Yuni In Taxco with The Torn ACL’s and The Groundblooms

Yuni in Taxco

Yuni In Taxco are a Seattle four piece whose constant experiments in mutant pop music have taken them from small Northwest islands to small island nations in the North Atlantic. Initially formed as a way of beating a collective seasonal affective disorder, Yuni now seem content in their disorder. Prizes is the band's third album in as many years and is a coy reflection on modern paranoia. Released on Havaii Records, a label started by the band in part to keep track of their numerous recording aliases, Prizes weaves neo-psychedelia instrumentals with a kitchen sink full of pop influences.

Yuni first made waves in 2009 with their debut EP, a cassette release on Portuguese label Cakes & Tapes. This short collection of breezy garage pop and home recordings was largely inspired by a whirlwind trip to Mexico and a freak storm whose aftermath was depicted on the cover of the album. The band released their debut full length the following year and were invited to play the 2010 Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik as well as Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot festivals.

Yuni In Taxco are currently at work on their fourth album. 

The Torn ACLs

Groundblooms

The Groundblooms were formed in 2010 by two brothers and the friend of a friend. They are also a very unimpressive firework sold by various Chinese pyrotechnic manufacturers. Brothers Michael and Max Knackstedt bonded with drummer Garrett Wood over their mutual love of Pavement, Guided By Voices and other flagship indie rock outfits. Much to their dismay, what followed was a frustrating year of unfocused creative exploration. During this time, they waged a war disparate styles until, gradually, clash became compromise. It was because of this creative tension, and not in spite of it, that The Groundblooms found their voice. Bassist Leo Lober-Tracy joined the group, solidifying the band's newfound sense of direction. The result is a rock band that draws influence from a handful of separate genres, and from them crafts a style that is singular and defined. They perform clever, dynamic songs rooted in mid-aughts indie rock, with elements of folk, no-wave and pop that bleed into one another seamlessly. They are a skittish, noisy, impassioned pop group that is constantly threatening to devolve into cacophonous experimentation.

You're A Free Spirit, their debut LP, captures The Groundblooms as a band come of age. Fully realized in their sound, the album's 10 tracks exude moments of catchy, digestible pop, obtuse noise experiments and intimate, vulnerable folk. The album is more cohesive in concept than ever intended by songwriter Michael Knackstedt. Breaking from pop music's grand tradition of "the breakup album" Spirit is an exploration of those tenuous moments before the implosion of a relationship. Juggling themes of ostracism, dread and entitlement, The Groundblooms have created an album that deals with the headaches of impending doom while never losing it's self-depricating sense of humor.