Fall Back Open

THIS LP IS A PREORDER ITEM. ALL ITEMS ORDERED ALONGSIDE A PHYSICAL PREORDER WILL SHIP TOGETHER ON OR BEFORE THE RELEASE DATE, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2026. THE REMASTERED AUDIO FILES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD ON THE RELEASE DATE.

Also available in the Signed Print and LP Bundle!

Now It’s Overhead, the beloved project of Athens, GA-based musician/producer/engineer/visual artist Andy LeMaster, has announced that its three acclaimed albums–Now It’s Overhead (2001), Fall Back Open (2004), and Dark Light Daybreak (2006)– will release on vinyl for the first time ever. Newly remastered by LeMaster and arriving as a limited edition run of 500 pressed on Ecomix, the vinyl releases will be accompanied by in the beginning, a five-song digital EP featuring the band’s first new music since 2006: “eleven-seven-thirty-five,” written around the time of the 2001 self-titled album, and “sigh let go,” composed specifically for the EP. It also includes songs “the garden house” (originally released as part of a fundraising campaign for Brian Eno’s EarthPercent Foundation), “Dark Cycle” (previously found on the vinyl version of the Saddle Creek 50 sampler), and “The Book of Love,” a cover of The Magnetic Fields’ from Now It’s Overhead’s 2004 single “Wait In A Line.”

Now It’s Overhead emerged in the early 2000s alongside the era-defining Saddle Creek scene, and its debut album was the first released by the label from a non-Nebraska band. Always essentially a solo project for LeMaster, its recordings frequently featured fellow Athenites Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor (of Azure Ray), while Fall Back Open also had guest vocals from Michael Stipe and Conor Oberst (both of whom LeMaster still collaborates with to this day). Now It’s Overhead has drawn press attention from outlets including ELLE, Interview, MAGNET, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Teen Vogue, Alternative Press, and more, and these long-awaited editions are essential for casual listeners and avid collectors alike.

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Now It's Overhead was born in Athens, GA, sometime in the late nineties. Sometime in the middle of the night. Andy LeMaster spent two years of dark downtime at his studio (Chase Park Transduction) creating a sketchbook of songs that became the first Now It's Overhead record. To complete his sketches, Andy called on the help of drummer Clay Leverett and Azure Ray's Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor. The studio project became a full-time band. Tours, record sales, photo shoots, interviews, and the like immediately followed.

Fall Back Open marks another two years of sleepless nights and the next step down the path to NIO glory. At once celebratory, frustrated, and heartbreaking, the music of Fall Back Open is diverse without being stylistically inconsistent. From dark, beat-driven sensuality to bright, country-tinged melodies, the band's epic tones and distinctive vocals provide threads of unity that run throughout. The talents of the band are augmented by guest vocals from Michael Stipe and Conor Oberst, giving you something to write and/or talk about before any of the more important things.

When Andy isn't crafting the dark, melodic pop of Now It's Overhead, he's touring and recording with Bright Eyes, working at his studio in Athens with bands like Azure Ray and R.E.M., or finding the occasional hour or two to sleep.

Vinyl Release Date: September 18th, 2026
Original Release Date: March 9th, 2004