Synth rock band The Ivy Walls have been a staple in the Downtown area of Los Angeles for the past decade, endearing themselves not just to music fans, but also to the famous and celebs as well.
Frontman Jeff Yanero describes their sound as being inspired by “a fusion of the standards like Ride, Slowdive, JMC, and Echo and the Bunnymen”, which is then mixed with that of their contemporaries, the likes of Secret Machines, and The Daysleepers. Overall the result is a sound composed of layers of reverb-soaked tracks, upon which soothing vocals are lain gently on top. Beautiful, in other words.
‘Pheremones’ is The Ivy Walls’ fourth album, and it’s possibly their most ambitious so far. They set out to write a 90s New York-inspired set of cold wave songs, but instead they found in the writing process, the album evolved into a “sonic version of what it’s like to live in and love in this Lord Of The Flies environment.” Sinister sounding, to say the least.
First track is the dreamy ‘White Ocean’, with the band sharing lead vocals with frequent collaborator, Chrissy Depauw. Lines about slipping away and hearts growing hold pull the listener in; the song is without a doubt a sad one, but the overall sound is lushly compelling.
The video for ‘White Ocean’ features Chris Pine, a famous friend the band has made along the way, as well as actress Emma McKie. Pine, who’s best known for playing James T Kirk in the Star Trek reboot series, already starred in The Ivy Walls’ previous clip for ‘All I Want’. Directed by Michael Donovan, the ‘White Ocean’ video sees Pine and McKie, in the words of Luca Magazine, “held together in a sea of sound by the walls of the old Harvard House Motel.” It’s stark and somber, but just like the song itself, unswervingly holds your attention.
Check out The Ivy Walls on their official website, as well as their Twitterhttps://twitter.com/theivywalls, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. ‘Pheremones’ is avaible to stream and download from Spotify and iTunes.
