Pop Neue

Mello C - "Smolder Bolder"

For two decades Chad Crouch helmed the HUSH Records label, helping to launch the careers of The Decemberists, Peter Broderick, Loch Lomond, Laura Gibson, and many others. While handling the day-to-day operations of HUSH, Crouch was also churning out his own instrumental music under the pseudonym "Podington Bear". 2017 was a watershed year for Crouch. His father died, he upended his work life, and he finally pulled the plug on the moniker that grew increasingly irrelevant. (“Podington Bear” was a reference to podcasting, the original distribution method for his music.) In many ways 2018 represents a complete restart for Crouch, so getting back to the essence of songwriting seemed both appropriate and essential.