Although their concept is — ahem — out there, Saucers Over Washington are not some winking lark. In both subject and song, the quartet of Nik Sidella (guitar/vocals), Haleigh Mooney (bass/vocals), Rob Weisenbarger (drums) and Christian Leon (lead guitar) are serious. In fact, Sidella has a deep, lifelong interest in UFOs and aliens, even co-hosting a podcast on the topic titled “Aliengazing Podcast.”
“I’ve personally been fascinated by UFOs and ETs since I was really young,”he says.“I’ve had a few UFO sightings/experiences, one of which was with Haleigh and her sister back in May 2021.”
Sidella is just as invested in shoegaze music. Besides prominently spinning noise-pop gems on his podcast, he’s gone all in with shoegaze since Saucers Over Washington officially spun off from indie-punk band the Grizzly Atoms in 2021.
Now, SOW have finally made their full-length debut with new album American Cosmic. The recently released 14-track collection is planned as the opening chapter of a trilogy about the UFO mythos. It focuses on the human side of the phenomenon, while subsequent albums will cover governmental suppression and the aliens themselves.
“From seeing a UFO and having it rock the foundations of existential reality, to abductions, CE5, and many places in between, it aims to depict the human face of UFO encounters,” says Sidella. “I feel like there hasn’t been as much music out there that takes the phenomenon seriously and reflects the lived reality of those
experiences, and that’s ultimately what we want- ed to accomplish with this album.”
With American Cosmic, SOW are firmly notching their spot on the shoegaze spectrum. While all the walls of My Bloody Valentine fuzz prove them to be proud traditionalists, some of their propulsive rock tectonics could ride with Swervedriver.
Between their cradling melodies and sudden guitar thrusts is a dynamic contrast that cranks the pulse more than the sonic sedatives of their peers. It’s an exhilarating dance of dream and torque that positions Saucers Over Washington as one of Orlando’s preeminent shoegaze contenders right now.
American Cosmic now streams everywhere, and a deluxe physical version is available on Bandcamp as a USB flash-drive cassette. The official release show is this weekend with support by Corvallis, Doolittle and Black Wick. (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, Stardust Video & Coffee, $10)
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Shoegaze and UFOs go together like chocolate and peanut butter for Orlando’s Saucers Over Washington
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2024.