Tacoma, WA is a city that’s perhaps unknown to the masses, but two of the most important, original, loud, and rebellious bands of the 60s originated from there, The Fabulous Wailers and The Sonics. Since I was pretty much obsessed with both bands when I was younger, I’ve always had a special place for this city in my heart, thinking that I’d like to visit it one day and check out what it was that made those proto-punks tick, although I always suspected I wouldn’t find much of that left today.

I guess I was wrong. Swoon Records and their latest signing, Kyle Brunette are originally from Tacoma, and although the label is still there, he has just recently moved to NYC to front his latest project, Watermelon Sugar. Formerly of The Drug Purse and Friskey as well as a producer on Night Beats and The Pharmacy, his new project steps a little aside from the 60s sonorities and dwells in more distorted, almost sludgy territory reminiscent of a more melodic Dinosaur Jr mixed with some early Byrds.

A Place By The Sea is like walking up to a beach on a gray spring day. You’re standing on top of a sandy dune, the waves crash and the wind is blows salt on your face, creating crystallized drops on your sunglasses. You turn around and see your lover walking towards you in a blur, hair blowing on their face and laughter coming from their mouth. As you breathe in and smile, they grab you by the hand and you start rolling down the dunes, and end up in a patch of spring flowers. The sky keeps trying to start to rain but you decide to light one up and jump in the waves, in what will always be your place by the sea.

Check out A Place By The Sea below and go get their self titled debut, out on Swoon Records, here.