Luster – Dopamine Loop 12″



Regardless of ones own place in the world, it is without a doubt that Los Angeles has a sound. An extraordinary, unmistakable, and vibrant sound, colored by the people and cultures that embody it: Heat, high end fashion, dust, smoke, skate culture, punk, hip-hop, sampling, Hollywood, club culture, neon lights, late nights, deserted hills, hard work, and dreams both made and totally crushed. Lust, excess, passion, depth, shallowness, depravity, abandonment, love. This extreme duality of a place emanating its own strain of a quite palpable dream filled black magic has spawned some of the greatest and most highly celebrated cultural icons spanning film, music, art and beyond – and for every one single success story there is undoubtedly 1,000 opposites. It is this pressured, otherworldly environment and duality that explains how L.A. would spawn such a band like Luster.

Utterly beautiful, yet melancholic – Damaged, yet brand new. A hungry, innovative shine and sheen of the now beyond rich (and often Los Angeles centered) scene of ‘post-post-synth / 80’s revival etc. – Far too often, bands of this nature in today’s quick to summarize era, are pigeonholed as simply the retreading of sounds already once made – This would be an all too lazy observation of a shoe-gaze sound indeed all their own. From the first single, ‘Thorn In Yr Kiss’, it is greatly apparent the elegance and grandiose of Dopamine Loop’s songwriting and production while also retaining an immediate honesty and intimacy. 90’s throwback reversed and filtered drum loops, tear wrenching guitars, massive atmospheric tones and detailed textures all dripped with smoke and vapor hazed vocals. Each track holds interesting choices containing both a unique and unabashed use of electronics, while soaking tracks in stratosphere dwelling guitars and traditional, cult post-punk instrumentation. Ethereal and dreamlike, dark and dizzying, massive and exciting. The sound of Los Angeles. – Brandon Hill / Starved Relations