Look, sometimes life is hard. Sometimes our case of "the Mondays" lasts throughout the week. Sometimes the hustle and constant go, go, go attitude in today’s world just gets to be a bit much. That’s why we all need to chill out sometimes, right? In honor of cooling off, breathing deep and relaxing, we’re highlighting eight of San Diego’s chillest bands. Of course, they’re not the only groups in town keeping things calm and carrying on, but they’re some of our faves. And if we’ve left out one of yours, let us know. We can handle it -- we’re chill, remember?
- Bit Maps: Drew Andrews has been a staple in San Diego music for as long as we can remember, and the beautiful tunes from his latest project’s brand new EP, "On-Demand Living," are perfect vehicles for what he does. Featuring Atari sound effects, angelic-sounding synths and Andrews’ warm, soothing vocals, can we go ahead and just call 'em Bit Naps?
- Idyll Wild: We’ve been hooked on Idyll Wild ever since we heard their cool indie-rock tune, "Bones," when it dropped in 2013. We’re still waiting on their debut full-length record, but our guess is that whenever it does come out, it’ll be just the right amount of chill. Watch our SoundDiego interview with them here, and check out their music here.
- Le Chateau: Relatively new on the scene, this dreamy electro-pop troupe has already garnered big-time attention from nearly every press outlet in town and for good reason: Their debut six-song EP is a chill exercise in glitchy beats, glacial synth/guitar work and soaring vocals from frontwoman Laura Levenhagen. Listen to them here.
- Muscle Beech: For those of you that appreciate your indie/surf-pop chilled to perfection, look no further than North County’s Muscle Beech. Sing-along vocals glide in and out of infectious melodies, peppy beats and reverb-drenched guitars. If you like your beach days on the cool side, you've come to the right place.
- Mystery Cave: Looking for the chilliest experimental, glitchy electro in San Diego? We give you John Christopher Harris II’s project, Mystery Cave. His latest album, "DEEP_FIELD," comes across like HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey" tripping on ecstasy while daydreaming of robot babes. Check out his track, "RIB S," and try to tell us we’re wrong.
- Other Bodies: One listen to this dream-pop trio’s tune "Reality," and you’ll feel like you’re standing atop a glacier while the Aurora Borealis dance overhead. We can dig that. Looking forward to more from these guys. Listen to it here.
- Splavender: When it comes to Splavender’s latest EP, they describe it better than we ever could: "A collection of sun-drenched party anthems for young lovers." Indeed, no rough edges here -- these dudes keep their indie pop on ice. (Hey, they’ve even got a song called "Ice Trayz.") Bottom line: Put on some Splavender and chill out.
- The Verigolds: If you were at our last SoundDiego LIVE party, you'd know that the Verigolds are a lot of things: experimental, poppy, psychedelic, dreamy -- but above all, they’re chill as all get out. Maybe that’s the reason everyone absolutely loves 'em. Hear them here.
Here’s a few other lists we’ve put together.
