Echolust

California-based trio Echolust play a dark, brooding brand of drum machine-driven post-punk influenced by shoegaze and synth pop. After forming in 2011 and releasing a few singles independently, the group signed with Cleopatra Records and issued its debut full-length, Veldisa, in 2016. Follow-up Loomer was released in 2018. Singer/multi-instrumentalist Philip Obando formed Echolust in Long Beach in 2011. He had been writing songs and recording demos for the project, but he was having a hard time finding the right bandmates. He met bassist Armond Angeles at an Echo & the Bunnymen show, and they soon began working on material together. Fourier Series, an EP of dark synth pop/EBM tunes reminiscent of Depeche Mode and New Order, appeared in 2015. Seeking a noisier, more distorted guitar sound, they found Tony Lee Jackson, who soon rounded out the trio, drastically transforming their sound. Echolust's full-length debut, Veldisa, was released by Cleopatra Records in 2016. The group earned a considerable amount of attention from the shoegaze and darkwave communities, and appeared on a 2017 My Bloody Valentine tribute compilation curated by The Blog That Celebrates Itself. The band's second album, Loomer, appeared in 2018. ~ Paul Simpson