The band dios comes from Hawthorne, a city situated in the sunny South Bay of Southern California. While the sunbathing beauties and gorgeous weather might inspire some bands to opt for bright, carefree music, dios delighted to mire in Sunday-afternoon melancholy with softly atmospheric pop songs bringing to mind the sadder side of their Hawthorne forefathers and musical heroes, the Beach Boys.
“We could give a shit about surfers or swimming,” bassist John Paul Caballero bluntly says. “The only good thing about the beach is watching the sunset, drunk.”
Don’t lump dios in with other “throwback” bands that often mimic old-school classical songwriting with little substance or emotion (see Jet and the Sleepy Jackson). The band is actually aware that the last 20 years of music happened, coloring their already strong compositions with ghostly keyboards and off-kilter diversions such as the studio chatter and sped-up tape loops which open the catchy “You’ll Get Yours.” Beatles-esque chord progressions are paired with absurd, playful lyrics and quiet intimacy, recalling Neil Young, who they cover on the upcoming self-titled debut. Live, dios’s mellower leanings are tempered by the ever-present desire to rock out, making its minimal arrangements unpredictable and epic.
“We’re usually drunk,” singer/guitarist Joel Morales deadpans. “We gotta hear ourselves, and we’re very egotistical, so everyone turns their shit up to 11.”
Dios are currently racking up an impressive resumé for a little-known band, with a mention in the March 18 issue of Rolling Stone issue, a full-page write-up in NME’s “Bands to Watch for 2004,” a slot on Day 1 of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival alongside the Pixies and Radiohead, and a warm reception to their first EP, Los Arboles, released in January. But the band has yet to feel the hype machine do its dirty business.
“If there’s hype, I don’t really see it,” said Morales. “I’m still poor as shit.”
Along with frequent tour buddies Grandaddy (who occasionally cover an old dios song “Love You, Girl…”), dios will play SOMA March 9 with emo-pop upstarts Saves the Day and the Fire Theft, which feature members from Sunny Day Real Estate and Foo Fighters. The show starts at 7:45 p.m., so be there on time to see the amazing new band. It won’t be unknown for long.
