Flood Coats is the LA-based collaboration between Joel P West and Darla Hawn. Their first full-length album Vaquita channels the spirit of 80's pop like Fleetwood Mac and Hall & Oates through dream-pop sounds reminiscent of Beach House or Tame Impala. Fuzzy analog synthesizers and punchy brass arrangements follow tight grooves, all supporting lush vocal melodies that are traded off between Joel and Darla throughout the record. All nine tracks invite listeners in with catchy melodies and beautiful production, but are rich with musical complexities and introspective lyrics for those looking to dig a little deeper.

Joel is a songwriter and film composer who has released several albums and scored films like Short Term 12, Grandma, and the upcoming adaptation of bestselling book The Glass Castle. Darla is a solo artist and session drummer, who has played on tours with Kina Grannis, Sam Outlaw, and more. They first worked together in The Tree Ring, a chamber-folk band that recorded three albums centered around strings and beautiful classical music. According to Joel, Flood Coats is “a way to pay Darla back for playing a shaker for so many years” since Darla is an accomplished drummer who loves pop and R & B music.