Foreign Born

Foreign Born, the shoegaze and indie rock group now headquartered in Los Angeles, first assembled several hundred miles farther north. After vocalist Matt Popieluch and guitarist Lewis Pesacov completed their studies at San Francisco State University in 2003, Popieluch moved into Pesacov’s home. An impromptu jam at a friend’s farewell gathering sparked the notion of forming a band, and subsequent local shows that drew positive responses prompted the pair to commit fully. They soon recruited drummer Garrett Ray and bassist Ariel Rechtshaid—Pesacov’s high-school acquaintance who had previously sung, played guitar, and produced for other groups—before shifting operations to Los Angeles in spring 2004.

One year afterward, Star Time Records issued the band’s first EP, In the Remote Woods. In 2006 they self-released a limited pressing of three hundred copies titled Loud Times in the Valley. After signing with Dim Mak Records, Foreign Born delivered their debut full-length, On the Wing Now, in August 2007; the album had already appeared in 2006 as a self-released edition with an altered track sequence and without Dim Mak’s involvement. Their next album, Person to Person, arrived in 2009 and represented their initial release on Secretly Canadian.