Sianvar (pronounced: sea-en-var) was an American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band from

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, formed in 2013. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Donovan Melero, guitarists Will Swan and Sergio Medina, and drummer Joseph Arrington. The band is signed to Swan's independent record label

Blue Swan Records William Swan (born December 5, 1985) is an American songwriter and musician born in Sacramento, California. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance and as the founder and owner ...

. They released their debut self-titled EP on January 5, 2014 and their debut full-length studio album, '' Stay Lost'', in August 2016. The band announced an indefinite hiatus on April 8, 2019.

Career

2013–17: Self-titled EP and ''Stay Lost''

The band announced their formation on July 23, 2013. The group's first iteration consisted of

Dance Gavin Dance Dance Gavin Dance is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2005. The band currently consists of vocalists Jon Mess and Tilian Pearson, lead guitarist Will Swan, rhythm guitarist Andrew Wells, and drummer Matthew Mingus. ...

guitarist Will Swan, Hail the Sun drummer and vocalist Donovan Melero, Stolas guitarist Sergio Medina, and

A Lot Like Birds A Lot Like Birds was an American post-hardcore band formed in Sacramento, California. The band released four albums and received considerable media attention from music sites. Since the release of 2011's ''Conversation Piece'', A Lot Like Birds ...

bassist Michael Littlefield and drummer Joseph Arrington. They signed with Swan's independent record label

. The group released their debut single "Sick Machine" on November 11, 2013. On January 5, 2014, they released their

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ly titled debut EP through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. Sianvar performed their first concert on January 8, 2014 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

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 ...

. In support of the release, the band toured with other musical groups such as A Lot Like Birds,

Tilian Pearson Tilian Pearson (born July 12, 1987), also known mononymously as Tilian, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Clearwater, Florida. Since 2012 he has been the third clean vocalist for the post-hardcore band Danc ...

Strawberry Girls Strawberry Girls is an American rock band from Salinas, California, formed in 2011. The band is currently composed of guitarist Zac Garren, drummer Ben Rosett, and bassist Ian Jennings. All three members are multi-instrumentalists and record prod ...

, Stolas,

The Venetia Fair The Venetia Fair was an American rock band from Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States. Formed in 2006, the band's final line-up was lead vocalist Benny Santoro, guitarist Mike Abiuso, bassist Charles "Mr. Chark" King, keyboardist Joseph Occhi ...

, My Iron Lung, EROS, Idlehands, Artifex Pereo, and Eidola. Michael Littlefield departed from the band in February 2015, subsequently being replaced by A Lot Like Birds guitarist Michael Franzino. Sianvar began tracking for their debut full-length studio album in July 2015. On June 26, 2016, the band announced their debut studio album, '' Stay Lost'', its track listing, and release date. Two days later, the group released the lead single "Omniphobia", accompanied with its music video, which premiered on

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

. The band released the single "Psychosis Succumbing" on July 14. The band embarked on their headlining Stay Lost Tour beginning at the Red House in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek ser ...

on August 4, 2016. Sianvar embarked on a second headlining tour in support of ''Stay Lost'' in January 2017 with

Icarus the Owl Icarus the Owl is an American alternative rock band based in Portland, Oregon formed in 2009. The band currently consists of vocalist Joey Rubenstein, lead guitarist Tim Brown, percussionist Rob Bernknopf, and bassist Jake Thomas-Low. The band ha ...

and Frameworks.

2018–present: Second studio album and hiatus

Sianvar toured as a supporting act on

's headlining 2018 spring tour along with

Erra Erra can refer to: * Erra (god), a Babylonian god * Erra, Estonia, a settlement in Sonda Parish, Ida-Viru County, Estonia * Erra, the purported home planet of the pleiadean aliens described by ufologist Billy Meier * Pizzo Erra, a mountain in Switz ...

and

I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...

, from May 26 to June 21, 2018. On August 11, 2018, it was confirmed that recording sessions for the band's second full-length studio album had begun at Interlace Recording Studios in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, with producer

Kris Crummett Kris Crummett is an American record producer and owner of the Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon. Crummett started recording in 2002. He has worked with many notable indie music record labels, including Rise Records, Epitaph Records, Fearless Re ...

. On September 11, 2018, Michael Franzino announced his departure from the group, stating that he wanted to focus on his own music career. Will Swan announced that he would be recording bass guitar for the band's second studio album. On September 27, they revealed that they would be moving forward as a four-piece band. The group embarked on a headlining tour, performing their debut studio album '' Stay Lost'' in its entirety, with support from Ghost Atlas and Wolf & Bear, from January 11 to January 19, 2019. Former

bass guitarist and vocalist Matthew Coate served as a touring member pursuing bass guitar on the trek. On April 8, 2019, the band revealed that they were going on an indefinite hiatus from touring and releasing music. The announcement read, "All Sianvar music releases and activities have been postponed indefinitely." It continued, "This isn't a permanent goodbye, though it could be a while before we meet again". During the hiatus, Swan joined American post-hardcore band Royal Coda while Donovan Melero and Sergio Medina formed the post-hardcore duo Nova Charisma and signed to

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solely to ...

. Two unreleased demo recordings from the group's recording sessions for their second studio album were repurposed for

's ninth studio album ''

Afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...

'', one of which was its lead single "

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

''".

Musical style

Sianvar's musical style has been praised for its use of

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

, and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

elements. They have often been labelled post-hardcore,

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

, and

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

Members

;Final line-up * Donovan Melero – lead vocals (2013–2019) * Will Swan – guitar (2013–2019); bass (2018–2019) * Sergio Medina – guitar, backing vocals (2013–2019) * Joseph Arrington – drums, percussion (2013–2019) ;Former members * Michael Littlefield – bass (2013–2015) * Michael Franzino – bass (2015–2018) ;Touring members * Matthew Coate – bass (2019) ;Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Stay Lost'' ( Blue Swan, 2016) ;Extended plays * ''Sianvar EP'' (Blue Swan, 2014) ;Singles * "Sick Machine" (2013) * "Omniphobia" (2016) * "Psychosis Succumbing" (2016) * "BedRoots" (2016)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Sacramento, California American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups established in 2013 2013 establishments in California