Seablite is a four-piece pop band from San Francisco inspired by 80s/90s indie and shoegaze.
Wish Lush were still together? San Francisco’s Seablite are carrying that shimmering, ethereal torch, mixing shoegaze with jangly C-86-style indie. It’s an appealing combination that isn’t exactly new, but this band — which includes Chime School’s Andy Pastalaniec
and former Wax Idols member Jen Mundy — do it very well. “Lemon Lights” is Seablite’s second album and it’s one jangly, hazy pop gem after another. Singer-guitarist Lauren Matsui and singer-bassist Galine Tumasyan nail the gossamer harmony style that really makes songs like “Melancholy Molly” and “Hit the Wall” soar, while the whole band take turns caressing and pummeling their instruments.
One may hear Manchester undertones on “Hit the Wall” and “Melancholy Molly”, or the feminine noise-pop of Lush on “Pot of Boiling Water” but Seablite are not to be mistaken for anglophile copycats. Seablite incorporates the jangle of their San Francisco “Fog Pop” contemporaries on tracks like “Hold My Kite” and a relentless and driving guitar on “Blink Each Day”, while the wonderfully dark elements on “Monochrome Rainbow” and the wistful closer, “Orbiting My Sleep” give them a wide range of sounds and vibes.
The band is among San Francisco’s current indie pop renaissance and have opened for the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Charlatans and Ladytron upon their recent Bay Area visits.
The noisy songs are appropriately swirling in feedback, while the janglier numbers have real snap. Adding to the bona-fides: Ride’s Mark Gardner mastered this terrific record.
released September 29, 2023
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