Band to Watch: Pure Bathing Culture

I first caught wind of Portland, Oregon’s Pure Bathing Culture through an Octopus Windmill post back in June, and was reminded of the two-piece through yesterday’s post on My Old Kentucky Blog. The duo is comprised of Vetiver guitarist and keyboardist Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille, respectively. The group is set to release its debut, self-titled EP on November 19 via London record label Memphis Industries.

I’ve long been a fan of Vetiver‘s work, and my excitement over this new side project doubled upon the discovery that Richard Swift had taken the band under his wing. The multi-instrumentalist, producer and personal hero has maintained a busy schedule in 2012: engineering Jessie Baylin’s Little Spark and Pleasure Center EP, gigging on keys with The Shins, and guiding The Mynabirds’ ship on Generals. Swift served as producer on the four tracks that will make up the Pure Bathing Culture EP.

Under Swift’s tutelage, Pure Bathing Culture has churned out a handful of 80s-infused pop gems. The dreaminess of PBC’s Miami Vice backdrop makes it easy to overlook the seriousness of the lyrical content. The band’s most recent single  “Gainesville” deals with the death of a friend in a motorcycle accident in Peru. The strength of the band’s stripped down performance of debut single “Ivory Coast” in the Beardy Session underscores the fact that this material will hold up in any setting. Compare and contrast the video with the studio rendition below.

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Written by Rob Peoni