Voluptuous Panic

Voluptuous Panic
Origin Grand Rapids, Michigan
Genres
Years active 2013 (2013)–present
Labels
  • Danish Crisis
  • The Blog That Celebrates Itself Records
Website voluptuouspanicmusic.com
Members

Voluptuous Panic is an American indie rock duo founded in 2013 by Gretchen DeVault, who is the primary singer and songwriter in the prominent indie-pop group The Icicles, and music journalist/author Brian J. Bowe. The duo’s music has been described as hypnotic, textured and dreamy, mixing elements of shoegaze, dream pop and trip-hop.[1]

After the Icicles earned attention in the indie pop world through international placements in commercials for Target Corporation and Motorola, DeVault developed a need for an outlet for the more melancholic side of her writing—particularly after her struggle with postpartum depression.[2] Bowe and DeVault began collaborating in 2010 when they recorded Bowe's score for the film "The Death of an Imam",[3][4] which was nominated for a regional Emmy[5] and won the Best of Festival Award at the Broadcast Education Association's Festival of Media Arts.[6] They adopted the name Voluptuous Panic in 2013, after Bowe came upon the phrase in the book "Frame Analysis" by sociologist Erving Goffman.[7] During that period, Bowe was living in France and teaching at CELSA Paris. He began sharing song ideas with the Michigan-based DeVault remotely. This process of recording separately is one the group retains. In an interview, Bowe called the remote recording process one of Voluptuous Panic’s defining characteristics. “It’s a slow conversation, but it allows us to access deep emotional spaces that might not be possible in a room with a lot of other people,” he said.[8]

Starting in 2014, Voluptuous Panic began releasing a series of singles.[9][10] The group earned notice as “one of the most stylish guitar bands to emerge on the shoegaze scene” [11] and has drawn frequent comparisons to Slowdive, which the group cites as an influence.[12][13] In 2015, they collaborated with French electronic musician Human Koala on the song “Zyva,” which combined psychedelic guitars with modular synthesizers and drum machine beats.[14]

In 2016, Voluptuous Panic released an EP titled “Une Sorte de Panique Voluptueuse,” which was a remixed collection of its earliest demos.[15] The group also appeared on the compilation “Big Day Coming,” a tribute to the band Yo La Tengo.[16]

Voluptuous Panic rarely performs live. For a few shows in 2013, the group was augmented by a rock rhythm section that included Icicles drummer Zane DeVault; in 2014, they performed with Icicles keyboardist Joleen Rumsey.[17]

Discography

References

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