In September 2024, the members of Main Era moved into a house in Allston with hopes of turning it into a recording studio. With plans to write and record their next album there, they used their limited merch and ticket sale profits to purchase enough gear for a “no frills” home studio. They bought blankets and carpets from Goodwill to line the basement, which along with the simple microphone setup, would make for a compressed and raw sound.
With every building block placed, their master plan was underway.
That is, until the discovery of a black mold infestation in the basement almost foiled their plan.
“Thankfully, the landlord removed the black mold…but we could only really spend, like 45 minutes to an hour at a time in there consecutively, because of either oxygen deprivation or mold exposure. We'd all get headaches and start getting angry at each other,” said guitarist and vocalist Gigi Greaves.
The band, consisting of Greaves, guitarist and vocalist Willie Swift, bassist Jack Halberian, and drummer Maeve Malloy, trekked on in shifts, eventually releasing their album IV of Wands last January.
The record is a deeper progression into the doomier elements that took shape in the band’s 2024 album, Archie, and a departure from the lo-fi pop sound present in their first project, Concrete Walls.
Gigi Greaves plays a set at Cuckfest last January with Main Era. Abdayem, 2026.
Greaves and Swift started Main Era as students at Boston University when their work as homework buddies blossomed into a shared ambition to create music.
“One night, we started making a trap beat, and it went really well,” said Swift. “And then we kind of started chasing that. It felt good, so we kept doing it. And then I think, naturally, we started injecting more personal things into it.”
The duo expanded shortly after, adding Halberian, who Greaves knew from studying abroad in Germany, and bringing on Malloy the following year after being connected through a mutual friend. While they all agree that their first Zoom call was awkward, the four bonded over the desire to play gigs. They have been together for four years now.
Gigi Greaves playing at Cuckfest last January. Abdayem, 2026.
“I don't think anybody really tells anybody else what to play. It's usually just, like, play what you want to play over it. And that tends to work out most of the time,” said Swift.
Going into the recording of IV of Wands, each member brought their own influences as they collectively shifted to a sludgier sound. The band wanted to see how far they could push themselves, indulging in “extreme spectrums,” as Malloy put it. The opening track, “Erasure,” is heavily influenced by the Japanese rock band Boris with its heavy and slow dual riffs.
“I feel a lot of kinship with [Boris],” said Swift. “I think because they've been a long-form collaborative project for decades, and that's kind of how we always saw this band too. [Main Era] is the four of us. We don't take shows if someone’s unavailable. It's very much our baby.”
Jack Halberian playing at Cuckfest with band Main Era last January. Abdayem, 2026.
“Erasure” begins with a chorus of Prelinger archive videos--the announcer’s voice being broken up by doomy feedback. Through the inclusion of public domain advertisements, the band hoped to recreate an element of their live shows.
“For the last year or so, we've been utilizing a live radio signal in between songs as we play, which I think has been a really cool element to the performance that changes every time we do it,” said Swift
The next track on IV of Wands, “You Must Be Patient,” is punishing. The discordant guitar disorientates the listener, with only Swift’s guttural delivery of the track’s title to hold onto. The song shifts in and out of the slow crash of Malloy’s drumming and the even doomier guitar riff.
Willie Swift playing a set at Cuckfest last January with band Main Era. Abdayem, 2026.
The title of the song came from the band’s shared Notes document, though none of them can recall who first wrote it down. The immaculately conceived line became an affirmation for them during the album’s writing process.
“There were so many times where I was getting so frustrated, hurdling down stories of mental spirals…And these guys always jokingly were saying, “you must be patient” to me. So it felt very ironic to use it, but it's definitely become a more significant line for us,” said Swift.
On the song’s significance, Malloy said “[Patience] is hope, and holding on to just knowing that if you stick through it, and do the right things, you will be rewarded in that… It's a virtue. It's one of the most valuable things and one of the only things you can really hold on to.”
Maeve Malloy playing with Main Era at Cuckfest last January. Abdayem, 2026.
The penultimate track, “To Love Again,” found its place on IV of Wands a year after Malloy originally wrote it. While written aside from the band, it was inspired by the love they have felt while being a part of it.
“The whole thing is about learning to love yourself again and I feel like these guys have only shown me love… I was like, damn, that's pretty beautiful. Maybe I should love myself,” said Malloy.
In this tender lullaby, Malloy accompanies themself on guitar. The rest of the band holds credits for non-instrument instrumentals on the song, with Halberian on “power drill,” Greaves on “jigsaw,” and Swift on “hammer.”
Willie Swift playing a set at Cuckfest last January with band Main Era. Abdayem, 2026.
The studio’s cramped size forced a closeness on the band that greatly influenced the sound of their record, “It was just enough room to fit the drums and maybe a few amps…and that was the professional set up,” said Halberian.
“Limitation breeds creativity or whatever. It's kind of like, if we had all the money in the world to record wherever, it wouldn't have turned out the same. It is cool that we worked with what we got.” said Malloy.
Greaves and Swift found freedom to experiment with their vocal deliveries in the private space.
“You could text everyone, Yo, I'm gonna go try record vocals. Please no one listen to me or come downstairs… there was a bit more room to play around and experiment without fear of being embarrassed or insecure,” said Swift.
As a result, the vocals on IV of Wands range from the quiet spoken word in “Double Dragon” to the exasperated screams in “Erasure”
“Taking away the melodic aspect of a vocal leaves basically just the delivery and the words themselves, which I think has a very different effect,” said Greaves.
Gigi Greaves plays a set at Cuckfest last January with Main Era. Abdayem, 2026.
The band’s first foray into a heavier sound came with Archie. The track “Christ Air” features the familiar meandering song structure present in their latest work.
“Archie was recorded and mixed all in one go at our friend’s studio, Submodern Audio, in Rhode Island. This record would not have existed if we didn't live in that house. And the next one will be completely different too, probably, because of where we're at,” said Swift.
Like all of their albums, the band views this record as a time capsule.
“We started this band when we were 20 or 21,” Greaves said. “The records are different because we're different.”
IV of Wands draws its name from the tarot card of the same name, which Malloy pulled in Chicago while Main Era was on tour with the bands Wiring and Boy Scout Marie.
“We have a tradition where Maeve pulls a tarot card whenever we go to a new city,” Swift said.
The card’s message felt true to the collaborative atmosphere the album was created in.
Malloy remembers, “The IV of Wands felt relevant in Chicago because it represents a celebratory moment and coming together with friends in a sort of milestone, a sense of achievement and community.”
Main Era during their set at Cuckfest last January. Abdayem, 2026.
Main Era released IV of Wands through New England-based label Disposable America. The album is available digitally through Bandcamp and also recorded on cassette tapes.
“In the age of streaming, selling a tape to someone and having them tell us that they listened to it and they liked it is way more fulfilling than any number of streams,” said Greaves.
The band eventually parted ways with their tumultuous Allston house last August—a farewell which Greaves described as “joyous.”
Whether they are creating in a basement tainted with the lingering effects of black mold, or a professional studio, Main Era continues expanding their musical palette to create music that is true to them.