Singer-Guitarist Peter Wallner has been a fixture of the Bay Area music scene for decades. He has played in bands like Wax Idols, Heaven’s Club, Deafheaven, Astronomers Anonymous and Whisper, honing a sound inspired by post-punk, shoegaze and even the compositions of the late Angelo Badalamenti.
Wallner’s latest project is Bliss Abyss. Started independently as a synth-pop project during the pandemic, the band has evolved into a three-piece unit, writing soaring indie rock soaked in reverb and space-haze melodies. And today, I’m excited to be able to premiere the group’s latest track, “Wrecked”. Wallner has said about the song:
“”Wrecked” is about the beauty and destruction of when someone’s chaos is impossible to ignore. It’s the strange intimacy of trying to keep up with someone who is one spark away from catching fire. “
The synth-driven track immediately conjures imagery of being in an 80’s dance club, with green and blue spotlights reflecting off a disco ball as post-punk kids dance with abandon. It’s almost perfect that the song’s first line is “You were always dancing behind that broken car”, as it creates that essential juxtaposition – the joy of dancing with the grounded reality of wreckage. The song is awash in poetic imagery, as the melody rides highs and lows, eventually always cascading on a hopeful note.
Though it may sound like a lost 80’s underground alt rock hit, Bliss Abyss are very much a band in the now, gearing to release their debut album later this year. Check out the track exclusively here before it’s live everywhere tomorrow, March 13th, and follow the group on Instagram.
The Indy Review 