Hot Flash Heat Wave
Hot Flash Heat Wave began as a carefree high school garage band in Davis, CA where the three founding members met in the lively local music scene, playing in various groups and garages around the small suburban town. The members later reconvened in San Francisco, where the project rose to prominence in the bay area music scene, eventually gaining wider attention with the release of their debut record’s ‘Gutter Girl’ music video, which made its way to the front page of Reddit and catapulted the group to the international stage. Since then HFHW has created a dynamic and diverse soundscape with 3 records and one EP that have solidified them as a well known name in modern indie music.
Bleary Eyed
Bleary Eyed was formed in 2015 by frontman Nathaniel Salfi (guitar & vocals), now joined by Margot Whipps (bass & vocals), Pax Martyn (guitar), & Charlie Libby Watt (drums). Since their inception in the DIY scenes of DC and Philadelphia respectively, the band has taken many artistic turns. Through that experimentation, they’ve had time to grow into the sound they were always meant to make, filling a unique space in the shoegaze genre with their sample-heavy hazey computer pop atmosphere. The band presents both a positive yet outside energy with relatable lyrics with stacked harmonies from Whipps and Salfi over densely layered sample filled instrumentals. The songs teeter from more pleasant pop songs to heavier fuzz tracks sometimes blending elements from both styles. On their most recent self-titled EP, a collection of four songs that combines an ethereal shoegaze shine with some of their post-punk roots, Bleary Eyed the EP possesses a certain shimmer. “I could write shit that’s really esoteric” says Salfi. “But I want to write stuff that’s fun and warm for people to enjoy too.” That aforementioned warmth has always been Bleary Eyed’s golden string, the thing that has led them through the labyrinth of life and back to the sense of community and undeniable love that defines their origin story. You listen to the EP, and you feel it too, whether it’s the way that Whipps and Salfi’s voices effortlessly complement each other’s or the sense of light that permeates the release. It’s been there all along, through all the different versions of the band but this time they really got it. However, it was only by waiting that Bleary Eyed could have a self-titled so radiant, and that’s worth all the time in the world.” ~ Samantha Sullivan
High.
