Austin synth-pop project San Gabriel has released Beside Me, a new single out on 23 October 2026 through Share It Music, the Seattle-based nonprofit label.
San Gabriel is the work of James Bookert, who started it as a side outlet while working at a liquor store in Austin, between tours with his former band Whiskey Shivers. These days he also plays keys, guitar and sings in Goth Babe’s touring band.
Beside Me came out of a conversation with Goth Babe’s Griff Washburn. Bookert began writing it at the start of the Goth Babe tour in September and, for once, skipped his usual long hours of second-guessing: “I mixed and mastered it myself, and decided to release it on the last day of the Goth Babe/Foster the People Tour, October 23rd, which is also my birthday.”
The result is hazy, danceable synth-pop with washed-out guitars and a chorus that sticks, and Glide Magazine, which premiered the song, hears a clear echo of the chillwave era in it.
It follows September’s Adult Onset Goth EP and the 2025 debut album Nights and Weekends. Part of the proceeds from the single goes to HAAM, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
Beside Me on Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/us/album/beside-me/6815745477
San Gabriel on Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/san-gabriel/522061939
San Gabriel on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@SANGABRIELMUSIC
Video premiere – Glide Magazine – https://glidemagazine.com/331937/video-premiere-san-gabriel-strives-for-infectious-chillwave-synth-pop-sound-on-beside-me/
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