TV Star

Formed in the Seattle/Tacoma, WA area in 2020 over a shared admiration of '90s psych, classic shoegaze, and the underdogs of alt-country, TV Star is a band that feels both new and lived-in at the same time. Band members Ashlyn Nagel (vocals, keys), Bryan Coats (Guitar), Che Hise-Gattone (Guitar), Mark Palm (Bass), and Tucker Devault (Drums) bring their own instincts, idiosyncrasies, and musical histories to their music, resulting in a quilt of jangly-psych, garage grit, and soft-focus depth. In an era when so much music dissolves into algorithmic sameness, TV Star sounds defiantly human.

Every once in a while, you hear a band that feels both new and lived-in at the same time, and it stops you in your tracks. TV Star is that kind of band. Over the last few years, the Seattle–Tacoma, WA five-piece has been quietly gathering force—EP by EP, show by show—until Music For Heads, their long-awaited debut album, arrived and makes it plain: they've grown into something rare. A quilt of jangly-psych, garage grit, and soft-focus depth; these songs glow from the inside with a commanding originality. In an era when so much music dissolves into algorithmic sameness, TV Star sounds defiantly human.

Across the LPs ten tracks, the band sharpens the instincts they've been honing – folding together timeless pop sensibilities, psych-leaning jangle in the lineage of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, punk-economy rhythm sections, and vocals that drift with Mojave 3–level warmth, to create something distinctly their own. With Music For Heads, they're not just tapping into music of the past, they're pushing a new wave of it forward.

Forming in 2020 over a shared admiration of '90s psych, classic shoegaze and alt-country underdogs, their inception occurred when someone pulled the Butthole Surfers' 1996 Electriclarryland tape off the wall and pointed to the track "TV Star." What followed was less a band forging than a small ecosystem taking shape. Ashlyn Nagel (Vocals, Keys), Bryan Coats (Guitar), Che Hise-Gattone (Guitar), Mark Palm (Bass), and Tucker Devault (Drums) brought their own instincts, idiosyncrasies, and musical histories into the room until the songs began to sound like all of them, at once. Recorded in a constellation of cozy Northwest spaces – The Unknown in Anacortes, plus a handful of Seattle hideaways – Music For Heads sits at the intersection of jangly guitar music, psych-pop haze, and lived-in indie rock without leaning fully into any one lane.

"TV Star's '90s-as-hell alt-coded pop-rock is immensely appealing." -Stereogum

HEAD

HEAD is a rock and roll band based in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in late 2015 by Derek Weber with Nick Fleury and Cary Bianchetta. In early 2020, they self-released their debut album, USE YER HEAD, establishing a sound rooted in layered vocal melodies and dynamic grooves. Since then they've cut four more records, GEMINI DRAGON / OLD HEAD (2022), JAIL (2023), HEAD EP (2024), and A PSYCHEDELIC GARDEN (out soon!). The current lineup features Derek Weber on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Nick Fleury on lead guitar and vocal harmonies, Mikie Azzarello on bass, Cameron Cowles on drums, Steve Jackson on flute, and Jen Marshall on keys.

Jason Shapiro

Jason Shapiro is a musician in Chicago, Illinois. He enjoys ice cream, steak, sushi, and more!