Royal Baths

An indie rock outfit from San Francisco, the Royal Baths craft a sound that blends garage rock's edgy attitude with the buzzing drones reminiscent of the Velvet Underground, murky psychedelic elements, and the pulsing drive of post-punk, resulting in something dark yet oddly captivating. The band came together in the middle of 2008 thanks to singer and guitarist Jeremy Cox alongside Jigmae Baer, who had previously played with Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. Initially calling themselves Baths, they issued their first recording as a cassette exclusively through Wizard Mountain Records and soon after put out a 7" single via Rad Key Records. Upon learning that Will Wiesenfeld, an electronic musician based in L.A., had already claimed the name the Baths, Cox and Baer incorporated "Royal" into their own to distinguish the group. Woodsist Records, an esteemed indie imprint operating out of New York, received a copy of that cassette and subsequently signed the Royal Baths, issuing their debut full-length album Litanies during autumn 2010. At the time of recording, the lineup included bassist Tanner Griepentrog and drummer Sheila Imandoust alongside the founding duo, yet a fresh rhythm section consisting of Eva Hannan on bass and Eden Birch on drums had taken over once touring commenced. Dissatisfied with the local environment in San Francisco, Cox and Baer relocated to New York, where they put out their second album, Better Luck Next Life, through Kanine Records.