Los Angeles’ Letting Up Despite Great Faults make dreamy indie pop that swirls with a warm sound that will make you wish that summer would get here just a little sooner. The band’s self-titled and self-released debut came out late last year, earning widespread praise for its careful blend of the wide-eyed electronic pop of The Postal Service with the hazy shoegaze of greats like Lush and Slumberland. It’s a record full of tight beats supplemented by fuzzed-out guitars, blippy synths, and the free-floating vocals of primary songwriter Mike Lee.

Though the album was made largely with the use of sequencing software and synthesizers, the 4-piece live band has no trouble translating the shimmery pop into a mesmerizing live show. You can catch them Monday night at The Middle East Upstairs for a night full of shoegaze, also featuring New England bands The Brother Kite, Plumerai, and Singing Bridges. We got a chance to check in with Mike about making Letting Up’s record and the fact that this will be the band’s first trip to Boston, so make sure to head out and show them some love.

–Kevin Junker

Can you give us a little background on the band? Who is in it and how did it all get started?

I started writing songs under the name a few years ago. Kent has been playing bass and keys with the band for most of that time too. Chris (drums) came on board about a year ago and Rachel about half a year ago. The band really only formed as the self-titled album was being written and recorded. It’s a bit of a challenge trying to translate the songs live but I think our group of four have been doing a good job at it. Hopefully with this tour we’ll only get better.

Can you tell us a little about your music-writing process and how it all came together for your debut LP?

I try to tackle each song differently. Sometimes it just starts with programming a beat, sometimes on the Rhodes or an acoustic guitar. With “In Steps” I sampled a guitar loop and processed the crap out of it. We’re now starting to write together more which I’ve been very excited about. We do a lot of file sharing where Kent will send me a project or Chris will send me midi files for drum patterns.

What artists or bands are you influenced by?

Lots of indiepop and shoegaze from C86, Slumberland, Minty Fresh, Labrador to electronic sounds like Morr Music.

With your spring tour just starting up, what are you looking forward to?

It’ll be really fun to meet fans across the country and see what our music is like outside of our Los Angeles bubble. And of course SXSW – not only playing but checking out all the other bands that are going to be there.

The band is based out of L.A., but do you have any connections to Boston?

Other than a few friends and despising the Celtics (just kidding… sort of…), not really, which makes us even more excited to go because three of us have never been.

What other bands are you digging lately?

Surfer Blood, Cold Cave, Toro Y Moi, Xiu Xiu, Gamble House, and sooo much more. Chris keeps telling me to put Black Sabbath.

After the tour, what can we expect next from the band?

We are hoping after the tour to write like crazy and hopefully release an EP or possibly a second full-length soon. In the meantime, we’ll have a video releasing for “Our Younger Noise” in April. You can check out a preview here:

OUR YOUNGER NOISE teaser from Christopher j Ewing on Vimeo.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults play the Middle East Upstairs on Monday 3/15 with  The Brother Kite, Plumerai and Singing Bridges