Soft Vein, the California-based electronic project of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Justin Chamberlain, blends elements of synthpop, electropop and darkwave with the aim to embrace duality, creating a sound equally inspired by romance and cynicism, by nostalgia and modernity, by the warm ache of love, desire and yearning - and the cold reality of longing, loneliness and loss. Topographies is a coldwave group formed in San Francisco in 2018 by Gray Tolhurst, Jeremie Ruest and Justin Oronos. They have released two full-length albums in addition to many EPs, singles and tape releases. Their sound blends the melancholy tones of post-punk with the lush textures of shoegaze. Formed in 2020, Bay Area sophisti-pop quartet Still Ruins blends shimmering guitars, cold wave-inspired textures, and romantic, synth-driven atmospheres to create a sound that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new.