INTERVIEW: Lake Ruth | By Elizabeth Klisiewicz.

I have a late breaking relationship with this fantastic psych by way of baroque dream pop band. I come up with these descriptions merely to guide the reader and potential listener to expect simply magical music. Because the way vocalist Allison Brice emotes around guitarist Hewson Chen’s and drummer Matthew Schulz’s complex and ornate arrangements is singular and fantastic. They sound like no one else on the planet but themselves. Yes, certainly there are signposts in their music that may provide a few hints, such as the band Love, or even Fairport Convention or The Left Banke. And really, it doesn’t matter what you think informs their work, you should enjoy it for the delectable sonic feast that it is. So onward to some questions for the band, who have a new album Birds of America coming out on February 16th.

Did you folks really meet on Facebook? Do tell.

AB: Hewson and I first virtually bumped into each other back in the MySpace days. I'm pretty sure that we were switched on to each other's music via Greg Hughes from Still Corners. Greg and I were fellow south Londoners at the time. Sadly, Hewson and I didn't keep in touch after MySpace folded, but in early 2015 found ourselves reunited via our mutual friend Phil Sutton from Pale Lights. On a silly Facebook thread he started about frozen food of all things…

HC: The interwebs brought Matt and I together too. I looked him up to hear what he sounded like and one of the first hits on YouTube was a cat car chase video: Holy Fuck's "Red Lights".  I pretty much knew we would work great from there.  I have cats in common with Matt, and TV dinners in common with Allison.

AB: I'm severely allergic to cats and have never been able to set foot in either Hewson or Matt's apartments!

You all have played or currently play in other bands (New Lines, The Silver Abduction). How do you find the time, and is this on top of regular day jobs?

AB: It's a challenge. We all have day jobs and are raising - or soon to be raising - young children. I think that when free time is in short supply, you just have to grab what you can get - focus, and get down to work.

MS: You have to choose between sleep and art. I still choose art.

HC: Time is a tough factor for sure, but the technology helps - like you can sketch in broad strokes with plug-ins before actually hooking up the Farfisa, or what have you...

Video Premiere + New Single: WL || Disintegrate.

“Disintegration” is the captivating new single + video from Portland trio WL's forthcoming sophomore LP, Light Years, set for release via XRAY Records on October 28th, 2016. The slow, dreamlike quality of the video, which was directed by Gary Tyler, pairs perfectly with the song’s enchanting melody. The video is gorgeously shot and transforms what at first appear to be mundane, everyday activities into poignant and haunting revelations.

The band had this to say about the video:

“Gary approached us with an interest in working together on a video after he heard the song 'Disintegrate'. He brought together a great team of people who executed an extremely professional production. We had been working on a full movie with a few other directors for the rest of the album and, in the end, together we decided to release this piece as a single version of the song."

There’s another video for “Disintegrate” which is part of the series of videos by various directors that will combine to create a single film soundtracked by the album in its entirety, allowing Light Years to be presented as a “visual album” (we’ve posted all installments so far). The other video for “Disintegrate” was premiered yesterday on Grey Estates. 

“A melancholy video about drugstores.” – Gary Tyler, Director

Light Years Video Four: WL || Refraction.

The gorgeous “Refraction” is the fourth track on Portland trio WL's forthcoming sophomore LP, Light Years, set for release via XRAY Records on October 28th, 2016. Over the last two years, the band has been collaborating with various Oregon visual artists to complete an accompanying film for the new record. The album tracks were split up between the different visual artists, who then created their own song-length short films to go with them. The combination of these videos will create a single film, soundtracked by the album in its entirety. Light Years will be presented as a two-part “visual album.”

The radiant, translucent video for "Refraction" was created by Elaina Tardiff, known to WTSH readers by way of our many posts about her band, Tender Age (whom we interviewed here and here).  The footage was all taken in the home of WL bassist and vocalist Misty Mary. WL and Elaina reveal more about the track and video in conjunction with the original premiere on Impose.

Light Years will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Pre-order the album here.

Light Years Video Three: WL || Feeling Down.

“Feeling Down” is the third track on Portland trio WL's forthcoming sophomore LP, Light Years, set for release via XRAY Records on October 28th, 2016. Over the last two years, the band has been collaborating with various Oregon visual artists to complete an accompanying film for the new record. The album tracks were split up between the different visual artists, who then created their own song-length short films to go with them. The combination of these videos will create a single film, soundtracked by the album in its entirety. Light Years will be presented as a two-part “visual album.” The video for "Feeling Down" is directed by Zach Erickson and features drawings by Souther Salazar.

Light Years will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Pre-order the album here.

Light Years Video Two: WL || Crossing.

Photo by Lymay Iwasaki

“Crossing” is the second track on Portland trio WL's forthcoming sophomore LP, Light Years, set for release via XRAY Records on October 28th, 2016. Over the last two years, the band has been collaborating with various Oregon visual artists to complete an accompanying film for the new record. The album tracks were split up between the different visual artists, who then created their own song-length short films to go with them. (We posted the first in this series of videos here.) The combination of these videos will create a single film, soundtracked by the album in its entirety. Light Years will be presented as a two-part “visual album.”

The video for "Crossing" is directed by Christopher Cantino and produced by Lymay Iwasaki, both affiliated with Into The Woods TV.

Light Years will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Pre-order the album here.

New Video: WL || Pink Cloud.

“Pink Cloud” is taken from this Portland trio’s forthcoming sophomore LP, Light Years, which is set for release via XRAY Records on October 28. Over the last 2 years, the band has been collaborating with various Oregon visual artists to complete an accompanying film for the new record. The album tracks were split up between the different visual artists, who then created their own song-length short films to go with them. The combination of these videos will create a single film, soundtracked by the album in its entirety. Light Years will be presented as a two-part “visual album.”

The director of "Pink Cloud" is visual artist Lymay Iwasaki.

WL's new LP will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Pre-order the album here.