Singer/songwriter and musician Peter Wallner has been a fixture of the Bay Area and West Coast music scenes for the past couple of decades: He has spent stints in a number of local and nationally recognized acts, including industrial shoegaze duo Astronomers Anonymous, and anthemic synth punk trio Whisper. While playing in Some Ember, he pioneered a drop-tuned “Lodge Goth” guitar style inspired by Angelo Badalamenti. And under his stage name Peter Lightning, he played in post punk outfit and JOVM mainstay act Wax Idols.
Wallner later joined Heaven’s Club as a keyboardist, which eventually led to him playing guitar with Deafhaven during their extensive 2022 European, UK and Scandinavian tour. Across more than a dozen projects, Wallner has refined a sound that blends atmosphere with urgency and melancholy with melody.
His latest project, Bliss Abyss can trace its origins back to the pandemic. Initially started as a synth pop experiment, the project evolved into its current iteration featuring Wallner (vocals, guitar), Kevin None (bass) and Josh Unger (drums). The project crystallized when Wallner met producer and bassist Joe Finocchio while performing in hardcore punk supergroup Culture Spy. After hearing demos, Finocchio quickly committed to producing an album.
Bliss Abyss’ sound sees the band meshing shoegaeze haze with post punk urgency. The result is sometimes dark and angular, sometimes bright and jangly and always driven by Wallner’s melodic instincts. The project’s forthcoming Joe Finocchio-produced debut album is collection of songs with a unique sonic identity that’s tied together by Wallner’s songwriting voice with each song designed to simultaneously stand on its own, while being park of a larger whole. Wallner’s lyrics are dreamlike confessions where heartbreak and desire unravel in a way that’s intimate yet surreal.
The trio’s debut single “star” is an upbeat, 120 Minutes-era MTV-like anthem that showcases their part jangle pop, part shoegaze sound and their ability to craft a big, catchy hook and chorus. And at its core, the song is rooted in a much-needed bit of hope in our very dark, chaotic moment that reminds the listener that sometimes you just need to manifest your dreams — and then get out there and grab it.
“The song started as a kind of spell, a vision of manifesting a life worth living. It’s meant to spark hope in anyone who’s lost,” the band’s Peter Wallner says. “Picture the life you want, the person you actually are, and don’t let anyone’s bullshit block your light. You’re a star, perfect as you are, made from stardust, burning through the same abyss as everyone else.