Tod Lippy may be best-known as the creator of the award-winning arts journal Esopus (called “a thing of lavish, eccentric beauty” by The New York Times in 2004). The multidisciplinary publication attracted readers from around the world over the course of its 25-issue run and is now in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress, among many other institutions. Every issue of Esopus included a CD of brand-new music Lippy commissioned from musical acts such as Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Neko Case, Cloud Nothings, and Kimya Dawson. Lippy, who studied classical guitar for over a decade, was inspired by their contributions to start making music on his own. When Esopus ceased publication in 2018, he began spending a significant amount of his spare time honing his songwriting and recording skills.

In the summer of 2019, Lippy sent a selection of 30 demos to Luna front man Dean Wareham, who connected him with Kramer, the producer and musician whose iconic work includes all three of Wareham’s first band Galaxie 500’s seminal records. Kramer and Lippy mixed 10 tracks for his first album, Here We Are, in New York City late that summer, and the album was released in October. Its lead single, “Good Start,” was selected by L.A. radio station KCRW for a coveted “Today’s Top Tune” slot on Labor Day 2019.

Since then — and in-between his work as a book designer, visual artist, and curator — Lippy has released two more full-length albums — Yearbook (2021) and his covers LP Closer Than They Appear (2022). His six-song EP Midterms also appeared in 2022. These releases have generated lathe-cut singles (“Names,” released by Toronto label We Are Busy Bodies); limited-edition cassettes (“Assorted Hits 11,” “Good Start Remixed”); and, in the case of Midterms, a 10” vinyl record (edition of 50) with hand-painted sleeves by Steve Keene. More than 20n music videos for tracks from these releases as well as stand-alone singles can be found on Lippy’s YouTube channel.

In the late summer of 2023, Lippy went into the studio to record his fourth full-length LP, The Present. Working with the legendary producer Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Spacehog, Phish) and bass player Bryan Percivall and drummer Chris Heinz, Lippy cut all 10 tracks on the LP at Goggin’s Trout Recording in Brooklyn. The Present’s first single, “Florida Plates,” with an accompanying video directed by Kyle Garrett, was released on March 5, and a second single, “Perfect” (with another video directed by Garrett) is out now.