Sianvar (pronounced: sea-en-var) was an American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, formed in 2013. The group currently consists of lead vocalist

Donovan Melero Hail the Sun is an American post-hardcore band from Chico, California. Formed in 2009, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and drummer Donovan Melero, guitarist Shane Gann, guitarist Aric Garcia, bass guitarist John Stirrat, and tourin ...

, guitarists Will Swan and Sergio Medina, and drummer Joseph Arrington. The band is signed to Swan's independent record label

Blue Swan Records William Swan (born December 5, 1985) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance and as the founder and owner of record label Blue Swan Records. He is ...

. They released their debut self-titled EP on January 5, 2014 and their debut full-length studio album, ''

Stay Lost ''Stay Lost'' is the debut full-length studio album by American post-hardcore band Sianvar, released on August 5, 2016, on Blue Swan Records. The album serves as a follow-up to the band's 2014 debut EP, ''Sianvar''. It is the band's only studio ...

'', in August 2016. The band announced an indefinite hiatus on April 8, 2019.

Career

2013–17: Self-titled EP and ''Stay Lost''

The band announced their formation on July 23, 2013. The group's first iteration consisted of

Dance Gavin Dance Dance Gavin Dance is an American Rock music, rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2005. It consists of lead guitarist Will Swan (musician), Will Swan, drummer Matthew Mingus, harsh vocalist Jon Mess, and lead vocalist and rhythm gui ...

guitarist Will Swan,

Hail the Sun Hail the Sun is an American post-hardcore band from Chico, California. Formed in 2009, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and drummer Donovan Melero, guitarist Shane Gann, guitarist Aric Garcia, bass guitarist John Stirrat, and tourin ...

drummer and vocalist

Stolas Stolas may refer to: *Stolas (demon), a demon in the ''Ars Goetia'' *Stolas (band), an American post-hardcore band *'' Stolas: Book of Angels Volume 12'', a 2009 Masada Quintet album * ''Stolas'' (beetle), a genus of beetles in the family Chrysomel ...

guitarist Sergio Medina, and

A Lot Like Birds A Lot Like Birds (often abbreviated as ALLB) are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2009 in Sacramento, California. Before their breakup in 2018, ALLB had released four albums: an independent debut ''Plan B'' (2009), and three LPs under E ...

bassist Michael Littlefield and drummer Joseph Arrington. They signed with Swan's independent record label

. The group released their debut single "Sick Machine" on November 11, 2013. On January 5, 2014, they released their

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ly titled debut EP through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. Sianvar performed their first concert on January 8, 2014 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In support of the release, the band toured with other musical groups such as A Lot Like Birds,

Tilian Pearson Tilian Pearson (born July 12, 1987), also known mononymously as Tilian, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Clearwater, Florida. From 2012 to 2024, he was the clean vocalist for American post-hardcore band Da ...

Strawberry Girls Strawberry Girls is an American rock band from Salinas, California, formed in 2011. The band is currently composed of guitarist Zac Garren, drummer Ben Rosett, and bassist Ian Jennings. All three members are multi-instrumentalists and record pr ...

, Stolas, The Venetia Fair, My Iron Lung, EROS, Idlehands, Artifex Pereo, and Eidola. Michael Littlefield departed from the band in February 2015, subsequently being replaced by A Lot Like Birds guitarist Michael Franzino. Sianvar began tracking for their debut full-length studio album in July 2015. On June 26, 2016, the band announced their debut studio album, ''

'', its track listing, and release date. Two days later, the group released the lead single "Omniphobia", accompanied with its music video, which premiered on

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

. The band released the single "Psychosis Succumbing" on July 14. The band embarked on their headlining Stay Lost Tour beginning at the Red House in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland, California, Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per t ...

on August 4, 2016. Sianvar embarked on a second headlining tour in support of ''Stay Lost'' in January 2017 with Icarus the Owl and Frameworks.

2018–present: Second studio album and hiatus

Sianvar toured as a supporting act on

's headlining 2018 spring tour along with Erra and

I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...

, from May 26 to June 21, 2018. On August 11, 2018, it was confirmed that recording sessions for the band's second full-length studio album had begun at Interlace Recording Studios in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, with producer

Kris Crummett Kris Crummett is an American record producer and owner of Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon. Crummett started recording in 2002. He has worked with many notable indie music record labels, including Rise Records, Epitaph Records, Fearless Records ...

. On September 11, 2018, Michael Franzino announced his departure from the group, stating that he wanted to focus on his own music career. Will Swan announced that he would be recording bass guitar for the band's second studio album. On September 27, they revealed that they would be moving forward as a four-piece band. The group embarked on a headlining tour, performing their debut studio album ''

'' in its entirety, with support from Ghost Atlas and Wolf & Bear, from January 11 to January 19, 2019. Former

bass guitarist and vocalist Matthew Coate served as a touring member pursuing bass guitar on the trek. On April 8, 2019, the band revealed that they were going on an indefinite hiatus from touring and releasing music. The announcement read, "All Sianvar music releases and activities have been postponed indefinitely." It continued, "This isn't a permanent goodbye, though it could be a while before we meet again". During the hiatus, Swan joined American post-hardcore band

Royal Coda Royal Coda is an American rock music, rock band based in Sacramento, California, founded by lead guitarist Sergio Medina. They are known for their amalgamation of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and post-hardcore. The band currently consists ...

while Donovan Melero and Sergio Medina formed the post-hardcore duo Nova Charisma and signed to

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, the singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. Initially, the label existed sol ...

. Two unreleased demo recordings from the group's recording sessions for their second studio album were repurposed for

's ninth studio album ''

Afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...

'', one of which was its lead single "''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

''".

Musical style

Sianvar's musical style has been praised for its use of

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

, and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

elements. They have often been labelled post-hardcore,

math rock Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...

, and

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

Members

;Final line-up *

– lead vocals (2013–2019) * Will Swan – guitar (2013–2019); bass (2018–2019) * Sergio Medina – guitar, backing vocals (2013–2019) * Joseph Arrington – drums, percussion (2013–2019) ;Former members * Michael Littlefield – bass (2013–2015) * Michael Franzino – bass (2015–2018) ;Touring members * Matthew Coate – bass (2019) ;Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' ( Blue Swan, 2016) ;Extended plays * ''Sianvar EP'' (Blue Swan, 2014) ;Singles * "Sick Machine" (2013) * "Omniphobia" (2016) * "Psychosis Succumbing" (2016) * "BedRoots" (2016)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Sacramento, California American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups established in 2013 2013 establishments in California