Discovering screensaver\u2019s debut album Expressions of Interest<\/em> (released October 8 through Heavy Machinery Records<\/a>) might make you wonder if you’ve stumbled upon a B-sides and rarities album from the late 1980s. Somewhere between Siouxsie And The Banshees<\/a> and Visage<\/a>, the lush synths and dramatic dance punk guitars suggest more than a passing passion for the indie-New Romantic era that spawned Cocteau Twins, Echo & The Bunnymen and My Bloody Valentine, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Melbourne four-piece began as a bedroom project between Krystal Maynard and her husband Christopher Stephenson back in late 2015, when Perth-born Maynard was living in Melbourne and Stephenson was still in his hometown of Austin, Texas. The two had met in Berlin in 2014 when both were on the same bill in their respective bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor about two years we were living in separate countries, but we had screensaver<\/a> \u2013 though it wasn\u2019t named at that point – as a project between us, [with material] that we\u2019d send back and forth and collaborate that way,\u201d explains Maynard. \u201cWe did that for a long time, very low-key, starting in late 2015, with no intention of it becoming anything other than a way for us to be creative while living in different countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Stephenson moved to Melbourne in 2017, he was familiar with the city from having toured there in the past. Though he initially took some time to adjust, both Maynard and Stephenson are \u201clifers\u201d when it comes to music, and it wasn\u2019t long before he\u2019d joined two Melbourne bands. He currently drums for Exek<\/a> and Spiritual Mafia<\/a>, while continuing to collaborate remotely with Spray Paint<\/a> (with members in upstate New York and Austin, respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After putting a couple of demos on Bandcamp, screensaver began to get asked by friends if they would play shows, though \u201cwe actively wanted to avoid playing live, because we\u2019d played in a lot of live, active bands,\u201d says Maynard. \u201cWe were nervous about it because things become so busy and we both had multiple projects. I had two other bands on the go back in 2017, so we wanted to keep it as a bedroom project where we focused on writing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n