Start Listening To: Clarion
A raw and restless conversation with Clarion about pushing shoegaze beyond nostalgia, chaotic live shows and refusing to sand down the edges.
Clarion don’t sound interested in playing shoegaze by the rulebook. The Los Angeles trio pull together towering noise, post-rock atmosphere, hardcore intensity and emotionally raw songwriting into something that feels volatile. Their latest EP Blue Fairy captures that tension perfectly; loud, vulnerable songs that hit with the force of a basement show while still leaving room for melody and texture to cut through the distortion. Ahead of another relentless stretch of touring, we caught up with the band to talk about DIY culture, resisting expectations after ‘Hello Juliet’, Buffalo Wild Wings fatigue and why chaos has become central to Clarion’s identity.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Clarion consists of Anthony Sanchez (Guitar), Saya Oliva (Bass and Vocals), and Javier Flores (Drums), we are from Los Angeles, and we make Alt/rock - Shoegaze, and Post Rock!
Blue Fairy feels loud, chaotic and emotionally raw in a way that never sounds overly polished. Was there a conscious decision to keep the EP feeling rough around the edges?
Not really, the EP was executed from ideas that were long formed even before the Clarion EP came out. We went into the Studio to record the best we could and this was the product of it. We just stayed as raw as we could and it translated perfectly.
You’ve described the band as discovering its voice in real time. What do you think has changed most about Clarion between the early lockout jams and this EP?
Song structures, chords, voicings etc when writing music. We are all finding new music in real time that we are all actively changing as musicians as time passes. Our live song as well, we have refined and shaped our show to be the best representation it could be.
There’s a real push-and-pull in your sound between shoegaze atmosphere and hardcore intensity. How do you balance melody with sheer noise when writing together?
I don't think we try to find a balance, in full honesty we just go into our studio and create. I think the push and pull is very natural for us and a part of our natural song writing.
‘Hello Juliet’ has clearly exploded in a huge way online. Has the response to that track changed anything for the band creatively or emotionally?
The explosion did change us for a little bit, we were worried that we would have to continue making tracks like Hello Juliet, and we kept creating music that felt forced and not natural to us. We have since then buckled down and continue to make music that is what WE want to create.
A lot of modern shoegaze bands lean heavily into nostalgia, but Clarion feels much more volatile and immediate. Did you actively want to avoid sounding too clean or revivalist?
Yes, that is one of the by-products of being in the shoegaze genre. Don't get me wrong, I love swells, feedback, and some of the crazy textures that can be created with a big pedalboard, but after a while it all sounds the same. You will find yourself trying to find differences in some bands, but they truly cling onto the nostalgia factor, which personally creates music that is not them. Leading into the same sounds over and over. We wanted to be able to push the shoegaze genre and what you call shoegaze, we sometimes have people angrily comment that we are not true shoegaze- but really, what is "true" shoegaze? - Anthony
The energy of your live shows seems central to what Clarion is about. How important was it for Blue Fairy to capture some of that same unpredictability and chaos?
Very important, we are unapologetically loud live, so we wanted to copy that into our recordings.
You’ve cited everyone from Sonic Youth and HUM to Paramore as influences. Were there any records you kept coming back to while making this EP?
Teenage Riot by Sonic Youth and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance.
DIY culture feels deeply embedded in the band, whether that’s playing unconventional spaces or building things from the ground up yourselves. How much has the LA DIY scene shaped Clarion’s identity?
A-lot, I have been integrated into the scene since I was 16, hosting shows and attending shows since then. The DIY scene really helped us navigate through everything that is happening because at the end of it all, we are all making music and doing this because it truly is what we love. - Anthony
‘Cover Me’ feels especially intense both sonically and visually. What made that track stand out as the right choice for a video?
Saya had always had a vision for Cover me as a music video, the song itself and how hard it hits along with the topic made it a perfect candidate for a music video.
Touring with Panchiko has put you in front of huge crowds across North America. What have you learned about yourselves as a band from being on the road so relentlessly?
That we are getting old! As funny as it sounds, this is the longest tour we have been on, from just wrapping up our East Coast headlining tour to now the shows with Panchiko we can all truly say we miss home and that we are tired, but we are giving it everything we got!
Blue Fairy feels like it exists in a space between beauty and abrasion. Do you think tension is something you naturally gravitate towards creatively?
I think so! With my tunings and chord voicings I think tension is a natural thing we gravitate towards as a band!
What do you love right now?
I love buffalo wild wings on the road right now! - Anthony
What do you hate right now?
The band absolutely hates Buffalo Wild Wings on the road right now. - Anthony
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
A fever you can't sweat out by Panic at the Disco, it is a really bold debut album that we would love to recreate something like this one day. - Saya
Milo goes to College by The Descendents, this album was my anthem through high school and seriously made me pick up the guitar to learn their songs. Without this album I truly wouldn't be here. - Anthony
When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?
The tonality of the music and how real it is. We are raw and vulnerable on each track that we hope that our fans can sense it when they hear the music.
