Shapes of Race Cars

Emerging from Silverlake, California, Shapes of Race Cars fuse the raw bite of garage rock with hook-driven melodies built for airplay and an underlying grunge tone. The group took shape once vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Dylan Callaghan disbanded his earlier outfit, Champion, and joined forces with bassist Dale Zyla and drummer Josh Grolemund. In 2005 the trio issued the self-released Apocalypse Hurts EP—described by the band as “bedroom demos”—which earned substantial local radio exposure and critical notice; they followed it with the full-length Power, cut at Hot Pie Studios in Pasadena under producer Jun Murakawa and issued on Tiger Team Records in 2007. Guitarist and backing vocalist Chas Smith came aboard shortly afterward, expanding the lineup to a quartet.