Biography
Hailing from New Zealand, Tamaryn channels the rich textures and immersive singing that defined dream pop at its height in the 1980s and 1990s, reshaping those elements for contemporary listeners. Her initial releases, beginning with the 2010 album The Waves, mirrored the dense, hypnotic pulse of shoegaze with striking fidelity, yet her methods grew increasingly inventive across subsequent projects. Synth-pop touches and mainstream pop structures surfaced to striking and captivating effect on Cranekiss in 2015, while industrial and darkwave influences amplified the unfiltered feelings on Dreaming the Dark in 2019. Through these pronounced evolutions, Tamaryn continues to honor dream pop’s knack for conveying atmospheres in ways that feel both abstract and precise.
She entered the world in New Zealand before relocating to the United States at age seven. During the early 2000s she formed a creative partnership with guitarist and producer Rex John Shelverton, whose additional work encompasses Portraits of Past, the Audience, and Vue. Operating from a San Francisco base, the two commenced recording in 2004 and independently issued Tamaryn’s first EP, Led Astray, Washed Ashore, in 2008, establishing the pair’s signature weighty guitars and soft vocals. The 2009 singles “Weather War” and “Mild Confusion/Light Shadows” preceded her debut full-length, The Waves, issued on Mexican Summer/Kemado Records in September 2010. The next year she teamed with Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny under the name Les Demoniaques for a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Teenage Lust,” released on True Panther Sounds, and also appeared on a Ford & Lopatin 12-inch that marked Mexican Summer’s 100th release. Greater emphasis on arrangement and composition marked her second album, Tender New Signs, which arrived in October 2012.
After Tender New Signs, Tamaryn and Shelverton ended their collaboration. She then pursued various joint efforts, among them work with Jorge Elbrecht—also associated with Lansing-Dreiden and Violens—on a cover of Turning Shrines’ “¼ Circle Black,” issued as a single for 2013 Record Store Day. Additional contributions went to Dum Dum Girls’ 2014 album Too True, and she joined electronic musician Drew McDowall, previously of Coil and Psychic TV, to compose the score for the short film Are You Okay, scripted by Bret Easton Ellis. Reconnecting with longtime acquaintance Shaun Durkan of the San Francisco band Weekend, she developed a side project that supplied the foundation for her third album. Produced by Elbrecht, Cranekiss in 2015 layered synth-pop and radio-ready melodies onto her established dream-pop base. Tamaryn supported Lush on the 2016 North American leg of the veteran shoegaze band’s reunion tour. March 2019 brought Dreaming the Dark, a more forceful and emotionally direct collection again produced by Elbrecht.
She entered the world in New Zealand before relocating to the United States at age seven. During the early 2000s she formed a creative partnership with guitarist and producer Rex John Shelverton, whose additional work encompasses Portraits of Past, the Audience, and Vue. Operating from a San Francisco base, the two commenced recording in 2004 and independently issued Tamaryn’s first EP, Led Astray, Washed Ashore, in 2008, establishing the pair’s signature weighty guitars and soft vocals. The 2009 singles “Weather War” and “Mild Confusion/Light Shadows” preceded her debut full-length, The Waves, issued on Mexican Summer/Kemado Records in September 2010. The next year she teamed with Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny under the name Les Demoniaques for a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Teenage Lust,” released on True Panther Sounds, and also appeared on a Ford & Lopatin 12-inch that marked Mexican Summer’s 100th release. Greater emphasis on arrangement and composition marked her second album, Tender New Signs, which arrived in October 2012.
After Tender New Signs, Tamaryn and Shelverton ended their collaboration. She then pursued various joint efforts, among them work with Jorge Elbrecht—also associated with Lansing-Dreiden and Violens—on a cover of Turning Shrines’ “¼ Circle Black,” issued as a single for 2013 Record Store Day. Additional contributions went to Dum Dum Girls’ 2014 album Too True, and she joined electronic musician Drew McDowall, previously of Coil and Psychic TV, to compose the score for the short film Are You Okay, scripted by Bret Easton Ellis. Reconnecting with longtime acquaintance Shaun Durkan of the San Francisco band Weekend, she developed a side project that supplied the foundation for her third album. Produced by Elbrecht, Cranekiss in 2015 layered synth-pop and radio-ready melodies onto her established dream-pop base. Tamaryn supported Lush on the 2016 North American leg of the veteran shoegaze band’s reunion tour. March 2019 brought Dreaming the Dark, a more forceful and emotionally direct collection again produced by Elbrecht.
Singles
