The Gloomies

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. - Buzzbands.LA

We've been on at you about Cali garage band The Gloomies for a couple of months now, ever since their Soundcloud demos instantly made us think of a poppier, more youthful War On Drugs. Today, they've announced details of their debut single, a double A-side called 'LSD'/'The Groves' and released on Thrill Me Records on October 16.

Taking influence from the San Diego surf scene and making the most of crunchy organs and a tumbling, motorik bass riff, 'LSD' is every bit as sunkissed-sounding as you'd hope for. Check the song out below, and after the jump read a Q&A with lead singer and band-mastermind Andy Craig introducing the band, their background and influences.

NME: How did Gloomies start?
Andy Craig: The Gloomies began when I moved back to California about a year ago. I had started recording a group of songs out in New York and kept working on them once I had moved out here. It was pretty organic. I ended up meeting Blake and Grant in California through our drummer Chris, who I lived with in Brooklyn. Turns out Chris and Blake used to surf together in New York a couple years back. And yes - people do surf in that one foot brown mush.

NME: Why did you return to San Diego?
AC: I left New York around the end of 2014 after spending about four years living over there. I guess the short of it is I moved back to California for a girl, which didn't end up working out. Instead, I spent the next few months making music, surfing, and sleeping on the floor of a shed in the back of Blake and Grant's place. That's where we finished these songs.

NME: What's the genesis of LSD, the first single?
AC: I first started writing LSD on tour in the back of a minivan. I remember having the melody and grabbing my phone to make some shitty garage band demo of it. The song's about leaving for a new place and starting over, basically about the move. It's the change of everything even if it is only for the moment. It was much more mellow and downtempo in the original version. Once I got off tour, I started to work on it again and it finally became the faster version that's on our 7-inch. I was listening to a lot of upbeat music at the time, and I guess what you hear is the result.

NME: Name some of your favorite records right now.
AC: Santo and Johnny - Santo And Johnny
Anything by Otis Redding
The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One
The Growlers - Hung At Heart
Can - Tago Mago - NME

San Diego’s no newcomer to the beach, and the surf music that comes along with it.

The Gloomies, the latest entry into the world of lo-fi garage rock with reverbed out guitars, percussion, and vocals, are starting to make a mark with their debut track “LSD.”

Just like the title, there’s a permeating psychedelic vibe to the band’s newest single. You don’t need drugs in order to feel the guitars shimmering and strumming away while vocalist Andy Craig embarks on an uncertain journey in his lyrics. The track is a chilled out and sun-kissed -- perfect for long, lazy days.

The track will be officially released on October 16 via Thrill Me Records. It will also be released along with their other single “Groves.” - Indie Shuffle