California X, Ovlov, IYEZ, Darkwing

In less than a year, Amherst trio California X have emerged from basements and practice spaces of Massachusetts as one of the tightest new garage punk bands in the Northeast, teetering between various pockets of the punk spectrum — drawing influence from the worlds of noisy 80s Western Mass rock, fuzzy 90s garage pop, and classic post-hardcore SST sounds. Fronted by main songwriter Lemmy Gurtowsky, their debut LP for Don Giovanni follows one prior release, a double A-side single "Sucker" b/w "Mummy" out via the UK's Sound of Sweet Nothing label. From start to finish, the record's eight hook-heavy tracks of melodic guitar punk could all be singles: the noisy vox and huge grungy riffs on "Curse of the Nightmare"; the slower-burning head-banging pulse of "Pond Rot"; the shoegaze-inflicted fleshed-out melodies of "Lemmy's World". Songs like "Hot Hed" feel so essential you'll wonder how they're not actually from some long-lost reel-to-reel tape of 1980s Western Mass punk. Appropriately, the band recorded the album in MA with Justin Pizzoferrato, previously a collaborator with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr – and though at times California X sound like they could have been contemporaries with those bands, they're carving out their own space in a lineage of their hometown's punk history, bringing a fresh, dynamic take.

The Connecticut indie rock scene is scrappy and dedicated to burning its mark into the vibrant sound of the North East. At the heart of it all lies OVLOV, a rare breed of band dedicated to the finer things in life, plugging in, turning the amps way up, and giving the world what it needs… blistering loud rock shows.

2013 marks the band's long awaited and heavily anticipated full length debut Am, set for a spring/summer release on Exploding In Sound Records (Pile, Speedy Ortiz, Fat History Month). Produced, mixed, and mastered by Michael Thomas III, the album is sure to drop jaws of fans old and new. OVLOV
will head out in support of Am with labelmates Grass Is Green this May.

Lead by Steve Hartlett (vocals/guitar), a true champion of the underground CT scene since his high school days, OVLOV formed during the summer of 2008, striking upon a mix of early 90's indie guitar rock, slow burning power pop, and swarming walls of shoegaze distortion. The band has released
several EPs since, "Crazy Motorcycle Jump" (2009) and "What's So Great About The City" (2011) with an ever evolving line-up of conspirators including Theo Hartlett (drums), Jon Hartlett (bass), Michael Falcone (drums), Quentin Ham (guitars), Dave Berliner (bass) and countless others that have joined
the band live. Steve Hartlett is the glue that holds everything together, an exceptional songwriter that manages to infuse impossibly catchy melodies under the thickest slabs of distortion and feedback. OVLOV return listeners to the glorious days of Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Hum, and
Pavement while reaching within to create a unique sound that encapsulates the charm of destructive hooks and buzzing riffs with the honest delivery of Hartlett's dazzling vocals.