KATE DAVIS | MYSTERY FRIENDS | THYGUI

As badly as we want our trajectory to be linear and to make logical sense, sometimes life has other plans for us. We have to listen to that little voice within, whispering: rebel against the status quo. This has been the experience of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Kate Davis, where she hits the brakes on the life she thought she knew, grabbed the creative reins and rebuilt her artistic foundation. As she triumphantly walks away from her previous life as a conservatory-trained jazz musician and into her future as an experimental art-rock singer, Davis has found a new home within herself. This coming-of-age story is at the heart of Davis’ sophomore album, ‘Fish Bowl,’ coming soon via her new label home of ANTI- Records.

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Though cheekily self-described as “moderately danceable,” Mystery Friends doesn’t want you to sit still. Drawing influences from Blondie to Dua Lipa (and so much more), the DC-based band makes fresh synth-pop and disco-tinged tracks you didn’t know you were missing. 

Since forming in 2016, the band has been anchored by founding duo Abby Sevcik (vocals) and Dave Mohl (synth/guitar), who write and record the band’s music with the band’s other guitarist Jay Nemeyer and producer/engineer Kyle Downes. Blending lush synths, propulsive rhythm, angular guitars, and transfixing vocals, Mystery Friends wants you to feel their songs inside and out.  

Onstage, Mystery Friends sports a roster of six performers (and oftentimes more…) with a singular focus of making each show a party. In that spirit, the band has captivated audiences with high energy live performances, playing venues across the country, alongside lauded acts like De Lux, Sub Radio, and Blood Cultures. The band offers a sound the Washington Post described as “new wave and synth-pop, made timeless with a solid foundation of pop-rock songwriting and the dramatic vocals of frontwoman Abby Sevcik.” 

Though spending much of 2023 in hibernation to write and record new music, Mystery Friends is nearing completion of its second full length album slated for release late this year. Itching to get back on stage, the band can’t wait to play shows across the country to spread the good word. 

The life of man may be nasty, brutish, and short, but at least we have dance music.

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The House You Grew Up In, abbreviated THYGUI, is a 5 piece psychedelic pop-rock band from Washington DC. THYGUI blends the sound and feel of late-60s-era psychedelic rock with the abstract lyricism and flippancy of indie bands of the 90s and 2000s like Pavement and The Unicorns. In recent years, THYGUI’s sound has begun to include more churning basslines and dreamy melodies reminiscent of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Beck, and The B-52s. 

Formed in 2010 as the solo project of Jordan Brown, the band’s songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist, THYGUI changed size and composition several times before settling into its current lineup. Drummer Raymond O’Mara and guitarist Damon Effingham joined Brown in 2014 and were joined shortly after in 2015 by their childhood friend and bass player, James Howard. Cait Hone joined THYGUI as an additional vocalist in early 2019. 

THYGUI’s first full album, Spooky Times Call for Spooky Measures was released October 2022.