Makeout Reef on Growth since Existential, Garden Amp 10/7

Makeout Reef, names?

Liam Reece, drums.

Dillon Decapua, bass. Also plays drums in upcoming LA band julie.

Josh Castillo, guitar & vocals. Also writes & records solo work under the moniker SORA.

Does having your name originate from a SpongeBob episode influence your songwriting?

Not really (haha). I came up with the name at fifteen. I heard Surf Curse got their name from a Brady Bunch episode; I did the same with SpongeBob.

The band started playing shows in high school & grew a cult following in OC after their first record. Its sound was easy to fall in love with; candor garage rock capturing the innocence of youth. Breakout songs like So Slowly bring back first-time memories of backyard string lights & X’s on hands; bright eyes & pure engagement with the now instead of wondering how long a moment might last.

I dropped by the Garden Amp to see what the group had been up to. A majority of the set was unreleased music they’d been writing since quarantine: visceral, metaphoric takes on their sincere formula made for a distinguishing show. The band’s in a new era. Songs contrasted between heavier punk indulgence & alternative slacker doo-wop. Artists like Little Joy & The Zombies come to mind, but with an edge akin to late 80’s Sonic Youth & Surfer Rosa period Pixies.

How have you grown creatively since Existential?

Lyrically I tend to write about what I’m going through; we were in high school when this band took off, now we’re about to graduate from university. We’ve all been dealing with more mature themes & I think that also comes across sonically, even when we revisit old songs.

How’s the transition from a 4-piece to a 3-piece been?

It’s different. The guitar has to fill up more space & new songs tend to be more bass-driven. We added an intro to Existential (the song) for this show; we had the guitar lead build into chords, instead of both coming in at the same time.

A lot of older songs get restructured to work with one less member. Keeps early material fresh. We like it as a 3-piece.

Are you looking to expand?

Yeah but we’re not in a rush. Since the pandemic, we’ve just been focusing on new material between ourselves.

Songwriting process?

I typically bring the root of a song & we flesh out the final version as a group. If anything sounds redundant, Dillon & Liam present ideas to keep the song moving forward.

I’d say we (the rhythm section) carve out more character than anything. We’ve been playing together for such a long time that the band dynamic’s intuitive at this point.