Castro are a trio of transplants who first began writing and recording together at a rehearsal space in Glassell Park. After sharing a likeminded sonic vision, the band quickly began recording a number of songs that would eventually become their first EP, Castro EP, a brisk ten minutes of smoothly layered new wave that relishes the more jaunty, tuneful side of eighties bands like The Cure. The track that kicks off the EP, "Why Don’t You Find Out?", sparkles with a nimble hook that’s all the more slick with the heavily-affected vocal delivery of singer Vincent Venturella. There’s been a good amount of bands that have given new life to the eighties in the past few years, specifically revisionist-leaning labels like Captured Tracks, but Castro mostly keep things simple by focusing on keeping the songs light and the melodies laser-sharp instead of drowning them with scuzzy reverb. You can check out Castro next week on August 1st at El Cid. And you can listen to Castro EP on their official sonicbids page.
