by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Ladada are a Virginia Beach based band fronted by Josiah Schlater, who has recorded and toured in Mae, We Are Trees, and Jake Clemons. For the past four years he's been making music on his own, a shimmering kind of retro-fuzz pop that pulls from both 60's soul and garage rock. This summer the band will release their full length debut Heaven On The Rocks via Gold Robot Records, a record built for the season with it's hazy surf melodies and light psych pop exploration.
The roots of first single and title track "Heaven on the Rocks" came "during a tubing trip down the James River, seemingly floating through paradise, rocks would scrape their backs at random. Peace and solace interrupted by shouts of pain from across the water." Sometimes life is sweet and then you quickly get a giant slap of its many harsh realities. The introduction is pretty triumphant, an upbeat rally cry that is soon washed out with the calming presence of the vocals. From their the song swells and expands like the river itself, at times brash and choppy, others subdued and meditative.
Ladada's Heaven on the Rocks is due out this Summer via Gold Robot Records.