Pale Dian are an Austin-based trio who fuse elements of dark post-punk and ethereal shoegaze with driving rhythms and loud, swirling guitars. Vocalist/keyboard player Ruth Ellen Smith and guitarist Derek Kutzer were previously in Blackstone Rngrs, but they changed the name (and gave up drummer Dan Bornhorst in favor of a drum machine) in order to better reflect the moods and themes of the project. They played their first shows as Pale Dian in 2015, initially with bassist Ben Fleming, who was replaced by Nicholas Volpe. The trio gigged around Texas, eventually touring the rest of the U.S. Their debut album, Narrow Birth, was released by Manifesto in 2016. ~ Paul Simpson