pacificUV is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band currently residing in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. Their style is frequently categorized as utilizing elements of

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

and

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

. They are currently signed to Mazarine Records.

History

Formation

The band was formed in

in 1998. Founding members include Howard Hudson, Clay Jordan, and Lucas Jensen. Their first full-length record (which was titled ''Longplay 1'' when originally pressed on compact-disc but was later renamed with an eponymous title) was released on WARM Recordings in 2002, and was produced by

Andy LeMaster Andy LeMaster is an American musician, songwriter, engineer, and producer from Athens, Georgia. Now It's Overhead is the primary project for his own songwriting, while he also releases music under his own name and contributes as a co-writer on v ...

. The album was called "a masterpiece" and rated 4 stars by Rolling Stone.

Move to Portland

After a national tour, and nearly universal acclaim for their debut record, the initial formation of the band dissolved. Jordan relocated to Portland and recruited new band members: Mike Erwin ( 7 Years In Space), Kevin Davis (of

Glowworm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence al ...

), Jesse Robert W. (also of Glowworm), and Matt Kline. Shortly after the Portland lineup was solidified, WARM Records released a 4-song EP featuring three unreleased tracks and an

Eluvium In geology, eluvium or eluvial deposits are geological deposits and soils that are derived by ''in situ'' weathering or weathering plus gravitational movement or accumulation. The process of removal of materials from geological or soil horiz ...

remix of ''L.A.P.D. vs N.Y.P.D''. In February 2008, the band released their second full-length LP, titled ''Longplay 2''. The record features vocals by Carolyn Berk (of Lovers) and the artwork of Chris A'lurede. It was recorded by

Adam Selzer Adam Selzer (born July 13, 1980, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American author, originally of young adult and middle grade novels, though his work after 2011 has primarily been adult nonfiction. Biography Adam Selzer's first novel was ''How To Get ...

(of

Norfolk & Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

) and Jason Powers at

Type Foundry Studios Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

in Portland. Pitchfork rated the album 7.9 and called it "comforting". The pacificUV song "Alarmist" was featured in the 2009 season-finale of the Showtime drama ''Californication''.

Return to Athens

By 2011, everyone but Jordan had left the band. Jordan moved back to Athens, Georgia, and recruited new bandmates. They released the EP ''Chrysalis'', their first release on Mazarine Records, a non-profit label founded by band members Suny Lyon and Clay Jordan in

. In 2012 pacificUV released ''Weekends'', their third studio LP. ''Weekends'' is a concept album about drug use after a break-up. The album featured B.P. Helium (

Of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...

), John Fernandez (

The Olivia Tremor Control The Olivia Tremor Control were an American Psychedelic music, psychedelic band from Athens, Georgia that released two studio albums, a bonus disc, a singles collection and a live album between 1996 and 2000. The main members were Will Cullen H ...

), and

Heather McIntosh The Instruments is the musical project of Heather McIntosh, cellist in a number of Athens, Georgia groups including Circulatory System, Elf Power, and Japancakes. They released three albums between 2003 and 2008. Other members of the band include ...

. One reviewer called it: "a characteristically trippy, yet altogether blissful dream pop gem". In 2013, they released ''After the Dream You Are Awake'', which some reviewers found to be more pop-friendly than their previous releases.

Style

Their influences include

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal (band), Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal ...

and

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psyched ...

. They have been compared to

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Pacific UV'' - 2002 - WARM Records (also known as ''Longplay 1'') * ''Longplay 2'' - 2008 - WARM Records * ''Weekends'' - 2012 - Mazarine Records * ''After the Dream You Are Awake'' - 2013 - Mazarine Records

EPs

* ''Pacific UV EP'' - 2006 - WARM Records * ''Chrysalis'' - 2011 - Mazarine Records

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1998 Indie rock musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Slowcore groups Warm Electronic Recordings artists