Candy Claws function as a dream pop collective drawn to both natural acoustics and human-made creations. Their dense, distorted textures merge the overloaded weight of shoegaze with Elephant 6-style neo-psychedelia, at times folding in glitch electronics or Baroque pop elements. The ensemble first surfaced in 2008 through Two Airships/Exploder Falls, an alternate soundtrack to Werner Herzog’s The White Diamond, after which they maintained frequent tours and a rapid release schedule. The ambitious 2013 concept album Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time, built around fantasy-like verses supplied by poet Jenn Morea, received strong critical notice and slowly cultivated a devoted audience. Two members later extended the record’s exotica flavor inside Sound of Ceres, whose debut appeared in 2016. Candy Claws regrouped in 2023 to cut the track “Distortion Spear” for the tenth-anniversary reissue of Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time.
Ryan Hover, K Hover, and Hank Bertholf formed Candy Claws in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2007, crafting material that reflected their common fascination with electronics, droning shoegaze, and classic psychedelic pop. Recording took place both at home and while traveling, with K capturing ocean recordings during a visit to Italy and Ryan preserving natural sounds on a trip to the Philippines; these elements were woven into the songs. The 2008 digital release Two Airships/Exploder Falls presented two extended pieces inspired by Werner Herzog’s 2004 documentary The White Diamond and marked the group’s first issued recording.
Discovery of Rachel Carson’s The Sea Around Us supplied a pivotal influence that shaped the style and architecture of Candy Claws’ debut album, In the Dream of the Sea Life. Originally issued in 2009 on the small Wave Magic imprint, the album was later adopted by Ireland’s Indiecater Records and drew warm international press. In 2010 the band delivered its second album, Hidden Lands, via Twosyllable Records; like its predecessor, the record drew inspiration from a nature book, Richard M. Ketchum’s The Secret Life of the Forest.
Candy Claws had by then grown into an eight-piece live ensemble that performed across the United States. Later that year they released the short Christmas-themed EP Warm Forever, which included songs from the side project Firebreather. The 2011 instrumental set Dreamland Soundtrack - Season 1 provided music for a series of nature documentaries. Early in 2012 Candy Claws and Mike Adams at His Honest Weight issued the two-song tribute single Sing Starflyer 59 on Flannelgraph Records, while a vinyl edition of Two Airships/Exploder Falls followed later in the year.
Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time, the group’s third album, arose from a collaboration with poet Jenn Morea, who had sought music connected to Rachel Carson’s writings and encountered In the Dream of the Sea Life. Morea supplied the lyrics for the concept album, which follows a girl and a seal-like creature on a journey through the Mesozoic era. Each member handled distinct vocal parts tied to the narrative, and New York composer Bryan Senti contributed orchestral arrangements derived from Philip Glass’ sample library. Released in 2013, the album was accompanied by Ceres & Calypso Instrumentals in Dual Mono, a quieter, vocal-free counterpart that highlighted its exotica and 1960s pop leanings.
Candy Claws disbanded around 2015. K and Ryan Hover subsequently launched Sound of Ceres with members of the Apples in Stereo and the Drums. The new project blended bossa nova and psychedelic pop, issuing its first album, Nostalgia for Infinity, in 2016. The Twin arrived in 2017, and the band drew notice for elaborate live shows that incorporated costume changes and lighting. Emerald Sea, informed by Les Baxter’s exotica, Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets, appeared in 2022.
As Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time gained further cult status, Candy Claws issued a tenth-anniversary edition in 2023. The double-gatefold vinyl package contained Ceres & Calypso Instrumentals in Dual Mono along with a bonus CD featuring “Distortion Spear,” the first new Candy Claws song since 2011.
