Kevin Bronson on October 16th, 2015

1

Not all new music you’d categorize as psych-pop sounds like it was lifted from the “Nuggets” boxed sets, or like somebody eager to be the next Tame Impala. Take the first two singles from San Diego garage-poppers the Gloomies. They juxtapose the hopeful, sun-kissed vocals of singer-songwriter Andrew Craig — who spent a year in New York City before returning to his hometown and crashing with eventual bandmates Blake Martz and Chris Trombley — with darker bass and keyboards. “LSD” is reminiscent of mid-Aughts L.A. luminaries Dios and Foreign Born, bands that made songs that evoked nostalgia without being stuck in the past. And stark piano notes announce the chorus in the B-side “Groves”: “I could waste away with you.” The Gloomies’ debut came out today via Thrill Me Records and has already earned a little attention from across the pond. There’s no reason to be glum.

||| Stream: “LSD” and “Groves”