NEW YORK CITY (September 11, 2023) — August 1, indie rock band Scotch Mist — Venezuelan-born lead singer Ed Zighelboim, Brazilian-born bassist and producer Gianluca Girard and lead guitarist Fern Souza — released their new full-length album, Cabo Blanco. The album shines a spotlight on the group’s songwriting while being laced with irresistible grooves and ear-worm choruses. The album serves as a triumph of sorts, a metamorphosis. The band wanted to come back from the pain, grief and anguish crybaby was written about and deliver something more upbeat that reflects where they are now after time spent healing and literally letting go. 

Stream / Download Cabo Blanco here.

Cabo Blanco is a direct progression from their previous album crybaby (2021), which was an album born our of the collective grief experienced by the band when Ed’s girlfriend unexpectedly died in January 2019. "There is an essential context to the album that is central to all of the themes, lyrics and the shift in sound. Knowing the full story or not will definitely shift your perception of the music,” Ed admits. “Her death was akin to a nuclear bomb going off in my heart and my brain. It was a shock that will reverberate for the rest of my life, and I carry her with me every day.” Going into making this record, Ed was ready to approach writing music in a new way. Although the music is more groove-oriented and fun, the lyrics and themes on this album are almost a sequel to crybaby. A true healing and rebirth has occurred through the making of Cabo Blanco.

The album then drew its name from the beach with the same name in Costa Rica. “​​None of us have ever been there before, but we daydream about having a little sanctuary like that in our lives,” Ed admits. “The reason we named the album after it is because one of the biggest themes on the record is escapism. It’s like we created music to escape the reality of the harshness of life, which is why the music on this album is lush and dream-like. The songs are all about escapism, as well as learning to find peace in despair.” Always honest and genuine, Scotch Mist puts their all into their work, continuously challenging themselves and pushing for greatness. 

Their latest single, “Alright” (July 6), serves as the thesis statement to the album as a whole. “It was the first song we wrote for this album,” Ed shares. “It has a great groove, and so many catchy little details. The lyrics are from the perspective of someone with chronic anxiety, which contrasts with the upbeat instrumental. This song feels like the most epic of the singles — it’s really dense because we tried to fit everything that we love about rock and pop music into one track.” 

With a maximalist approach to the production, the band took inspiration from the rich arrangements of Phil Spector, Arif Martin and Eumir Deodato, with Fern shining through in the bridge with a David Gilmour-esque guitar solo. “It does a great job of capturing what each of us brings to the table as individuals,” Ed explains. “Fern’s amazing guitar solo, Gianluca’s incredible bass playing, my vocal harmonies in the hook and the magic that happens when we come together to make music as a group.”

“Alright” succeeds the release of “Let Go” — another uptempo, groovy, and seemingly happy track coated with lyrics of pain and melancholic sentiments. Together, the singles shine a light on a common theme woven throughout the album of smiling through the pain and finding peace in difficult moments. Leaning into this theme from a slightly more spirited angle is their single  “Sink Into (Your Love)” (released May 8), which shares the sentiment of welcoming the risk of being hurt in a relationship when the prospect of love is too enticing. The single is accompanied by a music video which Ed began shooting in October 2022. He brought his Super 8 Film Camera around with him whenever he traveled, with footage from Italy, Los Angeles, as well as New York. It all fit the album really well with the 70s retro feel, as well as themes of escapism and traveling outside of your day to day reality. Watch the music video here.

With three albums out to-date, self-titled Scotch Mist (2016), Gold & Silver (2019) and crybaby (2021), and their fourth full-length album coming this year, the band showcases their different eras on each album with influences ranging from late disco to 20th century rock, including: 70’s disco icons like the Bee Gees and Cerrone, 80’s trailblazers Tears for Fears and The Police, and masterful musicians Steely Dan, Marcos Valle, Nick Drake and Paul McCartney/Wings. With each new musical endeavor the band continues to grow and evolve; their upcoming release promises to be their most ambitious project yet, pushing the boundaries of their creativity while exploring new genres and sounds, Cabo Blanco being no exception.

While attending Boston University, Ed met Fern who was a student at Berklee School of Music. The two organically started working on music together. After graduating, Ed moved on to New York City with the intent of joining his brother, Andres, to continue Scotch Mist. In the city is where he met Gianluca who filled in on bass for the live recording of their debut EP. Gianluca, a fellow Berklee graduate, started writing with Ed and soon Fern joined them in New York where the current formation of the band was born. Together they used the period during the COVID-19 Pandemic to write and work on their music as a group. Always honest and genuine, Scotch Mist puts their all into their work, continuously challenging themselves and pushing for greatness.

With five singles leading up to the release of Cabo Blanco, Scotch Mist has laid the groundwork of solid beats and lyrics you can’t help but sing along to. “Shadowbanned,” the lead single from the record, is a lyrically very tongue-in-cheek, light and fun track that felt like a new turn from the band’s typically more sad and intense writing style. “This one had us exploring different sonic styles too, very punchy and upbeat,” they admit. “Fern’s versatile guitar parts feel like 3 distinct tonal flavors, but all coming from the same instrument. We love the 303 bassline outro that Gianluca programmed.” The sophomore single from the album, “Around,” came to be rather quickly with a welcoming arrangement so it was easy for the band to fall into it when writing their parts. “We must have started and finished it in 5 days total,” shares Fern. “Lyrically inspired by Sting’s really descriptive and colorful writing. We love Ed’s falsetto and how it contrasts with the driving instrumental. One of our favorite recording moments from the album.”

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