Seablite

by Tim Sendra

Inspired by noisy guitar bands of the '80s along with shoegaze and dream pop groups of the '90s, Seablite pursue a light and airy variant of the sound as evidenced on their debut album from 2019, Grass Stains & Novocaine.

The Bay Area band formed in 2016 when singer/guitarist Lauren Matsui and bassist/vocalist Galine Tumasyan, who had been friends for a while, decided to start playing music together. Matsui had previously been in the band Cocktails, while Tumasyan was an accomplished visual artist. They began playing songs influenced by

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Julian Never

Inspired by the Flying Nun catalog, Prefab Sprout and odd underground pop hits by Chris Spedding and Dwight Twilley, JULIAN NEVER deliver their debut long player, Pious Fiction, to be released on limited edition vinyl and digital on January 13th, 2023.

JULIAN NEVER is the latest vehicle for former MAYYORS drummer Julian Elorduy’s jangle pop alter-ego. An evolution of the songwriting that produced the short-lived but much-loved FINE STEPS, Pious Fiction is 15 tracks of bittersweet, sun-warped jangle self-recorded off and on over the last four years in a variety of Sacramento homes and warehouses with the help of former MAYYORS bassist Mark Kaiser (also formerly of Castle Face goth punks MALE GAZE), a newly acquired Tascam half-inch reel-to-reel and a borrowed mixer. The album is built upon a solid base of guitar-centric pop richly layered with ethereal synths and piano, intertwined with themes of love, loss and Elorduy’s Catholic upbringing, all delivered with his captivating tenor.

juliannever.bandcamp.com

Slowness

​SLOWNESS was formed in 2008 in San Francisco by Julie Lynn and Geoffrey Scott. Their debut EP "Hopeless but Otherwise" was produced by Monte Vallier. "For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half Full" & "How to Keep from Falling off a Mountain" followed and were supported by tours in America and Europe. "Berths" was release on June 7, 2019 and Part Time Punks on May 1, 2020.

slowness.bandcamp.com

Electro Group

Electro Group began in the mid-90s as a noisy assault on a 4-track, combining the rich, warm feedback of My Bloody Valentine and Flying Saucer Attack with the euphoric pop hooks of any number of the bands on the Creation label like Biff Bang Pow, Jazz Butcher, The Pastels and the Jesus and Mary Chain. In the intervening years, some of the fluff has been cleaned off the needle, but at Electro Group’s core is still a familiar mix of Tim’s woozy guitars and shining vocal melodies, Ian’s distorted bass, and Matt’s rumbling drums.

electrogroup.bandcamp.com

Starry Eyed Cadet

Inspired by Sarah Record's heyday with a touch of the shoegazing bliss of Creation Records, Starry Eyed Cadet formed in San Francisco in the Spring of 2013. This Bay Area group is a mix of members from various musical backgrounds, as well as from established bands as Marine Life (Elefant Records), Julie Plug, The Parties (Rainbow Quartz) and Sweet Trip (Darla Records). Having been long time friends and fellow indie music lovers, it wasn't until an impromptu jam session on an uneventful Sunday evening that brought the band together. With all band members as active songwriters and composers, they describe themselves as "all over the place" but remain glued together by everyone's similar sound sensibilities. In 2014, they released their first demo single ‘On The Run’ which fortunately found its way to several indiepop blogs as well as numerous college and online radio stations, where it was well received. In late 2014 they completed their debut self-titled EP, where it caught the attention of Maz Hadid of NYC Popfest, and landed a spot on NYC Popfest 2015 lineup. At NYC Popfest, the band was introduced to Fastcut Records by fellow NYC Popfest performer and soon-to-be label mate Wallflower from Japan where they released their debut LP "Places We Don't Belong" in the summer of 2016. Since then, the band has released numerous EP's and singles from notable labels as Lilystars Records, Sunday Records and Recorded Psychic Readings Records. The band is Gil Castro (keys/vox), Rob Uytingco (drums/vox), Sally Jati (vox/guitar), Ray Lee (bass) and Russell Gong (guitar).

starryeyedcadet.bandcamp.com