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Taleen Kali Shares New Single & Tour
June 7 - June 8
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“A shoegaze wonderland” – KEXP
“You better check out this band” – Henry Rollins, KCRW “Joyful and expansive alt-rock with shades of Lush” – Bandcamp
“Unexpected turns in melody, bringing to mind Debbie Harry” – Stereogum
Taleen Kali today shares her new single “Aepex” via Dum Dum Records, ahead of the band’s direct support tour with Ringo Deathstarr.
Hot off the heels of their critically renowned debut album Flower of Life, L.A.’s dark underground darlings Taleen Kali return with a densely crafted new song. “Aepex” represents an exciting, darker direction taken by the band, with influences ranging from The Horrors, Sextile, L.A. Witch, Tamaryn, Curve, Chapterhouse, and more. “Aepex” features heavy breakbeat drums, Middle Eastern melodies, and swirling sheets of guitars enveloped in dark yet defined fuzz. The band’s signature mashup of post-punk, L.A. punk, and shoegaze finds itself moving from the light-hearted beach into the mystical desert realms, coalescing into a haunting gothic summer song that’s much needed during these dark times.
“There’s a point after which you can’t keep driving up against the current anymore,” says Taleen. “You just want to pierce through it. I grew up in L.A. It’s my home. I love being in DIY community here. And yet sometimes being in the music scene during these dark political times can feel so daunting. Capitalism makes artists compete, turning us into content machines churning ourselves to a pulp. That’s where I got the idea for ‘Aepex.’ I don’t just want to keep pushing upward into oblivion. ‘Aepex’ is the pinnacle of pleasure. A crest. A threshold. It’s about how meaningless the chase can be and finding other ways to forge meaning, finding transcendence amidst chaos and madness. All of these elements started driving me toward a darker direction, both during the songwriting process and in the studio when we were redefining our sound.”
Listen to “Aepex” HERE
“Aepex” is also an apt metaphor for the trajectory of Taleen Kali, who after being named an “Artist To Watch” on Alternative Press in 2024, played their first official SXSW showcase in 2025 and were invited on their first direct support tour with Ringo Deathstarr. For the new era of sounds, the band returned to The Cave Studios to record with engineer and producer Josiah Mazzaschi (Light FM, Bizou, Child Seat) and enlisted the help of Chris King (Cold Showers, Kai Tak) in the mixing process. It’s the first time Taleen herself served as co-producer on an original track, and also the first time that bassist Miles Marsico played drums on a recording—a testament to their long standing collaboration as musicians. “Aepex” also features a cameo solo from the band’s former guitarist Royce Hsu as a fond farewell, as well as their newest guitarist Genevieve Quiquivix, creating a bridge between the old and new iterations of the band. The single includes percussion contributions from the band’s touring drummer Anthony Schillaci, marking Taleen Kali as more of a punk collective than a regular band. Taleen Kali will culminate the West Coast Ringo Deathstarr tour in San Francisco on June 7, and in Los Angeles on June 8, which will double as the single release party for “Aepex.” The band will release ltd. edition 7-inch lathe cut records to celebrate. Tickets here
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Tour Dates
Sat, June 7 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Sun, June 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
Kaleen Kali is an indie band that sounds like goth Blondie and Ride had a lovechild. Hailing from her native Los Angeles, frontwoman and songwriter Taleen Kali composes romantic punk songs wrapped in layers of shoegaze, psychedelia, and grunge, creating a cosmic sound that’s dreamy & defiant alike. With fiery live sets and swirling sonics, Taleen and her band quickly became a fixture of the L.A. underground.
Taleen Kali’s first full-length “Flower Of Life” came out in 2023 on Dum Dum Records. It was produced by The Smashing Pumpkins’ Jeff Schroeder and Josiah Mazzaschi (Child Seat, Bizou, Light FM), and recorded at The Cave, home to albums by The Jesus and Mary Chain, IDLES, and members of Slowdive, The Smiths, Lush, The Kills, and Warpaint. The title track “Flower of Life” debuted as the LP’s 1st single on KEXP & “Crusher” premiered on KCRW with heavy airplay by Henry Rollins. After their sold-out album release show, Taleen Kali’s LP made Bandcamp Album of the Day, was interviewed by SPIN, and garnered a lot of radio love–Henry Rollins played them on KCRW almost every week since the record came out and they’ve been on heavy rotation at KEXP. The band played 2 full U.S. tours to support the album including festivals such as Freakout, Psyched Fest, Treefort, SXSW (official), and Dum Dum Fest.
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