Heliotropes

Heliotropes, a Brooklyn quartet known for its genre-defying indie approach, first formed in 2009 when vocalists and songwriters Jessica Numsuwankijkul and Amber Myers placed a Craigslist advertisement seeking collaborators for Brian Eno covers. Drummer Cici Harrison and bassist Nya Abudu later completed the lineup, with Numsuwankijkul adding guitar and Myers contributing percussion. What began as renditions of Eno and Spacemen 3 material gradually expanded into a broader palette that blended thick sludge metal guitar textures, shoegaze-style drone passages, and intermittent girl group vocal harmonies.

The group’s earliest release appeared as the 2011 Ribbons 7", followed by additional tracks issued only in digital formats. National touring occupied the subsequent years and included performances at the South by Southwest festival plus support dates with Esben and the Witch. In 2013 the Los Angeles label Manimal Vinyl issued the debut album A Constant Sea, which earned strong reviews and soon received an LP reissue from Goodnight Records.

Numsuwankijkul’s growing fascination with World Wars I and II during the winter of 2014 led her to study numerous books and documentaries on the subject. That research directly shaped her songwriting and supplied the thematic core for the band’s second album, 2016’s Over There That Way. The record also introduced a revised lineup consisting of Numsuwankijkul alongside guitarist Ricci Swift, bassist Richard Thomas, and drummer Gregg Guiffre.