Photo courtesy of TV Heads.

LA’s TV Heads are in Albuquerque for a show this Thursday at Sister with Lindy Vision, Tear Pressure and Eph Sharpe, so we wanted to ask them: What’s your deal?

1. What’s your act?

TV Heads are a four-piece band born in the artistic crucible of the Bay Area and raised in Los Angeles on a steady diet of post-punk riffs, raw vocals and electro textures. The result sounds like a mix somewhere between indie mainstays Deerhoof and heavier elements of Jeff Buckley’s and/or Smashing Pumpkins’ catalog. Gritty synths, overdriven amps and lush vocal harmonies soar atop urgent rhythms.

Don’t let someone else tell you that you shouldn’t write songs a certain way.

2. Tell me about your background as musicians/performers.

Sean, Vince and Angelica grew up in Northern California where we spent our formative years playing in bands that often toured together (The Shimmies, Tear It Down, Nyx, and Samvega, to name a few), while Jessica was drumming for hard-as-shit punk bands in Las Vegas and Long Beach. In 2014, Sean and Angelica both put out solo records and toured the West Coast together several times. It was during those tours, where we always ended up playing together on each other’s sets anyway, that we decided to form TV Heads.

3. What was the worst gig you ever played?

We’ve definitely played some less-than-stellar shows, but nothing stands out as horrifically bad. I think by far the worst part of our shows last year was that we (Sean & Angelica) lived in a 3rd floor warehouse space in downtown LA, that was located essentially on skid row and had no elevator. That meant that after every show, at 3am, we would be loading our gear up several flights of stairs from the street. It was not ideal.

4. Who are your favorite performers at the moment?

Sean: I really love ambient and post-classical music, and I listen to a ton of A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Stars of the Lid and things like that. I was able to see synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani a few months ago and it was mindblowing. David Bazan is a mainstay. He’s one of my favorite songwriters. I also listen to my friends Surrogate, Solar Estates and Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy a lot. The town I grew up in is so incredibly full of talented musicians. Chris from Surrogate mixed the TV Heads record, and has mixed and helped produce pretty much every project I’ve worked on.

Angelica: Ween, St. Vincent, Deer Tick, Emma Ruth Rundle, Miserable.

5. What’s the most helpful tip you could share with aspiring performers?

Sean: I think that making the most honest representation of yourself is the most important thing for an artist. Don’t let someone else tell you that you shouldn’t write songs a certain way, or present yourself in a way that makes you uncomfortable or isn’t right for you. Just make shit that you really believe in, and then get out there and work hard to show it to people.