Them Are Us Too - Remain (2015)

Them Are Us Too was created in the Bay Area in 2009 by Kennedy Ashlyn and Cash Askew. Their early limited edition demos and intimate performances gained them a cult following within independent music circles as a young, new take on the revered “4AD sound” of dreamy goth-pop anthems. With a nod to 80’s shoegaze sensibilities, Them Are Us Too create songs about tragedy and loves-lost that draw devoted listeners to their nostalgic and innocent sound. Ethereal guitars combined with ghostly synths and elegant vocals form the core of the band’s sound, under which a steady drum machine keeps the groove. Kennedy Ashlyn’s vocals have been repeatedly compared to Kate Bush, Harriet Wheeler, and Elizabeth Fraser, with a pitch-perfect octave range carrying songs gracefully between optimistic joy and undisturbed melancholia – all within one moment of verse. Guitarist Cash Askew paints a layered and complex backdrop using signature reverberation and washes of stringed ambient tones, akin to Robin Guthrie, Ronny Moorings, and Kevin Shields.