Seablite

Seablite shape a buoyant, weightless strain of guitar pop by channeling the clamor of 1980s noise-rock ensembles together with the hazy textures favored by 1990s shoegaze and dream-pop acts. That sensibility surfaces clearly across their first album, Grass Stains & Novocaine, issued in 2019, and its 2023 successor, Lemon Lights.

The Bay Area group originated in 2016 when singer/guitarist Lauren Matsui, an alumna of Cocktails, and bassist/vocalist Galine Tumasyan, an established visual artist who had known each other for years, began writing songs as a duo. Their early material echoed the buzzing guitar pop of C-86 bands such as the Shop Assistants, the luminous dream pop of Lush, and the noisier American approach of Tiger Trap. Guitarist Jen Mundy, formerly of Wax Idols, completed the trio, after which the members elected to focus on recording rather than live shows and laid down tracks in their rehearsal space with assistance from drummer Andrew Brush. The resulting self-titled cassette appeared on their own imprint in June 2017. Drummer Andy Pastalaniec of Cruel Summer soon joined, locking the quartet’s sound into place.

Once a new set of songs was prepared, Seablite booked time at Tiny Telephone to record drums and bass, then moved to a second studio—where Matsui’s husband was employed—for extended after-hours work on guitar and vocal overdubs. Former Brian Jonestown Massacre member Joel Gion added percussion to several tracks. Matt Bullimore of Mantles mixed the finished album, Grass Stains & Novocaine, which Stew Anderson of Boyracer renown mastered before Emotional Response released it in June 2019. Alicia Vanden Heuvel of the Aislers Set and Magic Trick produced, engineered, and mixed the follow-up EP High-Rise Mannequins, tracked that July and issued by the same label in February 2020.

The band reconvened to cut the double A-side single “Breadcrumbs” b/w “Ink Bleeds,” which Emotional Response put out in early 2022. Seablite next aligned with Mt. St. Mtn. for their second album; Robby Joseph of Cool Ghouls and Cindy handled the sessions, Pastalaniec mixed, and Ride’s Mark Gardener mastered the results. Lemon Lights reached stores on Mt. St. Mtn. in September 2023.