Something small and quiet at first, the Sacramento, CA based, Sister Crayon began with vocalist, Terra Lopez, playing classical guitar and pre-programmed beats on a loop pedal to attentive house party crowds.  With the addition of members Dani Fernandez, Jeffrey LaTour, and Nicholas Suhr, Sister Crayon emerged seamlessly melding haunting balladry, rich analogue textures, and a rhythmic prowess informed by trip-hop and krautrock.  Despite the music’s dark, melancholy nature, there’s a sweetness and charisma about Lopez that immediately strikes a chord with audiences.

Their forthcoming debut full-length, Bellow, is full of juxtapositions that inexplicably work well together: sorrowful yet triumphant, expanse but also intimate.  The inspiration for Bellow derives from a few places, namely the writer Fernando Pessoa who had a large influence on the record.  His curiosity and writings on death, homosexuality, longing, and general despair was the muse for the mood and tone, a tension that is present throughout.

Live, the four-piece use a combination of samplers, guitar, synths, and live percussion to lay down a steady foundation as Lopez builds and breaks down the songs, alternating between a hip-hop inflected cadence and a spectral croon.  In the past year, Sister Crayon has created quite a stir with their inspiring performances playing alongside folks like Warpaint (who they put out a split 7-inch with), Baths, School of Seven Bells, Busdriver, among many others in their brief existence as a band.