Kevin Bronson on July 12th, 2018

0

The debut album from the Gloomies is titled “Romance,” but mushy and starry-eyed it is not. It’s an album of nuanced, synth-singed surf-pop — bedroom pop from a house on the ocean where the clouds scarcely part and the rhythms of the sea inspire deep introspection.

Only part of that is literally true, of course. Singer-guitarist Andy Craig and drummer Chris Trombley station themselves in San Diego, where by Chamber of Commerce rules long periods of overcast skies are expressly forbidden. Yet over the album’s 10 songs the duo achieve a trance-like melancholia, more considered than just mopey — and certainly more in line with their band name than the single that first got them attention back in 2015.

To review: When they lived on the East Coast, Craig and Twombley played in the band Sacco. They moved back to their native California in 2014, and the next year NME debuted their brisk single “LSD.” The Gloomies followed with the EP “Blackout” in 2016 before embarking on a full-length, which was co-produced by John the Baptist, an old friend of the duo’s who now lives in New York.

Among the highlights: Madeline Follin of Cults lends her vocals and an ethereal touch to “Space;” hope and despair shadow-box in the nimble single “Tiger;” and a piquant nostalgia takes hold in “Sundays.” In the latter, Craig reminisces about a park with an ocean view, where he could “watch as the sun burns a hole right through the fog.”

A day before its release on Thrill Me Records, here is the premiere of “Romance” — and we stopped nodding our heads to the album long enough to catch up with Craig for a quick conversation:

Buzz Bands LA: To (possibly) over-generalize, the album is darker, or at least more melancholic, than that first single, or even the EP. Should that be attributed to music changes or life changes?

The Gloomies: I would say it’s been a bit of both. A lot of life changes within the band members happened pretty quickly after moving back out to California… Relationships fell apart, band members changed, while also being pretty nomadic out there. I think all those things created a sense of uncertainty. Our music is constantly evolving depending on the circumstances.

You’ve said that much of the music was written in the wee hours of the morning, and that affected the feel of the songs? Did the recording/producing affect them in any way?

It definitely affects the feel of the songs. I think I become most anxious late at night, which usually has me wide awake working on music or just thinking about nonsense that usually comes out in the form of a song. We worked with a good friend of ours out in New York this time around and he helped produce and work on most of the new material which contributed to the vibe of the songs.

Listening to this album slip and slide between vignettes and moods, I can’t quite tell whether the move to California those many years ago has been good or bad for you. How has it been?

The initial move was unwelcome and it took me a while to adapt to a place I had chosen to leave behind. However, discomfort always seems to inspire creativity. In retrospect, a lot of good came from being out in California so I can’t complain too much.

How broadly should we interpret the titular “Romance” — i.e., what is this album’s idea of romance?

“Romance” was meant to be more of a satirical “jab” about the way things were going in our lives while the record was being written. You can take that for what its worth, hah.