Kevin Bronson on March 28th, 2020

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Let’s call it “Shoegaze Saturday” — today’s installment of QUARANTUNES features Draag, whom we caught during their Echo/Echoplex residency and who have a new EP to get your ears around … along with their most eclectic playlist.

THE LATEST FROM DRAAG

To cap their strong February residency at the Echo/Echoplex, L.A. quintet Draag released their new EP “Clara Luz.” Co-produced by Jon Nuñez of Torche, it’s an expansive mix of harder shoegaze (in the vein of that genre’s greats) and swirling dream-pop. Start with “Ghost Leak” if the latter is your thing; revel in the body blows of “Alternative Privilege” (and check out the interactive video) and hang on to your hats during the finisher “Baby Fog.” The band, originally the solo project of Adrian Acosta (a mariachi singer trained by his norteño musician father and who is now joined by Jessica Huang, Nick Kelley, Ray Montes and Shane Graham), has come a long way since releasing their now-erased early songs.

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

Draag: Trying to keep up with the creative ways people are moving everything online in the music world via lives-streaming, and everything else. Thinking about friends and family often. Working on new music, learning as much as we can about mixing and production.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Draag: Finishing the many virtual moving pieces of our LP in person, and working on its visual elements. Having dinner with friends. Hopefully universal healthcare, redistribution of wealth and taking care of the ecology of our planet please.

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

Draag: All five of us can have very different taste in music, yet we are almost always into each other’s music choices. The playlist also features some of our talented and underrated friends based in L.A.