Anyone that has been paying attention to the Denver music underground beyond a very superficial for the past two years has at least heard about Julian St. Nightmare. Its five members are a force with a bit of a mystique to their live performances and its music rooted in post-punk, darkwave, surf and garage rock, synthpop, shoegaze and the various styles of music most prominent in their collective youth in the 2000s and 2010s. The group formed in 2018 among friends including current members Chico Arellanes (guitar, bass, vocals) and Rudy Morales (guitar, vocals) who by July of that year invited Genevieve Fulton into the band knowing them from shows and their interest in being in a band only to discover that Fulton had a talent for keyboards, singing and guitar. Before the group could really get off the ground the pandemic hit. Yet in that first year of the pandemic Sergio Castorena (guitar, vocals) of Los Narwhals came into the fold as did drummer Tan Garren, both adding unique musical gifts and perspective that expanded the band’s sonic palette and performance style.
Julian St. Nightmare has since 2021 been a staple of the DIY and small club scene in Denver earning the respect of its peers. Opening slots for French darkwave pioneers Martin Dupont, Chicago post-punk luminaries French Police and NYC dark synthpop duo Tempers, Julian St. Nightmare seemed like peers of the more well-known acts. The band’s most recent shows revealed a broader sonic palette with a boosted confidence in its own powers and its show in July 2023 with now defunct shoegaze band Dream of Industry and EBM solo project Sell Farm made its own inclinations toward creative soundscaping more prominent. There is as yet no Julian St. Nightmare album but its songs can be found on the various streaming platforms and there is a new single due out by late winter or spring with production by Fulton. Alas, it is around that time that the quintet will call it quits with one final show in the works ending a run of one of the most interesting, engaging and powerful of modern bands out of the broad milieu of post-punk and darkwave precisely because it never adhered to the limitations of genre.
Listen to our interview with Castorena, Fulton, Garren on Bandcamp and follow Julian St. Nightmare at the links provided. You can catch the band’s likely second to last show on Friday, December 15, 2023 at Lost Lake on a bill with Cathedral Bells and Hex Cassette. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., $15.
Julian St. Nightmare on Instagram
Julian St. Nightmare on Apple Music
Julian St. Nightmare on TIDAL HiFi
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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