Ladada

Ladada fuse the taut drive of punk with sunlit, surf-tinged guitar lines and the hazy melodic drift of shoegaze. The project began in 2014 as a solo venture by Josiah Schlater—also known for his work in Mae, BAMM BAMM, and Tokyo—and steadily expanded in both profile and personnel, its melodic pop foundation acquiring added force and dimension as the lineup grew into a quartet. A Virginia Beach, Virginia native, Schlater launched the endeavor upon returning from Brooklyn, New York; he leased a storage unit that served as an ad-hoc studio, laid down several tracks in one-man-band fashion, and issued a seven-song EP in August 2014. Family and academic obligations imposed a hiatus, yet Ladada resurfaced in April 2016 with the five-song EP Hi Five, which supplanted the debut’s raw, lo-fi edge with a sharper, more propulsive attack. By the April 2018 release of the La Bamm single, Schlater had recruited second guitarist Jonnie Schilling, bassist Robert Smith, and drummer Bobby Rangel, increasing the music’s overall impact. Three months later the band issued the single “Heaven on the Rock” b/w “Winter Wash” while preparing its first full-length album.