Grey Causeway - Grey Causeway (2025) Hi-Res

If you’ve been following the Bay Area underground, chances are you’ve come across Andy Asp, Chris Appelgren, Omen Starr, and Frankie Koeller—if not by name, then through their past work in bands like Smokers, Nuisance, The Peechees, The Pattern, Papercuts, or Jim Yoshii Pile Up. Maybe you’ve heard of a little label one of them co-owned: Lookout! Records. Now, they’ve joined forces as Grey Causeway, and just yesterday their self-titled debut landed via Dandy Boy (in association with MOUTH). Let me tell you—it made for a mighty fine workday soundtrack.

This is post-punk for people who don’t necessarily care about post-punk. Sure, it checks the usual boxes: jagged guitars, bass-driven rhythms, hypnotic repetition. But Grey Causeway doesn’t settle for the cold detachment I (maybe unfairly) associate with the genre. There’s too much warmth in the vocals, too much heart in the songs, and more than enough variety to keep it all from sinking into a gray blur.

It’s a record built for return listens—too rich and slow-burning to be an instant hit, but with a learning curve that is not steep at all. Thoughtful sequencing helps the flow: from the melodic rock of I-580 and the pop-leaning No Condition, to the mesmeric pulse of Narcolepsy, and the scrappier kicks of Geo Metro, The Raft, and Killian’s Red.

After a few spins, Grey Causeway starts to feel like four old friends giving you a guided tour through their record collections. That alone makes this a ride well worth taking.