Channeling the spirits of My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins, Brighton, England indie four-piece Thyla spin their own take on dream pop, adding elements of shoegaze fuzz and post-punk rhythm influenced by additional inspirations like the Horrors, Radiohead, Placebo, and Blondie. The group was formed in 2015 by vocalist Millie Duthie, bassist Dan Hole, and drummer Danny Southwell, who were friends at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. Guitarist Mitch Duce joined last, the final piece to the band's nascent sound. Early tracks like "Us and Them," "Car Crash," and "Motherlode" hinted at the hazy direction they were headed, but it wasn't until the 2017 arrival of singles like "Ferris Wheels," "Tell Each Other Lies," and "Pristine Dream" that their MBV/Cocteau tendencies would come to light. Duthie's vocals -- which veered from the ethereal to the urgent -- helped "Pristine Dream" catch significant online attention, which the band quickly capitalized on with the release of follow-up singles "I Was Biting" and "Blame," which offered a harder, more aggressive edge to the band, similar to acts like Savages and Dream Wife. ~ Neil Z. Yeung