Many bands start with dreams of rock-stardom; up-and-coming Los Angeles rock trio Untitled (Halo), however, began as an experiment. They never had any intention in becoming a “rock band,” says singer and bassist Ariana Mamnoon, 27. They didn’t even know if they’d still like each other after their recent first tour, on which they opened for indie rock stalwarts DIIV. “I thought we were all going to hate each other. But we became better friends after.”
Sitting in Mamnoon’s living room, which doubles as their practice space, are singer and guitarist Jack Dione, 23, who lounges on the floor in torn jeans, and producer mastermind Jay Are, 23, who sits on the couch quietly next to me. Mamnoon has set up a generous assortment of croissants from a local bakery near her home in the cozy L.A. neighborhood of Mt. Washington. The three bandmates have a synergistic vibe together that matches their band ethos. Everything they do comes naturally and sporadically. Case in point: their vague and not easily searchable band name. Mamnoon explains that before dropping their first single “el prado freestyle,” they had two weeks to name the band. “We didn't know what to call it, so I think that's where the ‘untitled’ came from and I said I liked the word ‘halo,’” she says plainly, dispelling any theories or deeper meaning behind their cryptic moniker.
They’ve cultivated a mystery that’s partly intentional but also the natural byproduct of striving for innovation.Untitled (Halo)’s sound is abstract and haunting yet captures a youthful hope. Their 2023 debut EP towncryer toggles between hushed eerie textures and indie-pop hooks. The woozy “el prado freestyle” was born from the band’s first session together. Though stemming from an old track that Are had produced years ago while studying art history at UC Santa Cruz, it was Mamnoon’s achingly beautiful vocals that brought the song to life. “I remember Jay was like, ‘We need to be in a band, and we need to have Jack in the band because he’s awesome,’” she says.
The three had only met a year or so before that fateful songwriting session. Though they are all from Southern California —mostly the Orange County and South Bay area — they met in L.A. between 2021 and 2022. Dione and Are connected by chance at a friend’s birthday, while Are and Mamnoon met through a mutual friend over coffee. Although these initial meetings seemed minor, they repeatedly crossed paths all over the city. Are likened their connection to learning a new word that keeps appearing everywhere, describing the pull of their union as almost cosmic.
They speak a similar language born through their shared musical awakenings. Dione and Mamnoon both wax poetic about discovering Blink 182 and Sum 41 as kids. Are’s introduction to music was his cousin’s CD collection which included the formative Creedence Clearwater Revival and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. However, cinema is an even stronger unifying force between the three. Dione studied film at Cal State Northridge and cites Streetwise by Martin Bell and Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue as visual touchstones for the band’s innerworld. Mamnoon adds, “We all get excited about older films. I love Dazed and Confused. I think [Linklater] captures youth culture in a really cool way, and I think we're trying to do that too.”
The band’s new video for their single “That’s Honey” premiering on Teen Vogue today encapsulates that Linklater-esque youthful abandon. Directed by Mamnoon and edited by Dione, the video features two of their friends in a romantic game of basketball and was inspired by the Y2k art film Lilya 4-ever. “ I watched [Lilya 4-ever] the night before we went into the studio when I wrote the rapped part about a scene in the film,” she says. “I was like, ‘Whoa, we actually do really pull from movies.’” Dione adds about their cinematic sound, “We make little movies through songs.”
“That’s Honey,” co-produced with burgeoning LA musician Urika’s Bedroom, is the second post-towncryer single they’ve released this year, with the sultry ‘“sKill isSue.” as the first. Both tracks lean into a bass heavy trip-hop vibe, with the dreaminess cranked all the way up. Unlike some of their shoegaze and indie-pop contemporaries, Untitled (Halo) has an edge and sensuality that is missing from indie-rock in 2024. Though “That’s Honey,” is a beautiful track that’s “fresh and slaps,” according to Dione, there is a vaguely bleak world weariness that permeates throughout their entire catalog.
When I bring this up to the band they credit it to their writing process of endlessly sampling things and overcooking tracks; as well as some of their influences like Deftones, The Radio Department, and the beyond obscure project Famous Boyfriend. Their influences are numerous, but no single entity is idolized. “We have no big heroes in music anymore. Every celebrity's washed, you know?” Dione muses. “There's this vagueness because we're not bowing down to some deity of music anymore.”
The world-weariness in their alt-rock experiments can also be attributed to the state of the world. The shadow of the election year looms quietly above our chat and it’s near impossible not to address the band’s anxieties about the future. Though they are explicit that it does not directly influence their music — “I don't really contextualize [writing songs] under imminent [societal] collapse,” Are says — they all agree it’s implied in any art that is created today. “With the state of the world that we're in, there's this kind of vague notion that we could be one of the last musical movements in America before a war breaks out, or everything collapses,” Dione says somberly. “There's this weird dystopian-ness about contemporary music and life.”
For the three musicians their art is a way to work through all of these anxieties. “I think it's the first time we have a really beautiful place to put all of those feelings about what’s happening in the world and just being a human,” Mamnoon explains. “It just pours into the music.”
Their recent tour and the connection to their new fans have given them glimmers of hope amidst these turbulent times. Mamnoon recounts a girl who came up to them after their set and called them “angels” and asked for a hug. “I used to have such imposter syndrome about making art. It's so cool to think that you can just do it and someone will connect to it,” Mamnoon says. The trio has such intense gratitude for being able to do what many bands only dream of. Their humility stems from their DIY spirit, though they do tell me they get called “industry plants” online and explain that people assume they’re “rich art school kids” with generational wealth to back their pursuits.
"My parents are literally first generation immigrants.” Are, who has a Mexican heritage, exclaims. Mamnoon, whose parents are Iranian immigrants, chimes in, “I told [my parents] we're going to be in Teen Vogue and they're like ‘That's so cool. Oh, my God!’ That's what makes me happy.” The band notes that many young people have shared how seeing their band grow and get new opportunities has inspired them to pursue their own artistic dreams. “We need to keep doing this for the kids who are like us,” says Mamnoon.
With the band playing Pitchfork Fest London, a European tour, and a headlining show at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right, there will be plenty of opportunities for the band to show folks the big things you can do with a little. “We do everything on our own and we kill it,” Mamnoon says. “But maybe a cool label will want to sign us.” Are interrupts, smirking, “Hopefully somebody will give us money.” Dione exclaims, “We’re doing great!” In between giggles Mamnoon cuts in: “Don't put that in, that sounds pretentious.”
