Rocketship is an American
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band formed in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States, in 1993. Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Dustin Reske with bassist Verna Brock, keyboardist Heidi Barney and drummer Jim Rivas, the group released the single "Hey, Hey, Girl" in 1994 and the album ''A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness'' in 1996. After the album's release, the original line-up dissolved and Reske continued Rocketship essentially as a solo project, releasing the singles "Honey, I Need You" and "Get on the Floor (And Move It)" in 1997 and the albums ''Garden of Delights'' in 1999, ''Here Comes... Rocketship'' in 2006, and ''Thanks to You'' in 2019.
Rocketship's sound can be described as 1960s-style
twee pop
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation ''C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love ...
, characterized by ringing guitars, droning organs and
shoegazing
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
influences; although, as a solo project, Reske has taken the sound in an
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
direction.
In May 2014, Rocketship performed for the first time in several years, during both SF Popfest and NYC Popfest festivals.
Discography
Albums
* ''A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness'' (February 13, 1996)
** Slumberland Records SLR 40
*# "I Love You Like the Way That I Used to Do"
*# "Kisses Are Always Promises"
*# "Heather, Tell Me Why"
*# "Let's Go Away"
*# "I'm Lost Without You Here"
*# "Carrie Cooksey"
*# "We're Both Alone"
*# "Friendships and Love"
* ''Garden of Delights'' (1999)
** Drive-In Records drive26
*# "We Took the High Road"
*# "Butterflies"
*# "Carved by Winds and Waters"
*# "Artesian Wells"
*# "Furness"
*# "The Deadly Fisher"
*# "Jewels from Many Lands"
* ''Here Comes... Rocketship'' (February 2006)
** Nonstop Cooperative Records; CD-R only available online
*# "The Scene Section"
*# "You're Too Young"
*# "Oh! Woe Is Me"
*# "The Foxes' Teeth"
*# "No More Tomorrows"
*# "They March in Line"
*# "The Passersby"
*# "I'm Gonna Take Your Place"
*# "This Modern Livin'"
*# "Good Intentions"
*# "Noose and Saddle Blues"
*# "Our New Track"
* ''Thanks to You'' (October 11, 2019)
** Darla Records
*# "Under Streetlight Shadows"
*# "Nothing Deep Inside"
*# "I Just Can't Get Enough of You"
*# "A Terrible Fix"
*# "Outer Otherness"
*# "What's the Use of Books?"
*# "Broken Musicbox"
*# "Milk-Aisle Smiles"
*# "City, Fair"
*# "I Don't Know Why I Still Love You"
Singles
* "Hey, Hey, Girl" (1994)
** 7" single; The Bus Stop Label BUS034
*# "Hey, Hey, Girl"
*# "Naomi and Me"
*# "People I Know"
* Split single with
Henry's Dress
Henry's Dress was an American noise pop band from Albuquerque, New Mexico (and later from San Francisco, California), consisting of Amy Linton (later of The Aislers Set) and Matt Hartman, who both acted as singer, guitarist and drummer at various ...
(May 1996)
** 7" single;
I Wish I Was a Slumberland Record WISH 006
*# Henry's Dress – "Over 21"
*# Henry's Dress – "Can't Make It Move"
*# Rocketship – "It's Going to Be Soon"
* "Honey, I Need You" (1997)
** 7" single; The Bus Stop Label BUS057
*# "Honey, I Need You"
*# "She's Gonna Make Me Cry"
* "Get on the Floor (And Move It)" (May 1997)
** 7" single; Jigsaw Records PZL005
*# "Get on the Floor (And Move It)"
*# "All the Pleasures"
* Split EP with Trace (August 2003)
** 2-CD set; Omnibus Records omni030
*# Rocketship – "The Quad"
*# Rocketship – "James, That's All Over Now"
*# Rocketship – "You'll Regret It Someday"
*# Rocketship – "Never Going to Let You"
*# Rocketship – "Post-Work Comedown"
*# Trace – "Annuals"
*# Trace – "Poles and Mountains"
*# Trace – "Say It All Was True"
*# Trace – "I Want Less"
*# Trace – "You Should Know It"
*# Trace – "Hall of Doom"
*# Trace – "Do Loops"
External links
Rocketship's Label, Co-owned by Rocketship*
allmusic artist overviewbr>
Interview with Dustin Reske on guitargeek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocketship
Indie rock musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups from Sacramento, California
Slumberland Records artists
Darla Records artists