LOS ANGELES, CA- One of the last shows I was able to see before The Pandemic hit was at The Paramount when Vanessa Zamora was headlining. Vanessa was fantastic, but she was also buoyed with fantastic openers that capture my attention. One of those openers was Estereomance.
If you’re into the dreamy, bedroom-pop vibes of The Marias, you need to take a flier on Estereomance. This bilingual band with member from Texas and Mexico released their latest EP What Do You Want It To Be? on November 5th, 2021, and it is a romantic collection of breathy melodies and ethereal moods. I’ve listened to that album numerous times, and it hits the spot each and every time.
When I saw that Adria Del Valle, Manuel Calderon, and Paulina Reza would be back in Los Angeles for a stop on their west coast tour, I immediately put them in my calendar.
The first act to take the stage at Resident opening up for Estereomance was Beauty Queen, the musical project founded by Katie Iannitello. This was my first time hearing Beauty Queen’s music, but I was really feeling it. Breezy and organic, hers was the kind of music I’d imagine listening to while driving down Highway 1 with the sunroof open and the shining through. I was getting some serious classic rock vibes from Katie. A modern spin of an amalgam of Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell. That’s the kind of spirit I was feeling.
Watching Katie perform made me happy. Maybe I can attribute some of that to the aforementioned spirit, but it probably also had a little to do with how much fun it looked like Katie was having performing. It seemed like there was always a smile, or mischievous smirk, on her face, and that presence on stage lends itself to creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for the audience. Just a joy to watch perform.
After she finished her set, while she was loading her gear off-stage, she accidentally dropped her synth, which ended up losing a couple of keys and got banged up a bit. I certainly hope that there was no permanent damage to her instrument. It’d be a shame to have her spreading of joy temporarily derailed by the mishap. She’s got a few gigs lined up in April and May up and down the west coast. I suggest you take a flier Beauty Queen.
The second act to take the stage was All Things Blue, the project of singer-songwriter India Coombs and guitarist Jon Joseph. Their debut effort, Get Bit, was released in 2020, and it’s a solid album. I didn’t hear much about it when it was released, but I gave it a listen after seeing them perform at this show and I’ve got to say, that I really dig its eclectic melding of styles/genres. From track to track, and sometimes within songs, the album shifts musical gears going bedroom-pop, to alt-rock, to grunge, to psychedelic rock… it’s a rainbow of musical flavors.
On tour supporting Estereoromance, All Things Blue gave a solid performance. India, in particular, was very much in the zone. You could see how invested she was in each lyric of every song. With every squint of her eye or scowl on her face, you could feel her pulling from within to get out the emotions and meaning of what she was singing.
For her finale, she enlisted some help from some friends in the crowd. Calling up Sarsten Noice and Marissa Longsreet of the band Slugs, All Thing Blue performed the lovely retro-like ballad “Gnar Lee“, the band’s most recent single. I’ll assume that Slugs sang the doo-wop harmonies on the recording as they nailed the harmonies effortlessly. A lovely ending to a solid performance.
By the time Estereomance took the stage, I was ready to get swept away in their sensual, bilingual atmosphere. What I wasn’t prepared for was the way they’ve stepped up their whole stage show. Not only did they bring in their own stage production- which definitely layered the mood with a healthy dollop so sensuality through dramatic backlighting, fog machines, and projected visuals- but they also incorporated subtle choreography during certain numbers throughout the performance.
Paulina, in particular, was a performing powerhouse. Her body moved appropriately with the music and she was twice as expressive as the first time I saw her perform. She looked so much more free and uninhibited as she performed, and I loved it. That kind of stage presence will serve them well as the venues they perform in get larger… and I’m willing to bet that that will happen sooner rather than later.
They performed all of the tracks on What Do You Want It To Be? (though not in album order), and they performed a handful of songs from their debut, self-titled EP (“Crimson Queen”, “Up” and “Dung Ding Dang”). I certainly wouldn’t have minded hearing a few other cuts from their debut, especially “Good” (that’s my jam), but I’m sure they had to be cognizant of time constraints.
I really hope that Estereomance can grow its fanbase. With members in different countries, I’m sure coordinating tours, in today’s societal and political climate, can’t be easy. I’m not too familiar with the music scene in South West Texas or Juarez, Mexico, but I really feel that if they can perform in front of the right crowds, they’ll be able to get the kind of acknowledgment and recognition that I think they deserve. Perhaps setting up shop in a music hub, and doing residencies in a city like … well… Los Angeles… could be the way to achieve that…
I’m rambling now… I just dig this band … mucho.
Follow Estereomance on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
*********************
FOUND VIDEO CLIPS
