Stereo Sons – We’re All Friends Here

Stereo Sons is a three-piece band based in Seattle, WA. The band formed in 2009 and their first album, 2010’s Our Own Devices, was a stripped down guitar-bass-and-drums affair, recorded in three days and showcasing the band’s interest in combining pop songwriting with dirty post-punk noise.

A lineup change introduced multi-instrumentalist Carlos Tullos, and marked the start of a new phase, as Stereo Sons experimented with layers, samples and electronic beats. Front man Chris Klepac added the classic electric piano and sci-fi tones of a Juno synth to balance his snarling Fender Jaguar, and drummer Mike O’Doherty complimented his thundering wooden rock kit with modern sampling technology.

Far from mellowing the band out, this transformation has driven them to embrace the relentless grooves of Krautrock and Afrobeat, while continuing to fly the post-punk flag, where those influences were always present. Their second album, We’re All Friends Here, finds them poised between the past and future. Abrasive, squalling guitars and deep dub-like rhythms have earned the band their motto: “The bastard child of dance and prog.”

The band worked with producer Frank Mazzeo at Push/Pull studio to bring the songs onWe’re All Friends here to life, working from a grab bag of their favorite sonic influences, from moogy 70s synth lines, classic 808 beats, and clipped chicken-scratching guitars to more open, chaotic arrangements. They are always moving forward, and We’re All Friends Here marks Stereo Sons on the latest stage in their artistic journey. Plus it happens to rock very hard.

Stereo Sons are: Chris Klepac (guitar, keys, vocals), Mike O’Doherty (drums, samples), Carlos Tulloss (bass, keys, samples)

Check out their music on SoundCloud