Vermouth performs Retro Future Pop Exotica filled with intricate vocal harmonies, atmospheric guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. Quirky and catchy- with songs featuring sea anemones, go go dancers, iguanas and various tales of idiosyncratic friends- Vermouth condenses an eclectic assortment of influences into bite size chucks of pop music that are both melodic and offbeat.

 

Justine Kragen (vocals/guitar/bass) and Steve McDonald (lead guitar/bass), both classically trained guitarists, met while pursuing music degrees at UC Santa Cruz and started the band in 1999. After a couple of incarnations they added Matthew Embry (keyboards/vocals) and Curtis Cunningham (drums) in 2003.

In addition to their cocktail pop sensibilities, Kragen and McDonald are long-time students of Balinese gamelan music are both heavily influenced by its structure and tonality. Other assorted band influences include punk, new wave, traditional Latin American folk music, ultra lounge, and in the case of Cunningham, who hails from Northern Ireland, funk and jazz fusion.  Embry, who is also a solo singer/songwriter, performs everything from 40's show tunes to musique concrète when he is working outside of Vermouth. Each member adds his or her own styles, riffs, and arrangements to the songs, which are often first composed by Kragen.

Sometimes eerie, sometimes wacky, and sometimes edgy, Vermouth songs always stick in your head.