Heliotropes

Heliotropes bashed everyone’s brains in at CMJ 2012, where they were listed as a top band to see via Pitchfork, Paper Magazine, and Brooklyn Vegan. “I Walked With A Zombie” is a song originally by Roky Erickson, a mad Texan singer and psych-rock pioneer. Erickson fronted the 13th Floor Elevators before suffering from extreme mental illness and delving into solo work, and his latest release with Okkervil River inspired Heliotropes’ Jessica Numsuwankijkul to cover “I Walked With A Zombie” just in time for fall (released Nov. 2012). The artist behind the cover illustration is Steve Manale, a Toronto comic book artist best-known for his work on Scott Pilgrim. Manale also stars as “Lotion Man” in the Metz video for “Wet Blanket.”

FACEBOOK  ::  TWITTER  ::  BANDCAMP  ::  MANIMAL

“The Dove” (released Sept. 2012) is the b-side to this Heliotropes 7″. “Opening with a staggering rhythm from drummer Cici Harrison and bassist Nya Abudu, the track features a sludgy tonality… and as the song spirals into hypnotic territory, the riffs burst with color and vibrant distortion… finishing with a scorching crescendo of swirling psych,” according to Exploding In Sound.

Heliotropes was formed in 2009 by current members Jessica Numsuwankijkul and Amber Myers. The band released the Ribbons 7″ in 2011 – an offering of heavy psych numbers steeped in dark magic and new-romantic leanings with a formidable lyrical presence. Engineered by Justin Rice (Bishop Allen), “the two tracks garnered enough buzz to propel the band to showcase appearances at SXSW 2011. Heliotropes has continued to record at Rice’s compound upstate, recently producing four yet-untitled songs that recall the phased-out, distorted intensity of the early nineties – and invoke the lush dreamworld of Twin Peaks.” The band’s debut LP is being released on Manimal Vinyl in spring 2013.