Gothic Tropic

Over the summer, from the murky depths of the Echo Park district in sunny Los Angeles, a band by the name of Gothic Tropic reared their heads in Canada for the first time at Sled Island Music Festival in Calgary. More tropical than gothical, this jangly three-piece made quite the impression on festivalgoers, opening for the very like-minded Prince Rama and Doldrums.

Fronted by singer/guitarist Cecilia Della Peruti and rounded out by Daniel Denton on bass and Liv Marsico on drums, these Cali hoodlums embody a pre-punk weirdness that they artfully blend with high fashion, West African guitar playing and a calypso-infused booty-dropping vibe.

Recently, Gothic Tropic dropped their eponymous debut Awesome Problems, a short but sweet introduction to a band with a very bright and sunny future. A video surfaced for their surfed-out jam “Kill Lloyd Opus” and was made unbeknownst to them by their friend James Kid who works in the film industry. Unlike most people who move to LA to make it, Goth Trop actually grew up around the hustle and bustle of all the movie-making magic and have recently put their best foot forward to expand on their music with a full sensory experience.

“We hadn’t really thought about it until we started looking at all these bands who were fresh to LA and it helped me gain an external perspective on how much opportunity there actually is here,” Della Peruti says.

Drawing as much influence from bands like Bauhaus and the Cocteau Twins as they do from all ages scene that is centred around infamous local venues like the Smell and the bands that helped foster that community, the trio is slowly making waves one DIY chord at a time.

The band’s live show and new songs are actually much more involved and thrashy than the four tracks heard on Awesome Problems, complete with plenty of epic guitar solos, and according to Della Peruti they are excited to test them out on fresh faces for their second excursion up north.

Catch Gothic Tropic on Wednesday Oct. 31 at Library Square.

By Glenn Alderson - Beatroute Magazine

Perhaps the most appropriately named band of the fest, Gothic Tropic sound like if the Rolling Stones had chosen to seclude themselves in Cuba, not rural France, to escape personal hardships and record their landmark album, Exile on Main Street. Psychedelic reverb pop with afro-cuban beats and melt-worthy vocals dressing up some of the best songwriting to hit this year’s festival. - Sled Island

Perhaps the most appropriately named band of the fest, Gothic Tropic sound like if the Rolling Stones had chosen to seclude themselves in Cuba, not rural France, to escape personal hardships and record their landmark album, Exile on Main Street. Psychedelic reverb pop with afro-cuban beats and melt-worthy vocals dressing up some of the best songwriting to hit this year’s festival. - Sled Island

Los Angeles trio Gothic Tropic sweat it out in an atmospheric and unfiltered psychedelic cluster of tones and rhythms: angular visceral guitar riffs, funky pops of bass, swinging groove-hammering drums, and sweetly primal outbursts of vocals. Comprised of vocalist and guitarist Cecilia Della Peruti, bassist Daniel Denton, and drummer Liv Marsico—also of Analog Edition alumna Stone Darling—the band's debut EP Awesome Problems is a refreshingly barebones yet entirely dynamic and original incarnation of rock 'n' roll. Free single "Flesh Dance" is perhaps the most immediately appealing track off the release: a tightly woven cannon blast of racing drums, muted guitars, and artfully scrambled vocals that sound as if they were transmitted from the band's secret moonbase. - Everyboldy Taste

Cecilia Della Peruti prefers to be barefoot when she's performing. The 23-year-old singer and guitarist for three piece jungle-garage rock outfit Gothic Tropic says she doesn't wear shoes because it allows her to "dance and go crazy, not feel like I'm going to trip on my feet." She, along with bassist Daniel Denton and drummer Liv Marsico, have been exploring that motif of freedom, playing shows that feel not different from a late-night New Orleans jazz rumble. Their sound, meanwhile, contains a twinge of garage noise mixed with Afro-Caribbean influences, i.e. the "Tropic" in their name.

They've only been a band since last May, but they've managed to muster up a bit of a following; Origami Vinyl owner Neil Schield says their first EP Awesome Problems is selling quite well in his store. (Awesome Problems is actually pressed on a 12'' LP because it wouldn't fit on a 7'', the entire B-side is left blank.) And they've been booked to play at the Sled Island Festival in Calgary this June.

Speaking with them at Stories Books and Cafe in Echo Park, where Della Peruti lives, they get constantly interrupted; one guy shows Marsico a picture of her playing drums he has on his computer. Though she's tiny -- a waif brunette barely pushing a hundred pounds -- there is nothing diminutive about Marsico. She possesses that magnetic quality that has allowed drummers like Levon Helm to shine from behind the kit. Della Peruti too has a particular kind confidence necessary to thrive in a male dominated rock world.

Perhaps because of that fierce independent streak, they're starting to find a distinctive voice, though they're not entirely sure how to define it yet. All three members have been in a bevy of previous projects: Marsico was a member of Stone Darling and a touring drummer for the Cold War Kids. But they say they've never felt this level of connection with previous collaborators.

Referring to their chemistry, Della Peruti calls them "the sacred three." That kind of discourse is vital to the type of music Gothic Tropic plays, which is comparable to jazz in the way its creation is approached: its success is based upon each member's ability to selflessly collaborate but also individually flourish. Also, it's best live. Marsico's drumming features far more prominently in Gothic's sound than a simple background beat. (She also directs music videos for Stones Throw rappers including Homeboy Sandman.) She's a strong voice in the musical conversation happening onstage, which makes sense, as she comes from a musical background. Her dad is a jazz drummer, and her mother is a classical piano player. She herself studied under some jazz heavyweights. "It's first time since playing jazz that I've felt that really raw euphoric feeling [playing]," she says.

Della Peruti's guitar parts are long and often experimental, but are always kept in check by Denton. The individual performer is allowed to shine, but only within the greater context of the what's going on behind them -- a sort of antithesis of the classic rock guitar solo. "Because there is that element of improv no solo is ever the same," says Della Peruti. "I'm writing something new for the first time on the spot in front of a bunch of people. New things happen all the time at live shows."

Denton says they still have no real idea of how to classify themselves, and their sound seems to transition every time you see them play. Whether that's a good or bad thing will be answered by their first proper record, of which there's no official release date yet. Stay tuned. - LA WEEKLY

Before a recent trip to LA, I asked Paul Saulnier from PS I Love You if he knew any rad bands worth checking out while in the City of Angels. The only band he could name wasGothic Tropic, but after one listen to the band’s EP, Awesome Problems, you’ll see why he stopped there.

More tropical than gothical, this jangly three-piece is an absolute hidden gem at Sled Island. Fronted by singer-guitarist Cecilia Della Peruti and rounded out by Daniel Denton on bass and Liv Marsico on drums, these Echo Park hoodlums embody a pre-punk weirdness that they artfully blend with high fashion, West African guitar playing and a calypso-infused booty-dropping vibe.

The video for their surfed out jam “Kill Lloyd Opus” was made unbeknownst to the band by their friend James Kid, who works in the film industry. Unlike most people who move to LA for fame and fortune, Goth Trop actually grew up around the hustle and bustle of all the movie-making magic and have recently put their best foot forward to expand on their music with a full sensory experience.

“We hadn’t really thought about it until we started looking at all these bands who were fresh to LA, and it helped me gain an external perspective on how much opportunity there actually is here,” Della Peruti says.

Drawing as much influence from bands like Bauhaus and the Cocteau Twins as they do from the all-ages scene centered around infamous local venues like the Smell and from the bands that helped foster that community, the trio is slowly making waves one DIY chord at a time.

During a quick phone conversation with Della Peruti, she informs me that the band’s live show and new songs are much more involved and thrashy, complete with plenty of epic guitar solos, and they are eager to test them out on fresh faces for their first excursion up north.

“I’m really excited that my first trip to Canada is me and my bandmates flying in to playa show,” she says. “I haven’t looked too much in to Calgary yet, but I know that it’s probably not on an island.”

Glenn Alderson is the editor and co-publisher of BeatRoute Magazine. He currently lives in Vancouver, BC and is also performing at Sled Island with his band NEEDS and his rap crew, Too High Crew. - Sled Island

t is not that often that a band’s moniker gives any indication about the sound of the band, but Gothic Tropic just does this. The Los Angeles trio injects some sunny Africanized loud guitars into their psych pop, but it gets a lot more complicated than that.



Gothic Tropic was playing at Origami Vinyl for the release of their ‘Awesome Problems’ EP on vinyl via New Professor Music, and they seemed totally at ease up in the loft. Actually, the band may be new, but none of the three members is new on the LA scene, as frontgirl Cecilia Della Peruti, on vocals and guitar, was in the band Rumspringa, Daniel Denton, on bass, played for Never At Night and even early Metric, and Liv Marsico, on drums, also played for Cold War Kids, Hot Hot Heat and Stone Darling!



Their style was playful, wrapped by bright tropical rhythms mixed with distortion, cultivating a quite unique vibe, which was full of energy while taking dark and strange detours. Yes, when I say African or tropical, their music had nevertheless nothing to do with that of Vampire Weekend for example, rather their complicated and jolting songs were meandering around loops, were undulating with outbursts of punk energy and were growing into groovy extended jams.



Their bumpy music had drawn a large crowd at Origami Vinyl, and the trio was quite loud as their songs had often a moment when their unusual and shaky collages were wakened up by Della Peruti’s shrill guitar,… it was a strange marriage but it worked as some people had started dancing in the store, moving along Della Peruti’s distant vocals with an almost incantational nature,… but after all we almost were in a bizarre garage jungle.

(Video) - Rock NYC

Like Fool’s Gold and Vampire Weekend, the new L.A. trio Gothic Tropic finds inspiration in world beats and exuberant guitars. The brainchild of Cecilia Della Peruti, who for the past two years has played with Rumspringa, Gothic Tropic takes a playful, lo-fi approach to the psych-pop on its four-song “Awesome Problems” EP, with guitar lines that poke and tickle and beats that quicken the pulse. Della Peruti, who’s teamed up with bassist Daniel Denton (Never at Night) and drummer Liv Marsico (Stone Darling), got an assist from guitarist Sam Lopez Jr. on the EP, whose rough edges are anything but a vibe-killer. - Buzzbands

"At first glance, Gothic Tropic has all the earmarks of California natives Abe Vigoda and Fool’s Gold with their jolty rhythm section and pop-infused compositions. The Echo Park trio, whose ironically penned name brings to mind a mascara-drenched Siouxsie look-alike riding the 720 towards Santa Monica on a scorching summer, is actually less frenetic than their peers, with piercing guitar lines and across the fretboard taps fluttering at a steadier pace. Cecilia Della Peruti’s reverbed vocals (of Rumspringa fame) give an added numinous quality to the band, whose recent EP, Awesome Problems, breezes by with casual allure and a touch of quirky experimental grooves." - The Deli

Los Angeles trio Gothic Tropic introduces some hard edges to the playful world of psych-pop. Gothic Tropic finds inspiration from high energy afro-cuban beats, and exuberant guitars. The brainchild of Cecilia Della Peruti, Gothic Tropic keeps the vibe measured and darkly bizarre with a unique lead guitar/vocal style that recalls catchy elements of pre-punk 70s acts such as Television, Captain Beefheart, and Can. Bassist Daniel Denton (Metric) and drummer Liv Marisco (Cold War Kids) have pushed a quick and steady evolution in Gothic Tropic's short history, growing from a collection of Della Peruti's loop station jams to one of Los Angeles' more exciting new acts in just a matter of months. Get a copy of their debut "Awesome Problems EP" and enjoy the lo-fi while you can. - BMI

Gothic Tropic played live at Tommy's earlier this semester. This new LA trio originated in Echo Park and has really carved out a unique aesthetic, combining lo-fi afrobeat-ish garage rock with Peruti's ethereal vocal stylings.

I have a huge soft spot in my heart for proto-goth female vocalists, so I really died on the tracks where Peruti really cut loose with the vocals and let her voice form this floaty sci-fi melody over the tropicalia beats, especially on "Mistress Vortex", one of the more amorphous tracks on their album.

Monkey Bars really highlighted the Tropic part of Gothic Tropic, and gave Liv Marisco's showy drumming style a chance to really blow the audience away.

A great show all around, watch for these guys to keep doing great things. I was impressed with their ability to combine such disparate aesthetics into a style that's really uniquely their own. I could see this trio starting an entire wave of LA lo-fi goth-tropicalia. - KXSC

When anyone thinks of gothic, they think of muffled vocals, dark eyeliner, torture, and kids who are angry at their parents. But when Gothic Tropic steps into the room, there is a different feel. The two girls, one guy band is an upbeat, garage rock revival, yodel-esque group that gets the crowd grooving and the people singing.This is the music in the background of a Tarantino film, or the same jams that make you think about the good times. They have the summer songs that blow “Pumped Up Kicks” out of the California Pacific, yet this is the very excitement at the Laurel Canyon parties. The lead singer, Cecilia Della Peruti, sparks the groove that crawls up the neck of the crowd: you just can’t shake it off without joining in on the fun, or at least being recruited by Della Peruti’s screaming harmonica and rough guitar licks.

They rocked the crowd tonight at the Silverlake Lounge. There was dancing, singing along, and even the bartenders were into it. The bassist rocks with a ’70s funk feel, as Della Peruti, on the electric guitar, brings the grit of the garage into the crowd. The drummer, Liv, jams, rocking her ponytail out of its tie. Their tracks are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Rollingstones and The Strokes during a road trip from Cali to Arizona.

Gothic Tropic has the hipster jams. That Silverlake crowd is looking for the cool kids on the block and Gothic Tropic is it. S T R E T C H went the mile on this one. It was a good night. - Stretch LA