The quartet Gateway Drugs, based in Los Angeles, fused ethereal shoegaze textures with gritty garage rock and psychedelic hues to shape their shadowy, substance-tinged sonic palette. Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes handled production duties on the group’s intense sophomore release PSA in 2020.
Early in 2012 the Niles siblings Liv, Noa, and Gab—children of the Knack’s Prescott Niles—launched the project. The three family members rotated lead vocals and instrumental roles from track to track, while vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Blues Williams completed the original lineup. For several years the musicians circulated tracks and demos online as they built steadily larger club followings across the L.A. area. Their debut album Magick Spells appeared in 2015, immediately followed by a scheduled U.S. tour supporting shoegaze legends Swervedriver.
After Williams exited, longtime Niles family friend James Sanderson joined on bass and guitar. The band continued frequent live performances while preparing new material with producer Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes. For the sophomore album PSA, released in May 2020, Gateway Drugs pursued a deliberately chaotic, live-in-the-studio approach.
Cavity CreepsMagick Spells · 2015Magick Spells3:56
The Revolution Will Not Be TelevisedEPSA · 2020PSA4:28
