Date Signed: January 2026
Label: Rite Field Records
Members: Luke Gonzales, drums, guitar, vocals, samples, synthesizers, production; Martin Long, guitar, samples, production; CJ Anderson, guitar, samples; Ceej Burton, guitar, vocals, samples, production
Type of Music: Alt-Rock, Emo, Pop, Slowcore
Management: tremblerhtx@gmail.com
Booking: tremblerhtx@aaron-freiwaldPublicity: Kenzie Davis kenzie@bighassle.com
A&R: Joseph Hernandez joseph@ritefield.co
Web: ritefield.co/trembler
In the fickle ecosystem of independent music, undergoing a total internal collapse is often either a death sentence or a catalyst. For Luke Gonzales of Houston, TX-based Trembler, it was the latter. Following a near-total “self-destruction” in early 2025, the band hasn’t just returned, they’ve evolved. With the Total Sorry EP acting as a bridge—and five-song ‘thesis statement’ —Trembler is charging toward a new era backed by Rite Field Records.
For a band that has spent years dodging the “shoegaze” label, Trembler’s trajectory has been anything but linear. “Life is inspiring when your life is tied to artistic thinking,” Gonzales says, reflecting on a journey that began behind a drum kit at age nine. “Art should be a collage of your life as well as document the times as best you can.”
That documentation took a dark turn in the early months of 2025. “I honestly didn’t even really wanna do a band anymore. Felt sick of it and the world. Felt sick of myself,” Gonzales admits. The response and result of that internal retreat was the Total Sorry EP—an experimental, sample-heavy bridge recorded at Ceej [Burton]’s Shinytone studio in Sharpstown. It is a raw, fragile “sketch” of a person picking up the pieces. On the track “Wilt,” the atmosphere is so authentic to its environment that you can hear a literal gunshot in the background—a “Houston Moment,” as Ceej calls it.
The EP’s aesthetic, inspired by ceramicist Haruki Nakashima and the textures of Krautrock legends Can, uses polka dots as a symbol of “self-obliteration.” It was an apology to the band’s past and a portal to its future. “I intentionally approached it as a broken person,” Gonzales admits. “It acts as an apology to the Trembler entity, to my former bandmates, to myself.”
The path to their new home at Rite Field Records wasn’t a sudden industry scout story, but rather a slow-burn friendship built in the trenches of the local scene. “We have known each other for some years, around town, at shows n such,” Gonzales explains. Though the label had expressed interest much earlier, the timing wasn’t right for a band in flux. It took a period of resetting for the stars to align, but once they did, the floodgates opened—resulting in a massive 17-song collaboration that is currently in the works. For Trembler, the partnership is as much about the people as it is the music. “I also simply adore Joseph [Hernandez] and Parker [Hernandez] as people,” Gonzales says. “Everyone is all about art and super sweet. We hang and grill as a squad when we can.”
As 2026 unfolds, the plan is simple: rebuild the live show, drop the new conceptual LP, and keep moving.
