Los Angeles quintet Young Hunting‘s sound is formed around gentle, lush dream pop interspersed with stark, desolate gothic folk. Primary songwriters Hari Rex and Ilya Mxx first met in 2007, quickly bonding over a shared appreciation for Nick Cave, Jason Molina, Can, and the classic California pop of the 60s and 70s.

The initial collaboration led to the “Into Yr Mind/Sonata” seven-inch record, distributed by K Records and released in 2010. Their debut album, Hazel (Gold Robot Records, 2013), was recorded in various locations around Southern California, including a former ranger’s station in the Angeles National Forest, Grandma’s Dojo studio in LA’s Koreatown, a rented one-bedroom desert house outside of Joshua Tree, and living rooms, garages, and guest houses across Echo Park.

Over the last few years, members of the band toured with other artists including The Pharcyde and soul legend Syl Johnson. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Hari and Ilya wrote new songs, which were sporadically recorded with Patrick Taylor (bass) and Miles Senzaki (drums) and mixed at Grandma’s Dojo in Koreatown. The result is True Believers, a psych-soul dream for the lovelorn. The record deals extensively with loss of future and loss of past, encountering the void on intimate terms—watching a familiar life evaporate from your hands, merging the self and the shadow-self.

(Photo Credit: Zack Rockwood)