Spyglass

Emerging from Seattle’s underground music circuit, Spyglass operates as a five-piece ensemble whose sound centers on the dark, lounge-like, almost gothic vocals of Barbara Trentalange. Those vocals rest atop the rock-solid rhythm foundation supplied by drummer Barry Shaw and bassist Clay Martin, while guitarists David Einmo and John Roth treat their instruments primarily as textural tools. Each player routes sound through a six-foot chain of effect pedals to produce floating, ethereal minor-key tones, and Trentalange’s own keyboards complete the arrangement. Together the instrumentation yields the band’s characteristically slow, layered, moody-pop atmosphere.

The group formed in 1998 and first drew local attention with the 1999 EP Torch. Its debut full-length, Wake Up Sleepyhead, appeared in 2000 on Pattern 25 Records (Jon Auer, Sushi Robo, Sanford Arms); local critics responded favorably, and the album reached number 11 on the CMJ college radio adds chart. Following a series of performances throughout summer 2000, the members retreated to prepare their second album, which Pattern 25 Records issued in August 2001 under the title Strategies for the Stranded.