D.A. Stern

D.A. Stern, the performing name of singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Stern and former frontman of the Sanctuaries, surfaced in the 2010s with material that fused 1960s pop sensibilities and 1980s college-rock textures. He should not be mistaken for the horror novelist of the same name whose own recordings lean closer to the Springsteen-Petty tradition. After gigging with drummer Brian Indig in multiple lineups during their Skidmore College years, Stern established the Sanctuaries, relocated the group to Manhattan, and recruited keyboardist Alex Northrup. The resulting album Annette, containing only Stern compositions, appeared on Mecca Lecca Recording Company in 2012, and the band maintained a steady schedule of New York-area performances throughout the next year.

Having previously worked at Adam Yauch’s Oscilloscope film company, Stern rejoined the organization as an apprentice and later assistant engineer in its on-site studio. Drawing on that experience, he assembled a self-produced solo album in his mother’s New Jersey basement. Shortly before the Brooklyn label Twosyllable Records issued his debut Aloha Hola in early 2017, Stern moved to Los Angeles; the record preserved traces of the Sanctuaries’ haze and jangle while emphasizing bright, melodic hooks. Slumberland Records reissued the album in late March 2018 and, three weeks afterward, released the EP Isn’t It Obvious?, a four-song collection that paired two new originals with covers of Frankie Cosmos and Mannequin Pussy.