Marrying the pristine jangle of electric 12-string guitars and nervy, hooky songs, Chime School lives up to the band’s name and goal of updating the indie pop sound of the mid to late 1980s.
Guided by San Francisco musician Andy Pastalaniec, Chime School pays homage to the formative jangle of The Byrds by way of early Primal Scream and The Springfields; the production and pop sensibility of Biff Bang Pow and The Razorcuts; and the spirit of great singles labels like Creation, Subway, Postcard and Sarah. Although it would have fit with any of those labels, Chime School found a natural home with Bay Area indie stalwart Slumberland Records, releasing a self-titled debut in 2021, and a follow-up 7” single in 2023, to broad acclaim.
In its wake, Pastalaniec formed a live group that includes Bay Area music vets Phil Lantz, Josh Miller, and Garett Godard, spending 2022 and 2023 touring up and down the US West Coast, playing with many of the contemporary indie cognoscenti, such as labelmates The Umbrellas; The Reds, Pinks & Purples; and Papercuts; as well as The Smashing Times, Blues Lawyer, Cindy, April Magazine, Children Maybe Later, and countless others.
The anticipated follow-up is slated for release by Slumberland Records in August 2024. While still joyfully cranked with janglepop gems, the forthcoming album takes a turn toward the winsome melancholy of groups like The East Village, The Go-Betweens, and The Loft, and represents a leap forward in production, composition and arrangement. “The first record was a bit manic. I was trying to stuff so many years of influences into thirty brisk minutes. On the new record I chose a more condensed palette, and I feel I’m getting closer to the sonic vision I had for the project from the beginning.”
Territory: UK & IRL