Balto is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from Los Angeles, California composed of singer-songwriter Daniel Sheron, Adam Ditt, and Tristan Leabu.

History

Balto began in 2010 as loose collective of musicians in New York City, performing the songs of singer-songwriter Daniel Sheron. Recently returned from a failed attempt to begin a journalism career in Russia, Sheron gathered a number of friends from past musical projects and set out to record a group of songs written abroad over the previous year. This project resulted in the recording of Balto's debut album, October's Road, which Sheron self-released in early 2011. Balto's early performances were largely confined to the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and in the summer of 2011 the band embarked on its first national tour. Following the 2011 tour, Sheron relocated to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

and continued touring under the Balto name out of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Over the next two years he slowly established a permanent lineup in Portland, consisting of Seth Mower (Drums), Luke Beckel (Guitar), Devon Hoffner (Bass), and Adam Finger (Keyboards). This group would go on to record Call It By Its Name, a 7" released in 2015, as well as an LP – Strangers – released in 2017. During this period, Sheron embarked on two solo tours in Russia. By early 2018, Sheron and Mower were living in Los Angeles, bringing on guitarist Carl Osterlof and Ben 'Bronco' Mower. 2018 also saw Sheron perform an extended series of solo performances in Central Europe, as well as the release of several singles and 7"’s – Songs For Viktor (7"), Bullshit Dream, & Black Snake Mojave Blues (7")and their selection to perform at SXSW 2019. In 2021, the band returned to touring with a lineup consisting of Sheron, Adam Ditt, and Tristan Leabu.

Music and artistry

Balto's musical sound incorporates elements of American Rock’n’Roll, Americana,

Psych Rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording tech ...

, and Classic R&B. What Youth Magazine described the band as "a blend of Americana, gospel, alt-country, and a speckle of psych."

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

writes of the band's 2018 release, ''Black Snake, Mojave Blues -'' "Sounding like the twisted soundtrack to some 1960s beach party movie, this punky garage-rocker skewers the hedonism and hollowness of Los Angeles."

Discography

Studio Albums * October's Road – 2011 * Strangers – 2017 * Magnet/Mind – 2020 EP's & 7" Releases * Monuments (EP) – 2012 * Call It By Its Name (7") – 2015 * Songs For Viktor (7") – 2018 * Black Snake Mojave Blues/Still Don't Know (7") – 2018 * Magnet/Mind (7") – 2020 Music Videos * Airplanes – 2013 * Born Astray – 2016 * Magnet/Mind – 2020

References

{{reflist Alternative rock groups from California