Cascading in on a blurry, fuzzy wash of guitar layers and somatic, dreamy vocals, Seablite’s debut album performs magic. Like all the pop music it kind of sounds like all of its influences and yet totally fresh, like hearing The Primitives or Sea Urchins or early Lush for the first time. 

Grass Stains and Novocaine was originally released back in June 2019 at the beginnings, it seems, of the current tidal wave of guitar donning dreamers out of the Bay Area. Taking inspiration from all the great eras and areas: 1980s Glasgow, 1990s London, 2000 San Francisco, this group have a dayglo about them in a way that sometimes monochrome DIY pop doesn’t. On their debut they sometimes sound like the chart-bothering version of Lush being covered by the shoe gaze version, or early Primal Scream with fuzz pedals instead of jangle and its glorious. Criss crossing female vocals dragging out the melodies across the chords in the perfect aching way (makes us think of Veronica Falls, a little), backing vocals and a tight ’n’ taut band behind driving everything to near-punk speed at times, hanging back into dreamworld like on He’s A Vacuum Chamber.

As we mentioned before, it’s hard to pull this magic off, you know. On Polygraph they summon the ghosts of Garage rockers past but infused with chiming guitars and heart-tugging singing, while Haggard hits like PEAK Sarah Records. I mean, you probably know the influences, you probably get what they’re trying to do so turn your brain off and your heart ON.