Photos: Taleen Kali to Release AEPEX LP, Shares "Viper" Single and Video

Los Angeles based band Taleen Kali has announced their new album, Aepex, due out early 2027 via Dum Dum Records. The announcement is accompanied by the release of lead single 'Viper,' which finds the band melding romantic punk and ethereal guitar, solidifying their dark, dreamy, and defiant sound.

Photo Credit: Rick Perez

For the new era of sounds, Taleen Kali returned to The Cave Studios to record with engineer and producer Josiah Mazzaschi (Light FM, Bizou, Child Seat) who also mixed and mastered the album. The band enlisted the help of Chris King (Cold Showers, Kai Tak) for additional mixing on 'Aepex' and 'Crossed,' and invited AFI's Hunter Burgan to play saxophone on the dark psych-meets-riot-grrrl 'Black Rose' and bass on 'Eternal Eye.'

''Viper' is written in the form of a palindrome, it has this cyclical format that isn't like any of our previous songs,' the band explains. 'I wanted to write a song about the fractured feminine, about what can happen when we try to break someone down over and over again and again. I remember seeing this nature video of a bright blue viper coiled and perched on top of a red rose, and the rose was holding up the entire weight of this thing–it wouldn't bend or break. It was fascinating so it became the artwork for the single and informed a lot of the visuals of our music video.'

Aepex represents an exciting darker direction taken by the band with influences ranging from The Horrors, Sextile, L.A. Witch, Tamaryn, Curve, Chapterhouse, and more. It features heavy breakbeat drums, incendiary beat changes, Middle Eastern melodies, swirling sheets of guitar fuzz, and dark feminine vocals with a powerful range: from commanding to sugar-sweet. Composed of Taleen Kali (vocals/guitar), Genevieve Quiquivix (guitar), Miles Marsico (bass), and Ciara DeAlba (drums), the band's signature mashup of post-punk, L.A. punk, and shoegaze finds itself moving from the light-hearted beach into the mystical desert realms, coalescing into a haunting and alluring body of work.

This is the first time Kali herself has served as co-producer on an LP alongside Marsico and Mazzaschi. She shares her guitar duties with their newest guitarist Genevieve Quiquivix and Mazzaschi as well as a few cameo solo parts by former guitarist of 6 years Royce Hsu. Aepex also includes backing vocals by DeAlba, Marsico, and Mazzaschi.

'Viper' by Taleen Kali is out now. Aepex is out early 2027 via Dum Dum Records.

A single release show is set for Bar Sinister in Los Angeles on September 12th.

About Taleen Kali

Taleen Kali is an indie band that sounds like goth Blondie and a happier My Bloody Valentine had a lovechild. Hailing from her native Los Angeles, frontwoman and songwriter Taleen Kali composes romantic punk songs wrapped in layers of shoegaze haze, creating a cosmic sound that's dark, dreamy, and defiant.

With fiery live sets and swirling sonics, Taleen and her band quickly became a fixture of the L.A. underground, sharing bills with bands such as Ringo Deathstarr, Swervedriver, TR/ST, A Place To Bury Strangers, Ex Hex, Seth Bogart, Alice Bag, Patriarchy, Sacred Skin, Male Tears, Frankie Rose, Past Self, Geneva Jacuzzi, and more.

Her 2018 debut EP Soul Songs–produced by Kristin Kontrol (Dum Dum Girls), mixed by Brad Laner (Medicine), and recorded at Hollywood's legendary Sunset Sound Studios–found Taleen's riot grrrl ethos maturing into a polished, multifaceted punk sound with noise pop and new wave influences. Upon its release, Kali received praise from outlets like BUST Magazine and Stereogum, who likened her sound to a contemporary Blondie, and Soul Songs was included in Pitchfork's Guide to Albums and LA Weekly's Best Indie Punk Albums.

Taleen Kali's first full-length Flower Of Life came out in 2023 on Dum Dum Records. It was produced by The Smashing Pumpkins' Jeff Schroeder and Josiah Mazzaschi (Child Seat, Bizou, Light FM), and recorded at The Cave, home to albums by The Jesus and Mary Chain, IDLES, and members of Slowdive, The Smiths, Lush, The Kills, and Warpaint. The title track 'Flower of Life' debuted as the LP's 1st single on KEXP & 'Crusher' premiered on KCRW with heavy airplay by Henry Rollins. After their sold-out album release show, Taleen Kali's LP made Bandcamp Album of the Day, was interviewed by SPIN, and garnered a lot of radio love–Henry Rollins played them on KCRW almost every week after the record came out and they were on heavy rotation at KEXP. The band played 2 full U.S. tours to support the album including festivals such as Freakout, Psyched Fest, Treefort, and more.

The band's follow up to LP1 was the remix album 'Flower of Death' in 2024 and the Covered EP of alternative love song covers in 2025, which landed Taleen Kali a feature on Alternative Press for 6 rising artists to watch. In 2025 the band embarked on their 3rd U.S. tour playing their first SXSW official showcase, supporting dates for Ringo Deathstarr, and culminating in Substance Festival.

In 2026 Taleen Kali played their 4th U.S. tour including performances at Dum Dum Fest with Past Self and Drag Talk and Schellraiser's Humboldt Hideaway micro-festival opening for Swervedriver. The band just announced more singles ahead of their 2nd LP which will be released in early 2027 on Dum Dum Records. Look out for 'Viper' out September 10th with a special single release show at Bar Sinister in Los Angeles.

Band Members

Taleen Kali: Vox, Guitar

Genevieve Quiquivix: Guitar

Miles Marsico: Bass

Ciara DeAlba: Drums

Aepex - Track Listing

01. Aepex

02. Black Rose

03. Love in Reverse

04. 1642

05. Eternal Eye

06. Nova

07. Relic/Ruin

08. Moonflower

09. Viper

10. Crossed

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