Biography
Hailing from Australia, San Cisco craft a hook-driven style built on synths and guitars that echoes the legacies of post-punk and jangle-pop. Their breakthrough arrived via the 2012 debut album San Cisco, followed by wider recognition when the 2013 follow-up Gracetown topped the Aria chart. The band has since refined its approach across subsequent releases, including the 2017 album The Water. Now operating as a trio, San Cisco reached number three on the Australian chart with 2018's Between You and Me before issuing Under the Light in 2024.
The group came together in 2009 in the Western Australian city of Fremantle, initially comprising high-school friends guitarist/vocalist Jordi Davieson, drummer/vocalist Scarlett Stevens, bassist Nick Gardner, and guitarist Josh Biondillo. Davieson and Stevens had previously collaborated in the Real Life Animators and the Flairz before adopting the name King George, which they soon replaced with San Cisco. In 2010 they issued their debut EP Golden Revolver; the buoyant title track received notable airplay on Australia's leading station Triple J and earned a nomination for the Unearthed J Award. That exposure prompted a deal with the historic Albert Productions, longtime home to the Easybeats and AC/DC among other Australian artists. Their second EP Awkward appeared in Australia in 2012, while Fat Possum simultaneously released a differently configured American version containing four tracks drawn from both EPs. After parting ways with Albert Productions and Fat Possum, the band moved to RCA for the self-titled album, which surfaced in Australia in 2012, peaked at number 17 on the Aria chart, and reached number three on the indie chart. It arrived in North America the following year and registered on Billboard's Top Heatseekers listing.
Material for the next record took shape in hotel rooms and tour vans while the group promoted its debut internationally. Back home, they enlisted producer Steve Schram, whose guidance encouraged greater personal investment from the members. Those efforts yielded the more nuanced and emotionally varied Gracetown, issued by Island City Records in early 2015 and peaking at number two in Australia. Just prior to release, however, bassist Nick Gardner suffered a self-inflicted foot wound during a rabbit-hunting outing, forcing him to miss much of the subsequent tour. The following year the remaining members returned to the studio with Schram covering Gardner's parts. In 2017 San Cisco delivered their third album The Water, highlighted by the single "Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?" and reaching number 17 on the Australian chart. Gardner exited in 2018, leaving the core trio to issue Between You and Me in 2020; anchored by the singles "On the Line," "Messages," and "Alone," the set debuted at number three in Australia. "Lost Without You" and "High" emerged in 2023 as the opening tracks from the band's fifth studio album, Under the Light, which appeared the next year.
The group came together in 2009 in the Western Australian city of Fremantle, initially comprising high-school friends guitarist/vocalist Jordi Davieson, drummer/vocalist Scarlett Stevens, bassist Nick Gardner, and guitarist Josh Biondillo. Davieson and Stevens had previously collaborated in the Real Life Animators and the Flairz before adopting the name King George, which they soon replaced with San Cisco. In 2010 they issued their debut EP Golden Revolver; the buoyant title track received notable airplay on Australia's leading station Triple J and earned a nomination for the Unearthed J Award. That exposure prompted a deal with the historic Albert Productions, longtime home to the Easybeats and AC/DC among other Australian artists. Their second EP Awkward appeared in Australia in 2012, while Fat Possum simultaneously released a differently configured American version containing four tracks drawn from both EPs. After parting ways with Albert Productions and Fat Possum, the band moved to RCA for the self-titled album, which surfaced in Australia in 2012, peaked at number 17 on the Aria chart, and reached number three on the indie chart. It arrived in North America the following year and registered on Billboard's Top Heatseekers listing.
Material for the next record took shape in hotel rooms and tour vans while the group promoted its debut internationally. Back home, they enlisted producer Steve Schram, whose guidance encouraged greater personal investment from the members. Those efforts yielded the more nuanced and emotionally varied Gracetown, issued by Island City Records in early 2015 and peaking at number two in Australia. Just prior to release, however, bassist Nick Gardner suffered a self-inflicted foot wound during a rabbit-hunting outing, forcing him to miss much of the subsequent tour. The following year the remaining members returned to the studio with Schram covering Gardner's parts. In 2017 San Cisco delivered their third album The Water, highlighted by the single "Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?" and reaching number 17 on the Australian chart. Gardner exited in 2018, leaving the core trio to issue Between You and Me in 2020; anchored by the singles "On the Line," "Messages," and "Alone," the set debuted at number three in Australia. "Lost Without You" and "High" emerged in 2023 as the opening tracks from the band's fifth studio album, Under the Light, which appeared the next year.
Albums
Under The Light
2024
Between You and Me
2020
Flaws
2020
The Water
2017
Gracetown
2015
San Cisco
2012
Awkward EP
2012
Awkward
2012
Singles
