Portland's Balto Returns with 'CA LUV' via Impose, On Tour

Following the success of the recently released 7" EP Call it By its Name, Portland's own Balto has unleashed their new single "CA LUV" via Impose. Filled with exciting riffs and driving grooves, "CA LUV" is a nostalgic trip, calling to mind the upbeat key flourishes of Peter Gabriel or 80s-era Grateful Dead. The track is the first taste of the next steps of Balto, raising hopes for what's to come.

Frontman Daniel Sheron explains that he "set out to write something kind of sunny... but couldn't really shake anxiety out of the love song equation. So we got a song about snapshots in time, innocent moments of abandon, staying up all night with new friends - yet aware of how quickly that can turn on you, still aware that it's all part of the big delusion, so the chorus can either be one of ignorant bliss or knowing irony."

Balto is mercurial American roots music - song-driven rock'n'roll - a hair-raising live band from the Northwest - electric guitars and Hammond organs, dreamy walls of sound and the occasional Bonzo drum flourish. This is a band formed the old fashioned way - chance meetings through friends of friends - four life-long musicians fromaround the country, playing at the intersection of so many strands of indigenous American music - that tradition that runs from Son House to Sun Ra, from Mississippi John Hurt to the Alabama Shakes.

Balto came into being when Daniel Sheron abandoned his life in Moscow, Russia and went alone into Siberia. Against an ever-shifting backdrop of railways and desolate wastes, he wrote a cycle of songs to tell the story of what had happened in that strange country, why he had exiled himself, and why he thought it mattered. These songs became band's debut LP, October's Road, which was self-released in early 2011 to a growing chorus of blogs and listeners all over the world. The success of the group's debut album and steadily growing audiences in Manhattan and Brooklyn led the band to tour across the US (including Alaska) and Canada and appear at multiple festivals. The sophomore album Monuments followed in the footsteps of the previous record while displaying and encouraging growth, both for the artists and the fanbase. Balto's unique sound combines elements of folk, rock, funk, and Americana, placing them in the company of contemporary groups such as Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Deer Tick.

The ties to Russia remain strong - Sheron speaks fluent Russian and will be returning to the country for a string of shows this fall, but not before kicking things off on the west coast of the United States. Exciting things are certainly on the horizon for Balto - be sure to take note with "CA LUV" and watch for more to come.

Stream + Share "CA LUV" Here

Catch Balto Live:
8/19 - Spokane, WA @ The Big Dipper
8/20 - Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
8/21-27 - Portland, OR @ Al's Den (Residency)
9/9 - San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
9/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café
9/15-18 - Moscow, Russia @ Moscow Music Week

Don't Miss a Music News Story Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...