Bio

Transient Songs

Their roots began in 2008 as a writing and recording project started by Texas expat John Frum in basements around Seattle. Frum spent his formative years playing in a slew of obscure and somewhat known Texas bands Hasslehorse and Hagfish (whose members went on to play with radio heroes Rise Against and Texas icons the Toadies). After meeting Kansas transplant Andy Gassaway (from Lawrence critical favorites the Pomonas), the two went about setting up and recording in basement studios during the long isolating northwest winters. In 2008 they released the hazy psychedelic EP - Plantation to Your Youth. In May of 2010, after a long stint of self medicating while waiting on a broken arm to heal, Transient Songs stretched their music bounds with a grander musical departure and finished the first Transient Songs LP - Cave Syndrome. The albums lush vibe benefited from adornments of cello, violin and more introspective lyrics. The album was met with strong regional press, even scoring the album a "Best of What's Next" section in Paste Magazine.

After the release of Cave Syndrome Frum and Gassaway began to long for the feeling of playing with a full band. After securing Texas born (via the UK) Ian Piña on drums, the band began to take shape as a three piece. Soon Dayna Loeffler, who also fronts the ethereal Seattle band Half Light, agreed to join the fray and add touches on the guitar while switching bass duties with Gassaway. The recording project was morphing into a band playing older material with new arrangements and finding their own sound. Frum then ran into Michael Shunk by chance whom he had started to play guitar with before the recording of Cave Syndrome. The two were keen on collaborating once again. The foursome of John Frum, Michael Shunk, Dayna Loeffler, and Ian Piña continued the new chapter of Transient Songs as Gassaway headed for the sunnier skies of San Diego. The new sound benefits from a solid drumming foundation, a more harmonious vocal presence, richer guitar interplay, and a more languid and flowing guitar sound. 

Transient Songs has been playing live around Seattle with the full line up and is currently in the process of recording their LP due out in 2012.

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Press

Press

"Despite its bleak themes, Cave Syndrome is not a depressing record. The album’s heaviness is contrasted by its airy, unbound, often uplifting sounds. Just like the first single says, “In This Darkness Light Seeps Through." - PASTE MAGAZINE / Best of What's Next Full Review

"As a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, I have to say that it has been quite a while since I have heard anything as good as Transient Songs coming out of our backyard / Transient Songs belongs in exalted company / A gorgeously nuanced album." - SEATTLE P.I. / BLOG CRITICS Full Review

"Cave Syndrome is powerful and purging / A lofty, eclectic melange of an album / This is a rock solid piece of work in an era when that is becoming a rarity. - IMPOSE MAGAZINE, NY" Full Review

"The low key Seattle based continues to unveil high quality recordings that are unique in this saturated market of Northwest pop. There are equal parts Big Star and The Church incorporated into the new album with its woozy, late night atmosphere / One wishes there was more music like this in the current Seattle scene, but this also contributes to the unique, memorable and untrendy characteristics contained within Cave Syndrome. "- THREE IMAGINARY GIRLS, Seattle Full Review

"like the best psychedelic music, this stuff works like a new drug. / It's disorienting and maybe disturbing at first, but then it becomes addictive / Plantation to Your Youth is an EP that gets better the more you listen / one of my favorite releases of 2008" - PREFIX MAGAZINE Full Review

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