yoyo

A Beacon School is the dream pop project of New York-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Patrick J. Smith. The songs on releases such as his full-length debut, Cola, alternate between uptempo, jangly pop nuggets, lush shoegaze and intricately-arranged electronic soundscapes.

Smith began making music as A Beacon School in 2009. A home-recorded demo single was released in 2011, and a self-titled EP by a full-band lineup appeared near the end of 2012. Smith notably played with bands such as Modern Rivals and Bluffing, and currently works with Parquet Courts' Max Savage as part of Maxband.

In 2018, A Beacon School's Cola was released by Grind Select. After receiving positive press and slowly gaining a worldwide following, an expanded vinyl edition of Cola was released in 2019 in conjunction with Fat Possum’s ‘House Arrest’ imprint, amassing over 50 million streams, tours with El Ten Eleven and Ruby Haunt and syncs on critically acclaimed shows such as Hacks and Shrinking.

Now back with his first full-length in five years, yoyo, a follow up to Cola, Smith takes his sound even further with 10 tracks that are an untainted exploration of the unconscious artistic self and the oscillation of time.

KCRW A Beacon School: 'KITM' | Today's Top Tune

"A Beacon School may very well be NYC’s finest purveyor of gauzy electro dreamscapes"

HighClouds A Beacon School Announces New Album, Shares Epic Banger “Jon”

"It’s the kind of hypnotic indie that blurs the lines between dream pop, shoegaze and trance"

All songs by Patrick J Smith

Mixed by Steve DePalo
except song 4 mixed by Erick Lee
and song 6 mixed by Sonny DiPerri

Mastered by Dave Kutch
except song 8 mastered by Stephen Marcussen

Bass on song 9 by Chase Wagner

Drums on songs 1, 9 by Zac Coe

Recorded at Better Company Studios

Engineered by Allen Tate

Drums on songs 3, 5, 7, 10 by Eric Read

Recorded at Diamond City Studio

Engineered by Ayad Al Adhamy

Vinyl insert photo by Max Mellman

Artwork by Kyle & Leslie Stetz

with photos by Chase Wagner