· By John Frazier
KMUW Into Music: Stephen Pedersen of Criteria
n a new episode of Into Music from KMUW, host Jed Bodwin sits down with Stephen Pedersen to discuss the making of SEIZE!, Criteria’s first new album since 2020 and their upcoming release on Spartan Records. The conversation dives deep into Pedersen’s love of heavy, percussive riff writing, the unique aluminum-neck Travis Bean guitars that shaped the record’s sound, and the alternate tunings that became the foundation for much of the album. Beyond the music itself, Pedersen opens up about the emotional themes running through SEIZE!, including fractured friendships, changing workplace dynamics, loss, marriage, and the uneasy process of confronting endings in adulthood. It’s an insightful and deeply human conversation that reveals the personal experiences and creative restlessness fueling one of Criteria’s most compelling records to date.
