Biography
Mainland merged the raw intensity of New York with California’s melodic pop leanings, shaping punchy garage and post-punk numbers while nodding sharply to 1980s new wave, 1990s alternative, and the early-2000s sonic stamp of bands whose names begin with “The.” Three California friends—Jordan Topf on vocals and guitar, Corey Mullee on guitar and synths, and Alex Pitta on bass—formed the group, relocated its operations to Brooklyn, and absorbed the atmosphere of both direct and indirect touchstones such as the Velvet Underground, the Strokes, and Interpol. Their first EP, Girls Unknown, featuring former drummer Dylan Longstreet, appeared in 2013. The follow-up, the hard-charging four-track Shiner issued in 2014, clarified the band’s direction; named for the Texas beer Shiner Bock that the members favored, it was cut in Austin with Spoon’s Jim Eno, yet retained a New York character through its angular guitar figures, propulsive rhythms, and coolly detached vocals that echoed Julian Casablancas. After inking a deal with 300 Entertainment, Mainland recorded the late-2015 EP Outcast, shaped by British new wave and produced by Kevin Augunas—whose credits include Cold War Kids and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes—at the former Sound City Studios, where buoyant communal refrains and a jerky, funk-tinged stride surfaced on songs such as “Fading Friends” and “Not as Cool as You.” Following early-2016 tours alongside Marianas Trench and Jukebox the Ghost, the band issued a run of singles that opened with the infectious “Beggars” and continued with brighter tracks including “Permission Slip,” “Empty Promises,” and “Dummy Test.” After staying comparatively low-profile through the first half of 2017, Mainland resurfaced in September with the single “I Found God.”
Albums