This week’s featured band is Built for the Sea, a San Francisco quartet whose textured rock-pop calls to mind to the legacies of shoegazer and melodic alternative rock music without drawing too heavily from either camp. The group started as a songwriting project for singer-keyboardist Lia Rose, a veteran of the Bay Area music scene, and their 2006 self-titled album showcases her strong command of soaring melodies and bittersweet personal lyrics. Rose’s voice has drawn many listeners into the band’s music and it’s central to the songs too, a versatile instrument equally capable of airy musings and earthy wisdom.

But while the group started as Rose’s, it has evolved into a truly collaborative band full of talented musicians. We’ve actually already interviewed members of this band twice before on the podcast, speaking with guitarist Jonny Latimer as a member of The Aimless Never Miss and drummer Eric Kuhn for his band Silian Rail. With fourth bandmate Daniel Mckenzie also a member of Shuteye Unison and formerly of the now-defunct The Rum Diary, it’s a collection of songwriters and performers to be reckoned with and suggests an exciting new chapter for the band.

In addition to our interview with Rose, Latimer, and Mckenzie, we’ve included four songs in this episode–two from their 2006 debut and two from the Rose Hill Collective’s recently-released Volume 2 compilation. You’ll hear more about the Collective in the interview.

Upcoming Shows:

Saturday, August 30th
Bottom of the Hill
with The Action Design, Shuteye Unison, and Carcrashlander
9pm, $8 advance/$10 door, All Ages (Purchase tickets here)

Links:

– Built for the Sea’s MySpace page and web site

– Purchase their self-titled debut album from CDBaby and on iTunes

– Download a bunch of BftS songs at FreeIndie.com

– Visit the Rose Hill Collective’s MySpace page

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