RAYS

Oakland, California D.I.Y. punks Rays formed in 2015 out of an insular but prolific scene of intertwined bands. Drummer Alexa Pantalone, bassist Eva Hannan, singer/guitarist/keyboardist Troy Hewitt, and guitarist/singer/violinist Stanley Martinez channeled the unpolished melancholy of New Zealand college rock into their art-damaged punk songs. The band played the Bay Area constantly and worked on some online demos before completing a self-titled debut full-length in early 2017 with help from producer Kelley Stoltz. Heightened production on the album made more space for Rays to incorporate noisy, experimental synthesizers and blasts of dissonant violin into their rough-edged punk songs. ~ Fred Thomas