The title came from a band member’s kidney stone procedure – “they had to go in through the front with lasers” – and it stuck. “In Through the Front with Lasers” deals with chronic pain, losing a friend to a cult (at least I think?), jealousy, overthinking death and the jobs that make everything worse. The stress that compounds daily. The realization that the world doesn’t stop being painful just because you need it to.
Produced and engineered by Melina Cortez Duterte (Jay Som), the album was tracked at Duterte’s Los Angeles home studio with a couple of extra sessions recorded in Pittsburgh with Greg Kump. The album is poppy rock with heavy guitars and catchy choruses, but the lyrics cut deeper than the production lets on, vulnerable in ways the uptempo energy might hide at first. It’s that contrast that makes the record work: bright surfaces covering raw nerves.
The songs sit with discomfort, acknowledging that some things don’t resolve – they just persist. What cuts through is the focus on response. Not how to avoid the pain, but how to meet it. The album doesn’t frame this as triumph or defeat, just the mechanics of getting through. You can’t control what comes at you, but you can decide how you stand when it does. “In Through the Front with Lasers” operates in that middle ground – the space between what happens and what you do about it.
Silver is signed to Michi Tapes, a Pittsburgh-based cassette label run by Eric Stevens, whom she met while both were working at Trader Joe’s in the East Liberty neighbourhood. Stevens is one of the scene’s go-to photographers, having documented more local band portraits than perhaps anyone else in the city. He operates as a kind of connective tissue, making everyone feel like a long time friend. “Eric does a lot for the community,” Silver says. “He’s very talented, and it’s an honour to work with him on the release.”
Tory Silver – rhythm guitar, vocals, lyrics, music
Christian Anderson – bass, acoustic guitar, piano, violin, vocals
Marcel Damiano – lead guitar, vocals
Kyle Murphy – drum set, vibraphone, misc. other percussive instruments
Andy Ben – synth
Ross Weidman – drum set
Benny Truckenbrod – synth
released May 29th, 2026
Tory Silver’s LP: “In Through the Front with Lasers” to be released by Michi Tapes,
The Fat Angel Sings 