Biography
Born in Los Angeles, Piper Kaplan had shown no prior interest in making music until she headed to New York City in 2009 to DJ alongside her idol R. Stevie Moore. While there, Moore invited her to lay down vocals over some lyrics he had prepared, an encounter that reshaped her outlook. A dedicated vinyl collector since turning 15, she came back to Hollywood determined to launch a lo-fi indie project alongside her younger sister Skylar. Though only 13, Skylar already played guitar with notable skill and joined the effort at once; second guitarist Cody Porter, known for his work in Animal Style, soon completed the lineup that became Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor took cues from 1970s acts such as Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan while layering on the hazy sheen associated with the Beach Boys. Their first release, the 2009 EP Something About the Chaparrals issued by Mexican Summer, spotlighted the track “Luv Goons,” whose bright guitar figures and relaxed singing captured the group’s initial style, even as an undercurrent of yearning in Piper’s voice lent the recordings extra depth.
After most of 2009 spent performing around Los Angeles, the band—augmented onstage by former Mika Miko bassist Jessie Clavin and drummer Matt Correia—found itself grouped with other female-fronted lo-fi acts including Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, Nite Jewel, and Vivian Girls. The Kaplan sisters and their collaborators traveled to Texas for South by Southwest in March 2010, then issued the atmospheric single Slivers of You on Big Love the following month. By June they had adopted the name Puro Instinct and embarked on a tour with Ariel Pink.
Pearl Harbor took cues from 1970s acts such as Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan while layering on the hazy sheen associated with the Beach Boys. Their first release, the 2009 EP Something About the Chaparrals issued by Mexican Summer, spotlighted the track “Luv Goons,” whose bright guitar figures and relaxed singing captured the group’s initial style, even as an undercurrent of yearning in Piper’s voice lent the recordings extra depth.
After most of 2009 spent performing around Los Angeles, the band—augmented onstage by former Mika Miko bassist Jessie Clavin and drummer Matt Correia—found itself grouped with other female-fronted lo-fi acts including Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, Nite Jewel, and Vivian Girls. The Kaplan sisters and their collaborators traveled to Texas for South by Southwest in March 2010, then issued the atmospheric single Slivers of You on Big Love the following month. By June they had adopted the name Puro Instinct and embarked on a tour with Ariel Pink.
Albums