP was really and truly organic. For the most part the songs seemed to just knock loose rather than needing to yank them from the ether. Like we had a big block of granite with a song inside, and all we had to do was chisel away the stuff that wasn’t supposed to be there, and you get to the end and say “Well, that just is.” We had five or six tunes in short order, and decided to put some of them to tape so we’d have something to share with folks. I happen to be a recording engineer at Treespeak Studio in Minneapolis, so we engaged another engineer there named Andy Mathison to help us track. I mixed the record at Moving Parts Audio and Jacques Wait mastered it at The Terrarium – also in Minneapolis.
Although it’s not a piece of gear – Andy Mathison is really talented at working with effects and performers to get some great sounds and moments, regardless of the circuits under the hood. Having said that, one piece of gear that made a big impact on the sound is the Chroma Console from Hologram Electronics. Zack used it to great effect on Paper, and it appears in many other spots in our music.
CMM-If the band could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Eric-Part of Planer’s live performance includes visual projections, so this is a question we ask ourselves, too. It’s really hard to pin it down to just one. There are so many directors that pull off slow burns with cathartic payoffs yet still leave you wondering if your questions got answered. Cary Joji Fukunaga comes to mind specifically for their work on the first season of True Detective. As far as what it would be about, honestly we just want another first season of True Detective.
CMM-Anything coming up?
Eric-In the short term, we have a show on October 25th at the White Squirrel in St Paul, MN and some weekenders in the works. We’ve got a full length worth of material in the bag, but before we head back into the studio we want to spend some time letting things breathe and see if the songs have something more to tell us. Maybe once the cold sets in again, though. In the meantime we’re just working to sharpen our axes and hone our craft, but we do also have some cool things in store that we’re excited to be working towards.
