TopHouse

Biography

TopHouse
The Bigger Picture

A lot can happen in six years. In the six years since their last full-length album, indie-folk band TopHouse has grown from a trio of Montana musicians practicing in their shared basement into a Nashville-based five-member viral internet success with a substantial social media following. But it’s the unique reputation TopHouse garnered for their live shows that has propelled the band past flash-in-the-pan status and established them as a fixture at clubs and theaters across the United States and beyond.

So, what is a TopHouse show like? It’s sort of like hanging out in your friends’ basement, if your friends were slightly homeschooled, proficient musicians, and an incredibly tight yet fun band. Devoid of pretension, the group puts on a show that really isn’t a show at all – it’s a communal experience with some somewhat awkward guys who have been friends and bandmates for years, and that chemistry permeates the music and connection with their audience. It’s infectious, it’s warm, it’s welcoming.

Amidst constant touring, in 2024 and early 2025 the band deepened their discography and fanbase with a pair of independently released EPs: Practice & Theory. The EPs were beloved by fans and received critical praise, leading to the band making their Grand Ole Opry debut in February 2025, where they received two enthusiastic standing ovations.

Running parallel to it all, a lot of life was happening personally for the band members, including four weddings and three babies. It’s from the midst of this whirlwind that comes TopHouse’s long awaited new LP, The Bigger Picture.

The making of the new album started on a chaotic note. In the summer of 2025, Andy LaFave (piano), prompted by a back injury on tour and an autism diagnosis for his young child, decided to bow out of touring permanently. Eli Isbell, a longtime fill-in player for LaFave and close friend of the group, agreed to come on as an official full-time member of the band touring alongside Joseph Larson (lead vocals, guitar, banjo), Jesse Davis (guitar, mandolin, percussion), and William Cook (violin).

This unexpected tour lineup reshuffle, right on the cusp of recording a new album, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “While I was recovering at home while the guys were on tour, I suddenly had time to spend some long nights alone in the studio going over demos of these incredible new songs Jesse and Joe had written.” Says LaFave. “I kept adding all kinds of weird synths and stacked choirs to the demos and sending them to the guys, and to my surprise everyone was digging it.”

An ambitious but cohesive sound began to evolve for the new songs. When the band got back from tour in the Fall of 2025, they got to work recording the album with LaFave producing. It was a seamless evolution of the band’s sound, bigger and fuller while maintaining the lyrical depth of the songs.

The thirteen songs on The Bigger Picture document a band unafraid to push themselves out of their comfort zone while still leaning into the creative instincts and the chemistry they’ve solidified through years of writing, experimenting, and performing together.

This new evolution is especially evident on “Deathbed,” an anthemic track with soaring harmonies and a narrative focusing on what really matters. According to the song’s author, Jesse Davis, “If you frame the picture of your life with a limited perspective, then the bigger picture will be hidden by the frame. When I’m on my deathbed, there’s a good chance that none of what troubles me now will trouble me then. Also, I never thought I’d get to use the word ‘minutiae’ in a song.”

“Winter” is a study on the cyclical nature of the seasons and the anticipation that comes along with change. “I started writing ‘Winter‘ several years ago while hiking in the cold of Northern Minnesota,” says Joseph Larson. The song opens with the line You take my breath away, your cold air hits me like a roaring cannon. “There’s something invigorating to me about getting my breath knocked out by a blast of cold air, and that was the initial feeling I was trying to capture in this song. It’s the feeling of that first day of Autumn when the temperature finally drops, when sitting around a smoky fire feels so life-giving, when the snow starts to fall and the familiar landscape is disguised as something new.”

TopHouse hasn’t abandoned the sound and style that captivated their fans from the very beginning. “Morning Cup of Coffee” is a stripped-back affair with a stunning chorus reminiscent of the 1970s melody-rich Laurel Canyon sound.

If “Morning Cup of Coffee” is about feeling at home, “LOST” is its antithesis. “‘LOST’was born out of an intense dislike of overhead airplane traffic; a symptom of feeling stuck in a suburban neighborhood, overwhelmed by the day-to-day, stuck in the repeating cycles of to-do lists and deadlines,” says Larson. The song features Grammy Award-winning artist Molly Tuttle, whose formidable guitar-playing and vocals add a layer of complexity to an already adventurous track.

The independent band has been on one long adventure for the six years since their last album. So much has happened and so much has changed. But through it all, TopHouse has never lost sight of The Bigger Picture.

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