When Bambi and Cole Browning started writing the songs that would be become Reptaliens' 2017 debut LP, FM-2030, they had no intention of starting a band. Focusing at first on creating music and art on a purely personal level, the project soon took off when the duo brought on Julian Kowalski (guitar) and Tyler Verigin (drums) to form a live band. The four-piece swiftly delved into songwriting inspired by sci-fi art and literature, cult mentalities, and deep connections. The result is the band's self-defined genre of dreamwave, which connected musical influences ranging from Gary Wilson-inspired jazzy lounge music, the warmth of Broadcast's recording production, to Todd Rundgren's outer space synth sounds. After touring throughout most of 2017 and 2018 with STRFKR, Cults, and Of Montreal, the band returned home and went straight into renowned Portland studio Jackpot to record their sophomore LP, VALIS. Titled after the 1981 Philip K. Dick novel, VALIS is a cohesive collection of songs unified in sound and structure and supported by recurring lyrical themes, consistent with Reptaliens' sound: 80's analog synthesizers, tape delay echos, and a dreamy blend of guitar lines which ebb and flow throughout Bambi's melodies. Tracks like Shuggie 2 and Sunrise, Sunset are phantasmagoric, breezy and minimal, resulting in an intimate and personal atmosphere in which the listener can ruminate. Yet, the dynamism of VALIS comes from a balance between the band's more introspective tracks with kinetic synth pop songs such as Echo Park and Give Me Your Love and and the up-beat guitar driven tracks Venetian Blinds and Baby Come Home. With FM-2030, Reptaliens divulged tales from an etic: outsiders perspective of cult kidnappings, alien abductions, and sci-fi speculations towards potential future realities. In VALIS, the lense is turned inwards and, through the looking glass, the 12 tracks provides an emic glimpse towards the feelings and situations of the subjective experience.
