Out now via Killroom Records, the Seattle band’s sophomore LP blends blown-out garage rock with the charm of ‘60s girl groups and a sun-drenched attitude. From the woozy shimmer of “Fuzzy Sunshine” to the pulsing grit of “The Flim-Flam,” the album thrums with restless energy and emotional depth.
Frontwoman Maria-Elena Herrell leads with haunting, honeyed vocals and melodic basslines, while guitarist Christopher Garland (Chico Detour) unleashes tremolo runs and tanpura drones. Jordan T. Adams (Gazebos, The Yes Masters) brings punch and personality on drums, and Stefan Rubicz adds retro shimmer on keys.
Produced by Killroom co-founders Ben Jenkins and Troy Nelson and mastered by punk legend Kurt Bloch, “Now” is a meditation on time—how we lose it, chase it, and try to hold on. Tracks like “Slowly Disappearing” and “Everyday” explore fading memories and cyclical frustrations with a mix of grit and grace.
For fans of Shannon and the Clams, Jefferson Airplane, or anyone who loves their rock messy, dreamy, and loud, Acapulco Lips delivers a record that doesn’t just echo the past—it claims the present.
When did you first start writing music?
Christopher -We formed in 2012; Jordan joined in 2016. For this album, we started writing it 2019… so it’s been 13 years since we started writing music together?
Have you already been interested in music? Was there a particular song or performance that made you say whoa? I want to do that
Maria -My first concert was New Kids on the Block when I was pretty young, I think maybe one of the next shows I went to was the Four Tops and Temptations and that was a huge “whoa. I think this is what I like music-wise.” I would say that definitely had to do with what I was drawn to. I don’t think that I ever had a moment that was like, “I want to play on a stage.” I definitely didn’t have that. I wanted to be able to figure out how to play the sounds that I really enjoyed listening to, and so I think that’s what inspired me to play.
What sets your music apart? What is unique or at least uncommon
Christopher— Our writing is a very collaborative process, and we’re getting everyone’s unique style of playing in each song, so it’s not just one person dictating what a song is going to sound like, or how it’s going to feel. Everyone having their input, opinions, and their style of playing put into the song makes each song something special and unique to our band. We end up creating sort of a unique sound, that has all of our respective influences in there.
What’s the worst show you’ve ever played?
Jordan—You can if you can only see like the bottoms of our feet from like where they were supposed to watch We played a Corporate 5K run on a giant field, and there were thousands of people, but the tent they set up over the stage was 8 ft high, and the stage was 2 ft high – so all of our heads were under the eave of the tent, and you could only see the lower halves of our bodies from the audience. They also put a fence up 30 ft in front of the stage, so nobody could get remotely close to try and eke out a view of our faces. And then Christopher’s car broke down while we were leaving the company’s campus.
What can we expect from you within the next 6 months? Do you have any upcoming releases or future gigs planned?
Jordan— We’ve been harder at work than ever before getting this album out into the world. We are heading out on a West Coast tour this Fall. We have about 10 shows over the run, and we’re going down to LA and back. We are playing some cool in-studios, and plan to play a lot of festivals in the next year if possible, starting with Freakout Fest here in Seattle in November. We’re also planning to get a European tour on the books for next fall. This is our first album that’s received national radio play, so we hope to get into more studios and on more stations in the next 6 months as well.
If you can pass on a nugget of wisdom to the next musical generation, what would it be?
Maria— Listen to music, figure out what you really like and what you’re really into, because there’s so much of it out there and I think having a good foundation and not just sticking to what’s being promoted heavily is really important when you start creating your own sound and voice. Have a good foundation and music and actually listen to things. It’s so much easier now than it ever has been to discover new music and find the things that really inspire you.
Have a good idea of what you want from your bandmates. Like Jordan said, it’s a band of friends and that’s excellent but I feel from my former bands, things were maybe just harder at times, or I don’t know, it’s because not everyone was invested in it at the same level. I would say when you don’t have everyone on board…I’m not very articulate right now. It’s like my old band, we had some opportunities, and then no one followed through, so we didn’t get to do stuff, just like life in general.
Time machine? Would you travel to the future or back to the past?
Maria – past
Christopher – past
Jordan—future. 100%
What advice would you give to your previous boss if you could?
Jordan—Don’t fret. You made the right decision letting Jordan go.
Are you a cat or dog person
Christopher– both
Maria – dog
Jordan – dog
What is your most expensive piece of clothing
Maria—my floral Gucci coat I got myself for Christmas
What two non-essential items would you want if you were shipwrecked on a deserted island?
Maria—acoustic bass and sunglasses
Christopher—guitar and espresso, but that’s essential
Jordan – a yurt and a boat
As a kid were you ever frightened of a monster under the bed or in the cupboard
Jordan—my grandparents had a buffalo head on their wall, and I used to dream about it crashing through and destroying me every night.
Maria—I’m a weenie. I still am.
Christopher—nothing really … I was watching horror movies when I was six or seven.
Watch “Slowly Disappearing.”
Watch “Fuzzy Sunshine.”
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