The second band that I found on the new Myspace was the stellar Miss Geo. Composed of guitarist and lead singer Abby Gutierrez, and synth player/backup vocalist Paz, the Boston duo is an amazing explosion of electro indie-pop sounds. They have a nice mix of heavenly Tegan and Sara sounding vocals, combined with innovative Ra Ra Riot type 80s backgrounds, all with an underlying layer of subtle Blondie elements. Doesn’t that sound amazing? A lot of their early music also reminds me of Beach House and Best Coast (Beach Coast, maybe?). What I’m trying to say is, Miss Geo takes the best elements of indie pop music and creatively combines them to make it a unique cohesive sound of utter perfection.
Abby, Paz and I will be sharing tracks off of their latest self-titled EP, as well as other fun features throughout the year. Read our interview with them below where we discuss their background, influences, musical interests and more.
Paz: PJ Harvey- Stories from the city stories from the Sea
New Order - Power, corruption, and lies
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Abby: Pixies - Doolittle
Bjork - Homogenic
Slowdive - Souvlaki
What are your fondest musical memories?
Paz: Opening for Lovers for our 3d show. Our first single together.
Abby: I agree Lovers. Listening to New Order with Paz.
Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener?
Paz: 2000’s after 2005
Shoegaze, dreampop, electropop
Abby: 80’s and 90’s. But most recently 60’s!
New wave, post-punk. Psychedelic.
What is Miss Geo currently working on? Any new projects?
Our EP that we are releasing this Fall/Winter will pick up where Waves left off. We’ll start releasing songs from it soon!
You two have a knack for writing these addicting songs with interesting and unexpected instrumentals, thoughtful lyrics and comforting vocals, earning you the frequent comparison to Tegan & Sara. Your latest EP showcases your talent and an evolution into the electropop movement. What is your writing process like? How does a Miss Geo track constructed? What do you think of your evolution in sound?
Thanks Josh. Our writing process used to either be one of us coming up with a riff or bassline and then adding vocals, but now it’s become more organic in the sense that it flows from themes in conversations we have. We’re writing songs from the ground up with a common vision now. It’s coming together faster.
We think this summer’s EP is the transition into us finding our sound. It’s the first 5 songs we wrote together and we’re so proud of it because we overcame alot in our personal lives to get to the point of finishing it.
And yes our sound naturally evolved into more electronic elements with Paz’s influence and a trip we took together to Europe exploring the Parisian club scene. This EP also leads into our release this Fall which we can’t wait to share as well!
Lately you two have played many shows supporting album releases of local Boston bands, as well as playing festivals in your area. First off, what do you of the Boston music scene? Has it impacted your music creation and success? How do you feel about the recognition from your peers and local press (including FILTER) on your work?
We really love playing live. We’re still quite new to the scene but local magazines have helped us get exposure that have led to shows.. Many bands we’ve met along the way have been supportive as well. We think there’s alot of incredible bands out here in Boston. It’s inspiring to be in a thriving musical city and surrounded by all the creativity. You can go to a great show any day of the week!
Being featured in music magazines like FILTER has been really nice because it helps get our sounds out to more people outside of our region. It motivates us to keep doing our own unique thing and reach out to connect with a wider audience. We have fans from different countries through the internet and we rely on independent blogs like IndieBeat to help us to reach those likeminded listeners.
You have plans to tour with the new EP. What does a Miss Geo live show look like? Can you describe to us your performance aesthetic?
“If you come to see one of our shows … it reads like a mixtape,” said Gutierrez, “We’re going down a weird rabbit hole of our own style. We should just have a label, ‘It Is What It Is.’” (via JASMINE LOPEZ, THE BOSTON DIG)
Yeah in fact our next show is in Ohio for MidPoint Music Festival. Neither of us has been there so it’s exciting!
You can expect to hear alot of songs from our albums as well as new songs we haven’t recorded yet in our live shows.
Our setlist is always changing and we try to tailor them for each show. We’ll add other arrangements to the recorded songs for a new context. You’ll often find us having fun tinkering with new gear as well.
What is your dream collaboration and why?
Paz: M83, i like his music.
Abby: Devo, i look up to them and have dreamt of being a band member.
What would your ideal tour bill look like? What current alternative and indie acts would you love to play along side of?
We’d love to tour with Small Black, Chvrches, Phantogram, FKA twigs, and Holy Ghost.
Finally, IndieBeat’s Fall Focus is concentrating on the aesthetics and visual components that artists give to their music, mainly presented through music videos and album artwork. What are some of your favorite music videos and album covers? Do you have any ideas and plans for future music videos? How do you two decide on your album artwork and artistic vision for each release? Is there a story behind the Miss Geo logo?
Our favorite music videos are those done by Michel Gondry: particularly Bjork’s and White Stripes are our favorites. Beach House’s “Wishes” directed by Eric Wareheim is another one that sticks out as well.
Regarding album covers we both love the nostalgia Belle and Sebastian invokes in their photos.
Our last album cover was designed by Lise Halluin from Paris, France. She is better known as “Ideealizse” It was a great experience working with her because she took time to get to know us. We were drawn to her use of shapes and color gradients. Our logo represents an interconnectedness we feel with our listeners. Plus we thought the ghostly font looked cool!!