Welcome to 2020. We made it here, to a time of foundational upheavals of reason as we formally knew it, to an abandon of letting international toxic nationalist authoritarians run amok while the too little too late post-hoc messiahs give us one last hail mary to save us from our ecological and deeply imbricated institutions of injustices. The think pieces and long form editorials splay the writing on the walls while we continue to expand our carbon footprint, expand redevelopment in former multicultural communities that become transformed into technocratic condo villas and invest over-inflated Bitcoin currencies into the new sophisticated sub-sect monetary deep web systems of the new robber baron jet-setters, while the rest of us wonder why our local bodega is boarded up (while a new automated Amazon store opens up nearby).

Circa seven years back the mania of our newfound tech tools had us obsessed in deeper global troves of obsessive fixations on popular mass concentrations of clicks and addictive content/platforms. In the zeitgeist deluge of a million generated memes, 3g hype advertisements and more was the breakthrough DIY project of Los Angeles’ own Marina Paiz via a solo pop projectile called Trends. Flash forward to the present like a deus ex machina is the expansion of Trends from Marina’s singular one person band to include the talents of Karen Moreno, Abe Arnak and Jose Valiñas whom have made the most ambitious album you’re going to hear in 2020 — Palettes.

In the early part of 2018, Marina and crew brought one of the best overlooked singles with magnetic, massive and rip-roaring anthem “Ampersand” (chronicled here). The might and emotional maelstrom that the single packed was a signal of the greatest Trends release yet to arrive. Palettes opens with the gently floating title track that opens the album with free associative thought trails like the foiree to the beginning of a beguiling dream. "Blanket Party" rocks with a strong of sense of imagination and the fortitude of a DIY homemade fort of comforters and linens to meditate with expedient musical motions aspects of ennui from internal inquiries that propel insomnia on "Small Hours". Trends tread deeper into the reflective pool of conscious streams on the mesmerizing "Wind Waker", to the towering transcendent rocker "Branches" that is arranged like a sonic tree reaching toward greater stratospheres of being. Melancholia, memories and longing pensively permeate the heartaches of "Contra", to delving into the subterranean safety tunnel refuge spaces of "exits and wormholes", right before wrapping up Palettes with the angst blood-letting firestorm of "Tommy" that rails against everything from identity to all items of adversity and communicative confusion in an execution of pure catharsis. Palettes arrives not a moment sooner that finds Marina and friends painting earnest pop pictures from a kaleidoscopic array of elements with an electric luster.

Marina Paiz of Trends reflected on the pop outfit’s humble beginnings to become a full band and more:

Trends was featured in Week in Pop back in 2013. I was writing music on my own, going to a lot of shows, and putting out lo-fi demos. Since then, this project has come a very long way and I’m really proud of the music we are putting out as a band. It took a long time to meet the right people, and I think this album is the first time the moniker feels right to use.

As a musician—and I think this typically goes for every type of artist— it’s really difficult to acknowledge when I do something right. Or rather than right, when I make something that I can feel proud of. Something that can stand on its own, without me attempting to knock it down with self-deprecating comments—without minimizing the amount of work, energy, and heart that it took to write, produce, and finalize this record. Palettes took a lot of time and help from people that believed in us. We are proud to release these nine songs as our full length and would like to thank everyone that was a part of the process.

There are records that shape us and improve our lives. I remember growing up and feeling unsettled about coming to terms with my sexuality. The Con by Tegan and Sara brought me so much comfort and opened up my eyes to a welcoming community. I remember feeling sad and not knowing why — Death Cab’s Transatlanticism let me sit in that feeling until it was no longer there. Growing up, I was always at my favorite bands’ shows. I’d feel alive and close to everyone around me. I remember being a part of these crowds and thinking that maybe we were all in the same boat, listening to music that made us feel better.

If we can put out this record and someone somewhere listens to it and feels heard, or less alone, or hopeful, we will feel accomplished. Writing this album helped us grow and we hope it can do something for you.

Palettes will be available January 24, catch Trends January 25 in La Crescenta, CA at Therapy at the Roar Room and April 7 in Los Angeles, CA at Five Star Bar.