California Wives

Chicago quartet California Wives were formed in 2009 by multi-instrumentalists and high school friends Dan Zima and Joe O’Connor. Zima and O’Connor were later introduced to guitarist/keyboardist Jayson Kramer; a former pre-med student at Boston University who quit to follow his career in music.

‘California Wives’ released debut EP ‘No. 8’, with a second EP ‘Affair’ following in 2010, but it wasn’t until Graham Masell joined the band on lead guitar in 2012 that their talent was really showcased.

This was a talent noticed by Vagrant Records, who signed California Wives shortly after.

Their debut full length album, ‘Art History’ (produced by Claudius Mittendorfer), was created, complete with a music video for each song, for only $1,000. Kraymer describes the songs from the album as coming ‘from a relatable place of losing one’s youth’.

‘Art History’ was released on 4 September 2012 via Vagrant Records.

The official video for ‘Marianne’, taken from ‘Art History’, is one of our favourites. The band are filmed playing ‘Marianne’ in a chilly warehouse, but the DIY video doesn’t distract you from Kraymer’s incredibly soft voice which synchronises perfectly with the dreamy chords and summer synths that are somewhat reminiscent of the 1980s, as well as new kids on the block, The 1975.

Watch the video below.

A My Gold remix of ‘Marianne’ can also be downloaded for free on the band’s Soundcloud page.

Sounds like: The Naked and Famous, Swim Deep, The 1975, New Order, The Cure

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