After-Death Plan
After-Death Plan is the Columbus duo of Lesley Ann Fogle and Constantine Hondroulis. Their songs cross genres and share a cinematic quality with female vocals described as darting through territories of early 4AD, PJ Harvey, and Laurie Anderson but with an undeniably original style.
Twenty years in the making and refined in their style of American Gothic Art Rock, After-Death Plan released the 2017 album Literature, featuring songs inspired by books & authors, to critical acclaim.
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“[Literature] has to be one the most sonically adventurous and lyrically challenging releases to grace the still-young new year, the type of record destined to be mentioned by critics when they start chronicling their best-of-2017 picks at the end of the annum.” - Blurt Magazine
"The idea of learning about human nature’s dark ends, depicted in novels like Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” or Mikhail Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita,” were masterfully brought to life through tantalizing sonics on Literature. ... It is edgy, daring music wrapped in sentimentality, with Fogle’s voice as the elegant conductor and Hondroulis’ innovative rhythms that put “Literature” in a league of its own." - In The Record Store
"After-Death Plan’s Literature is an early contender for any 'Best of' list, and should be in everyone’s collection. It’s easily the album most-played on repeat in the Music in Motion Columbus office." - Music in Motion - Columbus
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On their upcoming 2019 release, Psycho Social Sexual, After-Death Plan beckoned notable collaborators to help them skirt genres. The title track, Psycho Social Sexual, kicks off the album with a literal stomp and a clap as Fogle breathes stream-of-consciousness feminist fire over Hondroulis’ slinky bass rhythms. Milan Karcic (Salt Horse, Everything) hangs back for a while before clearing the stage for a balkan-inspired guitar solo. George Hondroulis (Lydia Loveless) and Lizard McGee (Earwig) pound through the heavy stride of Neil Harvey, a song about a haunted soul whose fate is sealed aboard an 18th century gun ship. Bob Ray Starker’s (Whoa Nellie!) effortless saxophone pours over spellbinding piano and dreamy vocals on You Play Adult, while Tom Boyer’s (Oswald & The Herringbones) Juno 60 and Sequential Circuits Pro One wail over thick bass grooves as Fogle wonders how long we would survive in a second civil war on Killed In Days. Henning Nugel (An Spiorad) dramatically scores a mournful tale on Emma Nation; and Jay Gasper (Lydia Loveless) dapples astral guitar over vocal offerings to the goddess on Starlight. McGee makes a second appearance with his acoustic guitar on the feel-good song about love Mixing Chemicals. After-Death Plan recorded Psycho Social Sexual in their project studio where Lesley works by day as an engineer and voice talent.
Lush vocal layers cascade and swirl on songs like In The Garden, a dazzling surreal tapestry. Digging In The Fire, a danceable avant number, features percussive guttural vocalizations. The tribal tempo of Sinner and relentless drive of Walking, a song about the transcendental walk to the after-life, round out the 11-song collection.
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[Psycho Social Sexual] "...After-Death Plan plays in the dark and digs in the fire, tackling themes universal and surreal and issues current and all too real with sensual rhythms, exotic textures, and just plain cool af songs. This is mercurial music that creeps, stomps, floats, and burns. Nighttime listening for sure, but blasting in the shadows or with the shades pulled down feels alright, too. ... For fans of: St. Vincent, Alison Mosshart, PJ Harvey, and other badass female singers, After-Death Plan’s Lesley Fogle is a welcome addition to the club in this trying era of dashed utopian dreams and waking dystopian nightmares....”
- Flush The Fashion
"Psycho Social Sexual is rife with delicious textures, weaving together the macabre (“Killed In Days”), the sensual (“The Sinner”), the ethereal (“Starlight”), and the coltish (“You Play Adult”). Fogle’s smoldering vocal and Hondroulis’ thick bass lines play off one another with effortless chemistry and satisfying contrast." - Columbus Underground
"Dashes of anthem-like togetherness flicker in and out of view, meanwhile the leading vocalist pours absolutely everything into the art of performance...nothing is predictable, the mainstream standard set-up is nowhere to be found, yet what you get is this incredibly entertaining and surprisingly entrancing, rhythmic and powerful outpouring of moments. There’s a fluidity to the way the whole thing moves along, that chord progression offers a constant thread, as do those fragments of vocals that shout in from the distance...An array of influences come to mind but none that stick around too intensely. After-Death Plan do their own thing, and that stands tall – particularly among today’s musical landscape." - Stereo Stickman
[Psycho Social Sexual] "...is music that keeps you interested with the awesome guitar, the driving drums and those amazing vocals, and capped off with extremely well-written and intelligent lyrics that keep you thinking as you listen. ... Definitely Get this one if you like your rock music to have some meat." - LA Music Critic
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Classically trained, Lesley transitioned in the 90's from studying voice to engineering sound in the commercial industry where she spent her free moments relentlessly cultivating her avant style of writing and mixing. At the helm of the 20 year-old Chicago-based music collaborative Mal VU, Lesley (AKA Vena Gore) presided over a vision inspired by ancient sounds and narratives. Created for the sake of artistic growth while working in a commercial world, Mal VU's eight albums of songs were sent to a global network of cherry-picked collectors but never released for sale.
Constantine’s roots are in the 90's Ohio underground rock scene, forming Our Flesh Party with his brother George Hondroulis. As a regular contributor to Mal VU, And after decades of playing in notable acts such as Salt Horse, The Rackets, and Earwig (currently still plays bass in Earwig), Constantine brings his writing and multi-instrumental skills to new directions in After-Death Plan.