Live Concert Photography: The Stargazer Lilies Landing Guiding Light and Solilians at Trans-Pecos 5/27/17
If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past two or three years, you may recall a handful of posts featuring the Northeastern Pennsylvania-based indie rock/shoegazer rock act The Stargazer Lilies. Comprised of founding duo John Cep (guitar, bass, vocals, drums and production) and Kim Field (bass and vocals) and a rotating cast of live drummers, including EJ DeCoske and Johnny Lancia, the act can trace their origins to when Cep and Field’s previous project Soundpool broke up. And although Soundpool had achieved some measure of success, touring with Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, School of Seven Bells, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobacco and others, The Stargazer Lilies was inspired by its founding duo desiring a change in sonic direction; in fact, “We Are the Dreamers,” off the band’s debut effort We Are The Dreamers revealed a gauzy and ethereal sound that possessed a muscular forcefulness as its core.
The band recently headlined a night of shoegaze and dream pop at Ridgewood’s Trans-Pecos with Solilians, Guiding Light and Landing. Check out photos from the show below.
Initially formed in 1998 as May Landing and comprised of founding members and married duo Aaron Snow and Adrienne Snow, along with Daron Gardner, Landing is a New Haven, CT-based indie rock act that specializes in a difficult to pigeonhole sound that possesses elements of shoegaze, ambient rock, space rock and dream pop. And since their formation the band has been rather prolific, releasing 10 full-length albums, including their most recent release 2016’s Complekt and 8 EPs.
Guiding Light is a New York-based dream pop duo comprised of filmmakers and musicians Tara Autovino and Jason Russo, who are equally accomplished in their own right as they’ve both had stints in Hopewell and MercuryRev respectively. Sonically, they describe their sound as shoegaze that meets that sweet spot where aging baby boomers had their mid-life criss in the late 80s/early 90s set to a David Lynch film; but interestingly enough their sound at times reminded me a bit of Umea, Sweden‘s Moonbabies.
Opening the night was the Merrick, NY-based quartet Solilians. Comprised of Sharon Malkin (vocals, omnichord), Benjamin Malkin (keyboards, electronics), Gabriel Walsh (synth, guitar and production) and Neptune Sweet (vocals, stylus), the quartet specializes in a dreamy, slow motion, psychedelic-tinged drone.
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskWncE2P