UV-TV talks about its debut LP ahead of next week’s Blind Tiger show

Gainesville punk trio UV-TV just released its debut LP, Glass, via Canada’s Deranged Records. It’s a post-punk meets pop dream, loaded with fuzz — or, as the group’s bio puts it, “shoegaze which has been stripped of its fat and fluff.” It’s the kind of record that demands spin after spin, with guitar hooks just as likely as the vocals to lodge themselves in your brain.

I spoke with the band’s Rose Vastola (bass, vocals) and Ian Burnacett (guitar, vocals) by email about Glass and UV-TV’s unique sound.

The Pitch: What the hell is in the Gainesville water that leads to so many catchy bands with sharp edges?

Rose Vastola: Hmmm, not sure. Haha: I think it’s the town itself. It’s easy to live here, so you can focus on your creative projects more.

Ian Burnacett: Not sure. Gainesville has been known for the pop punk thing for a while, so we’re just trying to avoid that.

Where does that guitar tone come from? It’s shimmering and big, but manages to rock out when necessary.

Ian: I don’t really use a lot of pedals but I really like the clean dirty thing for my main guitar parts. I have this weird Shine Ei fuzz replica for those bigger louder parts.

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“Take It All” is, for me, kind of Glass‘s highlight. It fits right in with the rest of the tracks, but the trading off of vocal lines and slow-fast progression of the rhythm really set it apart. Was there something special about how it came together?

Rose: I had the main bass line written for a very long time. I actually tried it out with other projects but it never worked until I showed it to Ian, it just fit with his style perfectly. The lyrics evolved as the song developed and we both thought it was a good song to have alternating vocals on.

Six of the songs on Glass were also on your demo in 2014. In the time between those recordings and this, what did you want to change in how you presented them?

Rose: We never changed the songs, I just think they just developed into there final sound. We also have a different drummer [Ryan Hopewell] on our record, who I feel brings the songs together more so than before.

Ian: Yeah — the demo didn’t really do those songs justice, especially songs like ”You’re High” and ”Hear’.’ I think there’s more intensity and urgency on the LP.

How do you record in a train station with a couple of microphones and a Tascam and get something which sounds this good? Is it a matter of trial and error, or something else?

Ian: We borrowed decent microphones and the room sounded amazing, but I think my friend Andy really came through with mixing, which really made the record come together and sound the way it does.

Rose: We had recorded in studios and on our own multiple times. I think we really put our best foot forward with the session you hear on the record because we were kind of at our end with trial and error and things not working out one after another. It was almost like this had to be it, or not at all. We were really desperate but really careful in a way.

It seems like it’s a natural fit, but why release with Deranged Records: is it their aesthetic and roster?

Rose: I was really excited when deranged first messaged us. It was the first real offer we had and it was cool they found out about us from all the way in British Columbia. I come from a hardcore/punk background and even though I knew this record might be different from the rest of their releases, I think we both knew it would be a good fit because our energy is the same.

Ian: Gord [Dufresne] has a good ear and has put out really good stuff for a while now. We only had a couple offers after the demo was out and we liked the idea of working with Deranged best.

In terms of moving forward, “Dissolve,” the last track on Glass, seems to take everything on the album and make it bigger and stronger. Is this a hint at the direction in which UV-TV is headed?

Rose: Possibly. We have an EP coming out in the summer that shares the same vibe of the demo and the A-side of our record, but we have a handful of songs that move in direction of “Dissolve.” I don’t think we will really know ourselves, until we record for our next major release.

UV-TV plays the Blind Tiger on Tuesday, April 18.