Article by: Sac.Indie.Music Records
Somehow, 2025 is already coming to an end, and it has been an incredibly fun and rewarding year for Sac.Indie.Music. This year marked the launch of our micro record label, and we were lucky enough to release two albums from local Sacramento bands: Zelpha by ghostplay and Gather You by Clevers. To close out the year, we’re beyond excited and proud to announce our third release — Dilute by the amazing local band Shower Breakfast.
Shower Breakfast is an up-and-coming Sacramento band formed and fronted by the immensely talented Althea D’Souza, alongside longtime collaborator and guitarist Spencer Fields. Together, they make up the heart of this lovely project, and earlier this year they released their first full-length album, Dilute.
We first came across Shower Breakfast while scrolling through Instagram in search of new local talent, and immediately fell in love after hearing their track “Marmalade Lover.” Their music is soft, elegant, and deeply nostalgic — the kind that evokes the feeling of a warm summer day. When they announced they were working on a new album, there was no hesitation in reaching out to see if we could collaborate on a cassette release of Dilute.
The album took six months to produce and is a beautiful, thoughtfully crafted body of work that highlights Althea’s multi-instrumental talents throughout. On “Orange Peel,” she incorporates violin and piano, while the vulnerable “Open Heart Surgery” features trumpet. Each song is carefully produced, with rich tones and intentional songwriting that bring the album to life as a cohesive whole.
To celebrate this release, Dilute will be available on cassette in two different variants. The first is a pink-and-blue cassette shell, available directly from Shower Breakfast. The second is an extremely limited-edition 24k gold cassette shell, available exclusively through the Sac.Indie.Music Bandcamp page.
“Dilute is about not wanting to water down my personality or who I am at the convenience of other people.” — Althea D’Souza
Physical releases like this are at the heart of why we started Sac.Indie.Music Records, to give thoughtfully made local albums a tangible life beyond the streaming world.
This release was several months in the making, and we had the help of some wonderful collaborators to bring it into the physical world. The cassette was mastered by Joe Johnston of Pus Cavern, and the album artwork layout and design were created by John Conley also of the local Sacramento band Desario.
You can listen to Dilute now on all streaming platforms, learn more about Shower Breakfast in our interview with Althea D’Souza below, and catch the band performing live at The Press Club in February 2026.
Thank you all for your continued support — and for supporting the local music scene. We’re excited to keep growing this micro label and working with more incredible bands in the future.
Cheers, and see you in 2026! 👻
Sac.Indie.Music: How did you come up with your band name?
Shower Breakfast: We wanted a name that we wouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. It started out as just a fun little project and the name comes from the phrase “shower beer” which I heard from the lyrics in Scott Street by Phoebe Bridgers, who is an artist I deeply admire and draw inspiration from all the time.
Sac.Indie.Music: Are you from Sacramento? Can you tell us a little bit about your background, and how did you get your start in music?
Shower Breakfast: For most of the duration of shower breakfast, I was living in Sacramento but I grew up in the Bay Area. I grew up in a Filipina/Indian household. I’m very proud of where I came from. My dad would play so much music around the house like jazz, reggae, classical music etc. I started playing music at the age of 6 on the violin and slowly added on instruments.
Sac.Indie.Music: Dilute is your first full-length album, right? How long did it take you to write? Can you tell us about your process—did you find it difficult, or did it come together more easily than you expected?
Shower Breakfast: Dilute is my first full length album with this project. I have another record under my solo project, Dawnfarer. The writing process was pretty quick. Open Heart Surgery was written specifically for the album but the rest of the songs were just ones that were sitting around in my head. The process of the entire record was more difficult to come together, I wanted the process to be pretty quick so we did everything in 6 months. For me personally it’s important that I put out music, and put it out quickly so that I don’t overthink everything.
Sac.Indie.Music: What does the word dilute mean to you personally, and why did it feel like the right title for this record?
Shower Breakfast: Dilute in the context of the album is talking about not wanting to water down my personality or who I am at the convenience of other people. I feel like it was the right title for this album because it reminds me to stay strong in who I am even in the process of making the record.
Sac.Indie.Music: Is there an overarching theme to the album, or a story that ties the songs together?
Shower Breakfast: I tried to give an overall arch in the record by ordering the songs in a way that the listener is taken on a journey. Most of the songs are introspective and tap into the idea of not wanting to water down who I am.
Sac.Indie.Music: Do you have any favorite songs on the record? If so, why do they stand out to you?
Shower Breakfast: Orange Peel is one of my favorites, there’s a bpm change in the chorus and it took a while for us to figure out how to make it flow and sound natural. I love it because I got to play violin and piano on it. Another favorite is Sentiment because I think it’s just a good feel song to put on in the car on a road trip.
Sac.Indie.Music: Were there any songs that felt especially vulnerable or difficult to release into the world?
Shower Breakfast: Open Heart Surgery felt especially vulnerable because I talk about specific times in my life when I didn’t feel like enough. Someone even encouraged me to not put it on the album because it was too vulnerable but I liked how it turned out especially because it was my first time playing trumpet in a song.
Sac.Indie.Music: One song that stood out in particular is “ifyouwannabeinaband.” With lyrics like “you wouldn’t stab me in the back” and “you better know how to swallow your pride,” is this song drawn from personal experience?
Shower Breakfast: A lot of the lyrics are random and end up in the final song. I liked the idea of rhyming the same word but with different meanings. (Calling someone back vs. getting stabbed in the back). Some people think this an angry song at someone specific but it’s not deep in that way, more of a fun expression. The lyrics you better know how to swallow your pride and make up your mind, is talking about myself because I realized how much communication I need to have with people and how clear I need to be in the what I want.
Sac.Indie.Music: Your lyrics feel very introspective, where do you pull your inspiration from? Do you find it difficult or do things come easy to you when writing your lyrics?
Shower Breakfast: Phoebe bridgers is a big inspiration for me, sonically snail mail is an inspiration as well. The writing process comes fairly easily to me, I end up saying random words to get a melody down but funnily enough the lyrics usually stay the same for the final song. This project is perfect for that because again, it’s a place where I don’t need to take myself too seriously and just have fun.
Sac.Indie.Music: When you play live, do you have a consistent group of band members, or do different people join you? Is it a challenge to put together a live band?
Shower Breakfast: We’ve rotated through many members of the band but the guitarist, Spencer Fields, and I have remained the backbone of the project. Some have joined and come back later for a couple shows. It is a challenge to put together a live show, working with peoples schedules and preferences.
Sac.Indie.Music: How has the reception to your new album been so far? Do you find it challenging to get your music out into the world?
Shower Breakfast: The reception to the album has been really sweet, we’re lucky enough to have a few strong supporters and it means so much to have people believe in your music. It is challenging to get the music out there because of how much music is being released constantly but it’s worth it.
Sac.Indie.Music: Now that the album is out, do you have any plans to tour or play shows in support of Dilute?
Shower Breakfast: We’re playing a show at the press club in February and the press club is my favorite local venue. I’m excited to play there again.
Sac.Indie.Music: What have been some of your favorite musical moments this year?
Shower Breakfast: One of my favorite musical moments of this year is when Spencer and I played a sofar sounds on a hotel balcony surrounded by skyscrapers in San Francisco. That moment really marked me because I felt so in my element while performing. It felt magical to hear the sounds bouncing off the buildings around us.
Sac.Indie.Music: What are your hopes for the coming year? Do you see yourself writing more music?
Shower Breakfast: My hopes are definitely to go on tour in some capacity and do a lot more collaborations. There are so many talented people in Sacramento and I want to experience all of it. I am always writing more music and I’m sure it will be that way for the rest of my life. It’s how I cope and how I navigate the world.
Sac.Indie.Music: Is there anything else you’d like to share with listeners?
Shower Breakfast: Thank you to everyone who has listened to our music, it absolutely means so much. We were not expecting the support and encouragement with this project but we are grateful.
Go pick up your copy of ‘Dilute’ by Shower Breakfast in a limited edition 24k Gold color shell now! Link: https://sacindiemusic.bandcamp.com/
Sac.Indie.Music 