Electric Cities recently signed their debut EP with Blueberry Hill Records. "The Electric Cities EP" release party will take place Friday, September 17th at the Ike Box, with opening bands Bottle Rocket and Añopechi. The show is all ages and costs $5.

"We are very, very excited," said bassist Markly Fendrick, mentioning that Salem's Massive Moth is part of the same record label.

Electric Cities is one of few Salem bands featuring indie post-hardcore. The band was formed by three longtime musicians, Fendrick, Derek Boaz (drums) and Daniel Remington (guitar, lead vocals).

"We ended up coming together and playing abrasively," said Fendrick. "I think it probably came from the distortions that Danny likes most."

All three used to play in hardcore bands, including Big Picture August, Pilot's Ghost, Ambulance Party, The Strength of Widows, Farewell, Alaska, and other secret, underground bands.

"It's been a nice transition," said Remington, who is glad not to have to scream as much. "It changes your pitch and damages your voice, but it was the easiest stuff I've ever done in my entire life. This is more precise, we're creating something that is consistent."

The music of Electric Cities is intense and dramatic, touching on the hardcore punk genre's thickness and heaviness, but with a soft, rhythmic style reminiscent of The Posies and Pearl Jam. It's electric guitar-driven, with clean, melodic vocals and melancholic laments with rhythmic alterations that break the pace; noisy at times and almost quiet at others.

"Our music is a combination of old and new influences from all of us in the band," said Remington, explaining the transition into a more poppy style:

"We just wanted to write songs that people could sing along to and remember ten years from now. We like to write pop songs, we like to be catchy."

Their lyrics are about life in general, with mostly romantic themes. "Our songs are generally about intimacy between people, lovers who are faced with an obstacle, struggle in love," said Fendrick.

Besides playing in the band, the musicians have diverse backgrounds. "We all have little and big projects. Danny works part time and hangs out with his girlfriend. I am a full time student and Derek is involved with the music scene a lot, booking bands and helping local venues," said Fendrick, a film and video production major. "Denny and I like to ride our bikes a lot," he added.

Since their formation a little over six months ago, Electric Cities has been frequenting The Space and Coffee House venues. They also played at the Knights of Columbus Hall for a Haiti benefit show a few months ago and just had their first Portland appearance.

They're planning on touring in the fall with the Portland pop/post-hardcore band Hands for Battle.

Electric Cities' live show is, in Fendrick's words, "Sweaty and intense. And our friends are usually there supporting us."