In 2013, Candy Claws released their third and final studio LP, Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time. The project grew to be a keystone dream pop and shoegaze album, beckoning to its listeners with a dizzying wash of nostalgia, like the soundtrack to a forgotten childhood movie. 

The concept record tells the story of a seal-like beast and her human partner with a playfully psychedelic shimmer, as they venture through the Mesozoic Era. Bound by a shared love for Rachel Carson and natural history, the album was written in collaboration with poet Jenn Morea.

After spending the better half of a decade on opposite coasts, Candy Claws members Ryan and K Hover—a married couple, now performing under the moniker Sound of Ceres—reunited with former bandmate Hank Bertholf at a wedding in Portland. There, they had the idea to produce “Distortion Spear”—their first new song since Ceres & Calypso—for the album’s 10th anniversary. “Lyrically, it’s about how a decade can simultaneously feel like a lifetime and no time at all,” says Ryan.

On the heels of the reissue of their cult-classic album, Candy Claws offers Document a playlist for a roadtrip through the past—tender and transient. 

K Hover

“The Purple Bottle” by Animal Collective

“This song has such a strong driving force. It’s so fast, and makes you feel like you’re spinning around in circles, which was how my head felt most of the time [while] making Ceres & Calypso. This track really encapsulates the time we all spent together under the summer sun—alive, and so in love with everything and everyone.”

“Sunshine Recorder” by Boards of Canada

“Choosing a single song off this album seemed almost impossible, as it begs you to play it all the way through. ‘Sunshine Recorder’ really [takes me there], in its short six minutes and 13 seconds: a beautiful place, repeating in my ear as we’d pass by coal mines and gas stations in the middle of nowhere.”

“Lyrically, it’s about how a decade can simultaneously feel like a lifetime and no time at all.”

Hank Bertholf

“Deep Blue Day” by Brian Eno

“This song reminds me of how such simple combinations of sounds can transport you to another world. When I listen to it, I’m suddenly on the back of a giant sea turtle planet, just chillin’.”

“Libera Me, Domine” by Traditional, Ernst Reijseger, Mola Sylla, and Tenore e Cuncordu de Orosei

“The play between minor and major chords is so beautifully woven, and it hits me right in the heart every time.”

Ryan Hover

“A House Wife Love Song” by Starflyer 59

“If an infinitely tall wall of solid gold had a sound, it’d be the guitars on this record. They burst in [on this song], nearly swallowing the soft vocals and dampened drums—a clue for how we ended up mixing our own music.”

“23” by Blonde Redhead

“Swept further along in the swirl of Blonde Redhead’s gauziest track. We’d listen to this album on our drives through Rocky Mountain National Park.”

“You’re Mean” by Starflyer 59

“Fifties pop with shoegaze guitars—a huge influence on how we approached the classic pop-song structure with blown-out sound.”

“I Will” by The Beatles

“Speaking of the classics, it doesn’t get much better than this. Note the ride cymbal bell and bongos at 1:45, sweeping the rhythm section along in this beautifully simple arrangement.”