* En anglais uniquement
The Royal Baths are a San Francisco-based indie rock band whose music is a dark but curiously engaging mixture of garage rock sneer,
Velvet Underground-style buzz, psychedelic murk, and post-punk throb. Founded in mid-2008 by singer/guitarists Jeremy Cox and
Jigmae Baer (the latter a former member of
Thee Oh Sees and
Ty Segall), the group was originally known simply as
Baths; under that name, the group made its recorded debut with a cassette-only release on Wizard Mountain Records, followed by a 7" single on Rad Key Records. Cox and
Baer then discovered L.A. electronic artist
Will Wiesenfeld was using the name
the Baths, and they added "Royal" to the moniker to set themselves apart. A copy of their cassette was passed along to Woodsist Records, a respected New York-based indie label, which struck a deal with
the Royal Baths, releasing their first full-length album,
Litanies, in the fall of 2010. When the album was recorded, Cox and
Baer were accompanied by bassist Tanner Griepentrog and drummer Sheila Imandoust, but by the time the band started touring in support,
the Royal Baths had a new rhythm section, Eva Hannan on bass and Eden Birch on drums. Frustrated with the scene in Frisco, the duo moved to New York and released sophomore effort
Better Luck Next Life on Kanine Records. ~ Mark Deming