The Mantras launched in the summer of 2006 in Washington, D.C., with a sound that harkens back to the music that made you love music: My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., Versus, Sebadoh and Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett era).

It wasn’t the first time Matthew J. Taylor (vocals, guitar) has tried something new. He was one of the earliest members of D.C. psych-punk trailblazers (the sounds of) Kaleidoscope, with his brother, Damien C. Taylor. In his 20s, he was ready to branch out with something of his own -- a three-piece shoegaze band bolstered with melodic bass by V. Pankaj (Reigning Alabasters) and hypnotic, driving drums by Ryan Hicks (Thee Snuff Project, MMR).

After a year of shows at the Black Cat, Rock & Roll Hotel, DC9, Velvet Lounge and other venues, The Mantras are set to release their EP “The Unseen Light,” a meditation on loss and the afterlife that’s loud enough to wake up any glassy-eyed listener. (The Washington Post has made one of the band’s shows a top pick for the week, calling their sound “psychedelic rock with a punk edge”; and the Washington City Paper has called one of the record’s tracks “a reverb-drenched nugget of dream-pop ennui.”) Recorded in Arlington at the Upstairs Studio and mixed and mastered in Philadelphia by Ryan Van Kriedt (of Asteroid #4 and Sunsplit), “The Unseen Light” is already attracting early buzz as a catchy gem of a debut.