June 13, 2016 | 0 Comments

THE STARGAZER LILIES – DOOR TO THE SUN is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!!

That Graveface Records package I sent a couple weeks ago actually had two albums in it, different but equally incredible. One was Casket Girls; the other is the new album by THE STARGAZER LILIES!! They’re so great. Beautiful shoegaze (or psych/dream pop if you prefer) out of Northeast PA, home state also of their pals Black Moth Super Rainbow which is part of the story of how I met them. Impose also debuted a new music video for the track “Golden Key”, in case you needed another co-signer on this record’s coolness. I saw them play in Seattle last week and they totally rip. (cool visuals too.) (sorry bout the white dude with bandanna/dreads in the foreground, he was unavoidable.) Anyway, this is not their first album—their last was great as well—and also the core of this band previously had a really cool shoegaze band called Soundpool which I actually was a fan of when I myself was an MD at college radio—but this is The Stargazer Lilies’ first album being actively worked to college radio, so they may or really may not be a brand new band to you. Either way listen for about two seconds and you’ll see it’s great, so get on that!!

stargazer-lilies-cover

THE STARGAZER LILIES

DOOR TO THE SUN

Graveface Records & Curiosities

Northeast Pennsylvania-based the Stargazer Lilies are the brainchild of husband-and-wife team John Cep and Kim Field, pioneers of shoegaze’s new wave with former band Soundpool. The Stargazer Lilies is the evolution of their gaze, this time with added psych rock elements (think MBV meets Pink Floyd), and complemented by artwork created by The Seven Fields of Aphelion (of Black Moth Super Rainbow & Tobacco). Cep’s heavy effects-driven guitars are accented by LA based drummer, Tammy Hirata’s minimalist approach, along with Field’s dreamy vocals and drony bass lines. Following their debut album We Are The Dreamers in 2013,their sound was described in Spin Magazine as the “reverb-washed slo-mo assault of Slowdive with the sparkling ambience of Air channeled into a lush, guitar-swollen whole. Psych-fuzz epic.” PopMatters says, “The Stargazer Lilies possess a truly widescreen, cinematic sound with crescendos that build cascading waves of sound enveloping your whole body. The music is a bit darker than standard dream pop fare, but that only makes it that much more mesmerizing.” Brad Laner of Medicine describes them like this: “This is what your so-called shoegaze is supposed to sound like. Incredible melodies and singing plus great guitar work.”

RIYL: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, A Place to Bury Strangers, Medicine, Lush, Chapterhouse, Ringo Deathstarr, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Soundpool

Start With: 6, 3, 4 FCC CLEAN

TOUR DATES:

6/02 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court w/ No Sun
6/05 – Portland, OR @ Rontoms w/ Cat Hoch
6/07 – Seattle, WA @ LOFI w/ TokyoIdaho
6/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern w/ Cruel Summer + Panda Riot
6/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ Pale Dian + Tennis System
7/01 – Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters Rock & Roll Palace *
7/02 – Champaign, IL @ Institute for Creativity *
7/03 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle * w/ New Canyons + Pale Dian
7/05 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern w/ Pale Dian + Ex Astronauts
7/06 – Wilkes Barre, PA @ The Otherside w/ Pale Dian + The Morelings
7/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium w/ Pale Dian + Parrot Dream
7/09 – Providence, RI @ News Cafe *
7/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Bourbon & Branch *
7/14 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter *
7/15 – Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor *
7/16 – Atlanta, GA @ 529 w/ Pale Dian + Twin Studies
7/19 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberian *
7/22 – Austin TX @ Empire Control Room w/ Ringo Deathstarr + Pale Dian
7/23 – San Antonio, TX @ K23 Gallery * !
7/31 – Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall w/ BEST COAST
8/1 – Portsmouth, NH @ 35 Artspace w/ BEST COAST
8/2 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall w/ BEST COAST
8/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls w/ BEST COAST
* w/ Pale Dian
* ! w/ Pale Dian & Ringo Deathstarr