Los Angeles triple-synth band Halloween Swim Team has its feet on the ground and its beats in outer space.

Put them in a pile with synth heavy pioneers OMD, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk (sans vocoder), Hot Chip, Devo, and Flaming Lips (circa 2002), with traces of Can, pursuing psychedelic soundscapes like Animal Collective. The vocals range from galactic whisper to an intensity similar to Cedric Bixler (Mars Volta/At The Drive In) or Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), and at times the playfulness of Beck, Liars, and even Beastie Boys.

The band spent its last few years living at the notorious Vermont House, an underground venue where HST wrote and released The End Of The Sky, and established a command post for the D.I.Y. community, inspiring a rise in underground non-venues. It also served as a command station for the band’s own record label, How To Be A Microwave. —Read more about the House at this link.

When time came to move on, Halloween Swim Team packed up and sought solitude in the city suburbs to finish its new psychedelic synth-pop album, ANTENNAAA, some of which they will release as a 3-part EP series of new songs, rarities, and live recordings. The band has since emerged with a vengeance, racking up miles in its graffiti-covered van playing endless shows. Quite a beauty, the giant van’s front grill is missing because the previous owner hit a deer and the headlights are attached by bungee cords. There’s a pink elephant on the side. The band can be seen at rock and roll clubs, living rooms, restaurants, barns, rooftops, and even lugging its instruments up desert rocky mountains to play in middle of nowhere.

Halloween Swim Team recently performed live at three L.A. radio stations in the same week, at KCRW, KXLU, and Indie 103. The band’s cover of “Look Back In Anger” appears on the highly anticipated Manimal Vinyl compilation We Were So Turned On: A Tribute To David Bowie, alongside Duran Duran, Megapuss, Ed Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and more.