Biography

Taking its name from the Flaming Lips song "The Abandoned Hospital Ship," Hospital Ships began in 2007 as a home recording project for Jordan Geiger, a Lawrence, Kansas native with a diverse musical résumé. Starting in 2000, he fronted and was chief songwriter for neo-psych purveyors Minus Story; he played keyboards with emo rockers the Appleseed Cast in 2003, and he toured with reflective indie rockers Shearwater four years later as trumpeter and keyboardist. Blending that background with classic influences like Buddy Holly, the Zombies, and ELO, Hospital Ships moves from orchestral pop to folk ballads to full-on rockers, anchored by Geiger's emotive lyrics and boyish tenor voice that recalls Wayne Coyne, Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), and Daniel Johnston. Fleshed out with the help of some of his Minus Story cohorts, Hospital Ships' full-length debut, Oh, Ramona (the title a nod to Geiger's cat), came in 2008 on Graveface Records, exploring themes of failed relationships and self-realization, with follow-up Lonely Twin appearing in summer 2011. By 2013 Hospital Ships had grown from Geiger's solo excursions into a fully realized band, featuring multi-instrumentalists Nathan Dixey, Taylor Holenbeck, and Nathan Wilder. The quartet toured internationally before issuing third album Destruction in Yr Soul. Following the album's release, Geiger moved to Austin, Texas and began working on his next album with the help of Swans percussionist Thor Harris and other friends, rather than the full-band lineup of Hospital Ships. Inspired by Arthur Russell and Steve Reich and containing analog synthesizers and layered samples from Geiger's older recordings, The Past Is Not a Flood arrived on Graveface in March of 2016. ~ Chrysta Cherrie, Rovi