San Tropez Hand "The Oval" to Skot Kremen

San Tropez spent their first two records building a particular kind of haze: American dream pop with a cinematic streak, shot through with the guitar-wash reverence of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Their third album, Exit Through the Gift Shop, doesn't push that sound forward so much as turn it sideways. Across eight songs pulled from the band's history, it collects remixes, live recordings, a cover, a demo, and a previously unreleased alternate version. The band frames it less as a "what might have been" and more as a different angle on what already was, and they're upfront that it's built to win new listeners as much as reward old ones.

It opens with "The Oval (Milestar Mix)," a fresh reworking by Skot Kremen, whose credits include You Shriek, Model Behavior, Project Sphere, and Provocateur. Kremen's version is a slow drift, with the vocals floating over something closer to the dreamier moments of Prefuse 73 or the unhurried patience of Mogwai than to the band's usual guitar wall. It's spacey and nocturnal, and it's in no rush to get anywhere, which suits an album about taking the long way around.

The collection follows 2025's Museum of Modern History, which pulled in guests including Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females, Noun), saxophonist Zack Sandler, and vocalist Victoria Benesch (The Slow Circuit). Rebel Noise called "Swear Off the Sunlight" a "sublime collision of isolation and spectacle," New Noise Magazine heard a "deep-seated sense of nostalgia" in "Baby Bells," and Alt Recess likened the record to "opening a photo album you forgot you had." That album followed the band's 2023 debut, Maybe Tomorrow, released through Mint 400 Records.

San Tropez began as a set of demos Ralph Nicastro (Wreaths, Aviso Hara, Sparks Fly From a Kiss) started making in 2016 and passed around to friends on SoundCloud. In January 2018, Frank Bridges (Magic Mountain, Duochrome, kiaro skuro) posted a photo of a newly acquired Guild Starfire bass on Facebook asking who wanted to start a shoegaze band. Within hours he had one, with Nicastro and longtime friend Albie Connelly (Angular Brothers, Stuntcocks, Urchins) on guitars. They kept Nicastro's working title for the project. Drummer Andy Fountas (Magic Mountain, The Border States, Duochrome) came aboard in late 2018, and keyboardist Phil Pirri (Blaa Fugl) completed the lineup in late 2022.

Listen to "The Oval (Milestar Mix)" below.