Pure Bathing Culture Share Surprise EP 'Roxi's Dream Part One'

Iconic Portland duo Pure Bathing Culture have released a new EP via First City Artists; stream Roxi’s Dream Part One. The four-song collection is the first installment in a series the critically acclaimed indie pop duo plan to share, an otherworldly tale of two star-crossed lovers named Roxi and Neroli. 

Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman share, “We are beginning an exploration into our version of an Isekai or portal fantasy theme. Of the four songs on the EP, two are told from the perspective of Roxi — City of Mirrors and Neroli Blue — while two are told from the perspective of Neroli — In Gardens Under Evergreen and Treasure Pleasure Wonder Gem.”

In their 10+ years as a band, Pure Bathing Culture have released three full length albums & three EPs, collaborated with and/or recorded with artists such as Ben Gibbard, Damien Jurado, Vetiver & Fruit Bats, gathered reliable acclaim from tastemakers like NPR, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Paste, and Portland Mercury among others, and worked with producers such as Richard Swift, John Congleton & Tucker Martine before embracing a more independent approach to recording and producing.

The duo are known for a beautiful sonic strangeness—fusing the glassy dreamscapes of the Cocteau Twins with the surefire hooks of Fleetwood Mac, hints of chillwave and R&B pulsing throughout. Pure Bathing Culture’s moody effervescence dominated their 2013 debut album Moon Tides, while on later albums such as 2015's Pray for Rain and 2019's Night Pass, the pair streamlined their sound, bringing a knack for catchy melodicism front and center.

Hindman and Versprille elaborate on the EP, “The story begins with a disappearance. Roxi has vanished and it’s uncertain whether it was voluntary or not. Neroli returns to a garden every night (the last place they saw Roxi) to look for a sign or clue. Wherever Roxi is, it’s highly unlikely they’re in the same world or universe that Neroli is in anymore. Whether Roxi has been drawn or tricked in some way onto some other plane is unknown at this time but regardless they’re gone, likely up into the night sky, without a trace.

As time passes and we write more together, what was once a mystery is starting to feel like some vital process we’re inexplicably drawn to…sometimes it almost feels like we’re translating someone else’s dreams from some other world. But then these love psalms and ghost stories become a lens for us to view a mirror and see that we’re writing about ourselves at the same time. 

There’s so much more of Roxi and Neroli’s story to tell…”