There’s something otherworldly about . The New York four-piece first bonded over a shared love of Brazilian psychedelia, C86 jangle and ’90s noise, influences that have followed them through years of making music together. Their sound sits somewhere between nostalgia and futurism, a quality that comes into focus on their debut album ‘Umbrella’.

Since their debut EP ‘Club Estrella’ in 2022, followed by ‘Café Life’ two years later, the band have been steadily expanding their universe. Now, their debut album ‘Umbrella’ brings that world into sharper focus. Recorded in bassist Adam Kenter’s garage studio after their biggest tour yet, its 11 tracks drift between hazy melodies and Jo Roman’s vivid, often abstract lyricism.

CLASH caught up with the band to talk about finding their sound, growing up together and learning to trust their own instincts.

‘ has been described as ‘retro-futurist pop music.’ What does that mean to you, and how did you develop the album’s sound?

I think it comes from our love of ’60s music. We naturally listen to a lot of older music, but we’re not trying to be a pastiche band. We’re reimagining those sounds. “Retrofuturist” is a colourful way to describe our music, drawing on all sorts of influences rather than just calling it dream pop.

Our sound is a mishmash of all the music we’ve shared with each other over the years. We’ve collaborated before this project, too, so our sound naturally comes through when we write together.

We’re so influenced by older sounds that they naturally come through, even as we try to push ourselves creatively.

You first met in high school, but Starcleaner Reunion properly formed in 2022. What brought you together as a band, and how has your sound evolved since?

Neil, Pat and I first made music together in our final year of high school. We were getting into bands like Pavement, which opened the door to indie rock. As we discovered more music, we found new influences and became inspired to try different things.

Pat went to college, while Adam, Jo and I formed a band in 2015. We’ve been on a similar path ever since, but we’ve matured and refined what we’re looking for. It’s cool to look back and see how long we’ve been working together. We’ve always shared a common set of influences.

I feel like we’ve really found our sound with Starcleaner Reunion. Working with Neil and Adam for so many years helped me find my voice and figure out what I wanted from music. With this band, we wanted to explore everything we love without being confined to one genre. We’ve tried different things and continue to evolve.

You initially bonded over your love for Brazilian psychedelia, C86 jangle, and ‘90s noise. How do these different influences come together in your music?

The melodic quality of that music influenced my singing, especially its chiming, rhythmic sound. The others also introduced me to Brazilian music, which has influenced us through its instrumentation and beautiful vocals.

There’s a common thread between all these influences. We’re drawn to strong melodies and sounds that aren’t too heavy. We like music that feels light, breezy, textured and lush.

Jo’s lyrics often feel abstract, drawing on memories, thoughts, and observations. How do you approach songwriting, and do you like leaving room for listeners to find their own meanings?

We usually start with the bare bones of a song: guitars and bass. Then we add drums and other parts. I have endless melodies in my head, so I’ll sing random phrases until something sticks. I usually fit the lyrics in afterwards.

I draw on visual imagery, prose, personal experiences and narratives. As an illustrator, I’m a very visual thinker, so I often picture a scene or story while writing. Some songs have a specific theme, while others are more about finding words that sound good together. I like leaving those songs open to interpretation.

You recorded in Adam’s garage studio after your biggest tour yet. Did that experience change the way you approached making the album?

It allowed us to experiment freely. We had the time and space to indulge ourselves. Working with more people can be restrictive because of deadlines and expectations. We like not knowing everything about recording, because nobody is telling us what’s right or wrong. Even if something sounds bad, at least it doesn’t sound standard. That freedom was inspiring.

We’ve struggled to find people who understand what we’re doing. They sometimes apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Maybe every band feels this way, but we think our sound is quite idiosyncratic. We also have a close-knit friendship that’s been built over 15 years, which can be difficult for someone new to enter.

We’ve known each other for so long that we’re very much on the same page. We grew up together, so it can be hard for others to understand where we’re coming from. It can become a bit of an echo chamber.

You’ve said that ‘Café Life’ was about expanding the band’s universe. How did that idea develop further on ‘Umbrella’?

‘Café Life’ was the first time we really thought about producing ourselves and making the most of our studio time before sending the music off to be mixed.

Our first EP was recorded with a friend in a studio, but we didn’t feel entirely comfortable or achieve everything we’d envisioned. ‘Café Life’ was the beginning of taking things into our own hands. We realised that we had to create the sounds we wanted ourselves.

I sang every track in one day. I won’t be doing that again!

It’s been a learning process. Our songwriting has been developing for a long time, but we’ve matured as record-makers, too. We’re open to working in a studio with people we respect in the future, but we needed to look inward first.

We learned how to make our records sound the way we hear them in our heads. It doesn’t really matter where we record – what matters is that we can write and produce the music we want to hear. ‘Café Life’ was when that clicked, and we carried that approach into ‘Umbrella’.

Songs like ‘Maschine Mockup’ and ‘Pasillo Piso’ explore themes of longing and indecision. What draws you to these themes, and do you feel as though they reflect your experiences of being in your twenties?

I wrote many of these lyrics during a transitional period in my life. I’m from New York, but I lived in New Jersey for a while before moving back. Some songs reflect that experience. I’d been comfortable where I was, so returning to New York brought a lot of change and uncertainty. Writing these songs helped me heal, and it’s been lovely to see friends and fans connect with the lyrics. Moving somewhere new involves making changes and sometimes going back and forth, which is reflected in the songs.

Your band name comes from a children’s book about magical beings that return light to the sky. What drew you to that story, and does it reflect the world you want to create through your music? 

I brought the book to the band. I’m drawn to things based on how they make me feel at first, whether that’s music or visuals. I saw the cover and the name and immediately thought they were cool. It had this whimsical, almost psychedelic vibe. The meaning has come to resonate with us even more over time.

Someone once said that ‘Reunion’ referred to Pat returning from Canada and us starting the band together. I hadn’t thought of it that way before. I also liked that it sounded like a celebratory cult.

I was drawn to the book’s illustrations and read it after we’d chosen the name. It’s a beautiful story about little beings coming together, which parallels what we’re doing as a band. I held off reading it at first because I didn’t want it to influence my songwriting too much. The author, Cooper Edens, is also a wonderful artist.

When you Google our name now, we’ve practically taken over the book! When we played in Portland last year, a neighbour of the author came to our show and told us he knew about us. We’d love to take Cooper out to lunch when we return to Oregon. Learning about how he wrote, illustrated and self-published the book was inspiring. His independent, DIY approach resonates with us.

What are your next plans for the band?

We’d love to tour internationally and meet more of the fans we haven’t reached yet. Our fanbase across the States is growing, and I’m excited about playing in the UK and Europe. One of the best parts of touring is meeting other musicians and building friendships with people who love doing the same thing.

We’ve just started working with a UK agent, so we’re hoping to get over there next year. It’s always been a dream of ours. We’re excited to make more music and see where it takes us. We also have lots of demos ready to go. We’ve been tagged by a Japanese record store that stocks ‘Umbrella’, and it’s exciting to see a fanbase developing there. Even if it’s hours from Tokyo, we’d love to make the journey.

‘Umbrella’ is out now.