At the same time that Smith Westerns were starting to attract some attention there was another equally good group of youngsters from the north side making garage pop, called Stranger Waves, who unfortunately didn't earn anywhere near the same kind of buzz. Stranger Waves dissolved several years ago, and co-front-man Ziyad Asrar's kept busy playing keyboards for Smith Westerns.

Asrar is also fronting a new project called Touching Voids with SW guitarist Max Kakacek and drummer Julien Ehrlich, formerly of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Recently they released their first song, "Like Dust," a mellow cloud of chiming guitar, electric piano, and Asrar's echo-drenched vocals that recalls 1950s prom dance slow jams and modern Slumberland-style dream pop in equal measure. Hit the jump to hear.