The DUSK Issue: Loveblaster
WORDS BY Elliot Novak & Photos by XinYue Lin
With the Madison music scene chock-full of energetic emo, indie rock and hardcore punk, sometimes one needs a bit of a breather, a reminder to slow down and simply exist. Slowcore trio Loveblaster offers respite, a pause in the upbeat frenzy that is in no short supply in Madison. The trio, comprised of Marley VanRaalte (vocals, guitar), Abby Self (vocals, drums) and Ilyich Meza (bass), is no stranger to the local scene, having formed back in 2020. The most recent iteration of Loveblaster was finalized in early 2024, with Meza replacing former bassist Neil Jochmann of Combat Naps and Graham Hunt’s band due to scheduling overlaps.
In a dimly lit, maximally decorated living room, I sat down with Loveblaster to discuss the home they’ve found in the Madison music scene and the way they’ve made a name for themselves as one of the few slowcore bands in the area.
Being surrounded by bands of wildly different genres can seem isolating, but that’s never been an issue for Loveblaster. Self touched on the frequency of mixed-genre bills, “It’s interesting how easily it seems we fit into mixed genre shows, maybe I’m delusional but it feels like all genres could branch off from the music we make. We’re like the pared back version of a lot of the bands we play with." With many local shows highlighting the wide range of genres found in the scene, people often come across bands they wouldn’t be introduced to otherwise.
“If you sound a little bit different than the norm, I feel like people are always nice about it. At every show we’ve played it feels like we’re the weird band, but it seems like that’s always been a good thing. People have always been like, ‘woah, that’s cool, it’s different.’ And we’re not even playing any music that’s very groundbreaking.” VanRaalte added on. “I feel very accepted by the Madison community so I feel like I’m weirdly on the ground floor of [the constant evolution of the local scene] it feels like everyone is growing together, at the same time.“
Loveblaster’s new music is shifting, as is the case with many slowcore bands over time. “[Loveblaster] was basically born of the limitations of what the drums could be. We started with just a snare and a cymbal, and there was only so much we could do with them.” Self explains the musical growth they’ve had, having learned how to play the drums through this project. “It began to really fall into place with what Marley was writing.”
Speaking on the influence found in many notable slowcore and folk bands, VanRaalte added, “I like to say we were essentially a Low cover band when we started. We took a lot of inspiration from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings too, like, ‘Wouldn't it be cool if we were like them?’ And that just kind of grew into what we made for [The Way Things Work]. Everything since then has been a piece-by-piece growth into where we’re at now, where I feel like for the first time, we feel like a full band.”
Their writing process has also grown, becoming much more collaborative with the integration of Meza on bass. “Now we’re all writing all of own parts, it’s feeling a lot less like I’m writing a song and everyone’s learning it and a lot more like ‘I have an idea, let’s develop it together,’” VanRaalte said, touching on the shift they’ve all experienced over time. While not a complete deviation from their first album, their upcoming releases present a more realized image of the project. When joking about a possible genre shift, VanRaalte alluded that they were moving away from the category of slowcore and instead moving more towards whatever the antithesis of hardcore is, perhaps, softcore?
“The ethos of Loveblaster is ‘how do we as maximalists make a minimalist sound?’ and most things we do get filtered through that. With the first record we really achieved that, making it feel as little as possible.” VanRaalte said. The trio is taking the stripped back foundation they created with The Way Things Work and aims to add a pop of color into their discography, possibly even introducing new reverb and chorus pedals, VanRaalte and Meza divulged, alluding to the introduction of new gear to their sound.
Even though they’re moving away from their original minimalist approach, Loveblaster remains true to their roots, creating a calming reminder to take it slow.
