Blind Spot - A Refreshing Sight

            This is my first review of 2016, and my 18th review of a release, here on Track-By-Track.

            This is a truly exciting opportunity, because it's the first major dream-pop/shoegaze band that's come out with a studio release since My Bloody Valentine's MBV.  Though Lush needs no introduction for fans of the scene that celebrates itself, it's worth noting that Lush defined a place for themselves with solid albums like Spooky, and a sound both reminiscent of, and divergent from Cocteau Twins.  They're required listening for dream-pop and shoegaze fans, and have a laid-back yet energetic sound.
            Blind Spot is a great comeback, and a solid display of classic imaginative music.  It's like visiting an old friend who, instead of reminiscing with you about past memories, grabs your arm and takes you along for new ones.  Whoever or whatever let Lush get back together, this blogger is in debt to you.
            Here's my TBT:

            The EP begins with "Out of Control", a marvelous song, and a miraculous return to form for Lush.  Their classic sound has somehow survived the 20 years between releases and the death of their original drummer Chris Acland.  Excellent production, deep bass, great drums, fitting and cool lyrics and vocals, and flanged-chorused guitars that sound... Well, lush (no pun intended).  You know that feeling when bands reform and it doesn't sound half as good?  You won't ever feel that during this EP.

            "Lost Boy", the second track, reminds me a bit of mid-phase Cocteau Twins, and early '00s David Bowie, with a spooky (pun partially intended) vibe.  Very wide guitars and vibrant strings take the cake on this one.  It sounds like what the lighter goth bands of the '90s could have turned into.  The chords remind me of Billy Corgan's leaked demo of "Identify."

             The third track, "Burnham Beaches" is upbeat, and has loads of airy atmosphere.  The chord changes are natural yet original, and horns and shimmering synths highlight great vocals.  With a catchy beat and guitars lower in the mix, it sounds like a song made years after the others.  The end is ecstatic, and sounds like the ending of an album.

            The final track of the EP, "Rosebud" is a surprise because it's slower, and more pensive than the other songs.  It's more lyric-focused, and thankfully, its lyrics vocals are worth highlighting.  It's likely the reason for the title of the EP.  It's like a fusion of the '60s, '90s, and alternative music made in the near future.  Expect to hear more songs like this from modern bands.

            Overall, Blind Spot is a fantastic return for one of the dream-pop mainstays of the '90s.  The word "refreshing" keeps popping up in my head during repeated listens, mainly because it's an EP that doesn't sound over-processed, by a band that didn't radically and unnecessarily change its sound, and hasn't watered down the melodic construction and lyrics of its music.  Will the vast majority of modern music start changing toward more experimental, honest music?  I'll let "Out of Control" answer: "Change has already begun."

Eclectic and International: Imaginary Mixtape 2/3

            This is the 2nd imaginary mixtape on this blog.

            For this week's imaginary mixtape, I'm going to break with style a bit, and showcase some songs that don't fit in the genre I've been focusing on.  Next week, I'm delving back into the overarching shoegaze/alt-rock theme, but for this week, you can check out some great tunes from other styles.
            As usual, there are loads of great bands from all over the world, and many of them are largely undiscovered, so I hope this post helps, even if only a bit.  So get ready for another installment of the imaginary mixtapes, this time, from across borders, musically and physically.
            Here's my TBT:

            1. "Someone With My Face And My Name, But Not Me" by Portabot, from There Must Be A Sunrise In Every Ending (2009).

            This is a heavily ambient/shoegaze/psychedelic/microglitch/electroacoustic instrumental.  As you can see, it almost defies genre description, but fortunately, what it lacks in similarity to other songs, it makes up in what sounds like pure distorted sound created straight from the mind.  It starts out with a calming cinematic under-sampled melody, which sets up the almost 8 minutes to come, well.  There's harmony and dissonance at once, crushed through under-sampling distortion which gives it a kind of hypnotic and meditative effect.  Loops alter throughout, and the song changes face after the 3 minute mark, to eventually include what sounds like glasses being played musically, and synths overtop the ever-changing crushed sound.  It's hard to decide what the sounds actually are, but I'm guessing reversed acoustic guitar.  Needless to say, there aren't enough words (in English, at least) to accurately describe the sound without getting ridiculously technical, but I highly recommend it (and the entire There Must Be A Sunrise In Every Ending by Barcelona's own Portabot), especially in headphones, when you're in that space between waking and sleeping.  Portabot has since released a few newer songs available at the same link (http://portabot.bandcamp.com/)

            2. "With Our Eyes Closed" by Prevrat, from Symbols (2013).

            "With Our Eyes Closed" starts with a strange and modern analogue-sounding loop.  There are definitely dream-pop influences in the track, but it's mainly an indie-pop/synthpop track.  Vocals are fed through a soft vocoder, and loads of addictive synths, drum samples, and harmonies create a cold yet upbeat atmosphere.  "We walk through the world with our eyes closed" is an awesome lyric.  It also has a bit of a video-game sound to it, like some of Yoshito Hirano's and Yuka Tsuhiyoko's compositions.  There are some intricate compositions of notes in the track that transcend ordinary video-game music as well, and retain a kind of strange welcoming alternativeness.  (http://prevrat.bandcamp.com/)

            3. "Ophelia (among the flowers)" by What,Really? from s/t Promo 2013 (2013).

            To shake things up a bit, here's a power pop track from Italian band What,Really?.  "Ophelia (among the flowers)" begins with a bandpassed guitar, and then hits the mark with sharp drums, indie-rock-style guitar, and a great following bass.  Vocals fit so well in the sound What,Really? is going for, with nice harmonies, and an easy-going attitude, lyrically and tonally.  It's upbeat, and catchy like the Dickens.  There's a catchy energy like songs the Newglads release, Here There Anywhere Like You (which I reviewed earlier in the year), but it reaches the ears in a distinctly different way.  Once again, music from across the sea holds its own against the sea-like swarm of pop-rock/power pop bands from my own continent.  (http://whatreally.bandcamp.com)

            4. "Ol Rudy" by Euphoria Again, from Bedroom tapes part 1 (2012)

            "Ol Rudy" is a great lo-fi track.  The thing about lo-fi that I really love is the ability to create a certain organic mood, without overusing instrumentation, and this track is no exception.  A sleepy, emotionally worn-out sound comes through, in a nice low-frequency range; with the sound of soft double-tracked vocals, beautifully (and deceptively) underplayed acoustic guitar, and a southern/indie twang of an electric guitar fed through a quiet-sounding amp.  John Forrest Klein's name for his project, Euphoria Again, is a perfect description for the mood both musically and lyrically.  There's almost a kind of sarcasm of the track, but it also sounds at least equally honest.  Relaxing, bittersweet, and folky; lo-fi euphoria again.  Euphoria Again has since released a new compilation of remastered versions of the bedroom tapes releases available at the same link. (http://euphoriaagain.bandcamp.com/)

            5. "Machines Fall Apart" by Tree Wave, from the EP Cabana (2004)

            This is an interesting alt-pop/dream pop crossover track.  It starts with strange and wonderfully warped electronic sounds (likely made from some sorts of archaic synths), and then an old-school 808-reminiscent drumbeat leads the song forward.  More layers of synths, and great vocals that sound like they're sung by a slightly-more-awake Bilinda Butcher (shoegaze in-joke) make it both alternative and poppy, but as the track goes on, the sound evolves into a structured and serious yet upbeat melody, similar to Billy Corgan's amazing solo album, TheFutureEmbrace.(http://archive.org/details/os034)

            6. "half open" by The Bilinda Butchers, from Goodbyes (2012)

            From sounds like Butcher, to named after Butcher, here's the 6th track of this imaginary mixtape.  This is a dream pop band I've been wanting to mention for some time.  No, it's not Bilinda Butcher in some new solo project, but it is a dream pop band with some great tones.  "half open" is a bit poppy, and has some mild Eastern-stylized synths as well as loads of other ones.  Vocal "ahhs" are in a great amount of reverb, and the melody is catchy and greatly sung.  The layers of different synths, drums, vocals, and guitars, give it an overall modern style, even though there are some definite '80s sounds in there too.  The instrumental ending is like listening to an epitome of something not yet named.  Oh, and don't be freaked out by the sounds at the end; they're part of the track, not actual radio interference near your ears.  (http://thebilindabutchers.bandcamp.com/)


            7. "Community College" by LAKE R▲DIO (feat. PIXEL GRIP), from Hypnagogia (2013)

            "Community College" is a laid-back instrumental with house influences by LAKE R▲DIO (Caden Moore), featuring PIXEL GRIP.  There's a lot of reverb in all the right places, and a synth solo that's analogue-yet-new-sounding.  Vocal samples turn into blips, and the track brings a slow style to the electronic music scene, that doesn't rely on bad writing, vocal trills, or ambient loops to make it sound that way.  Slight hip-hop influences also come through, and it sounds just as good when sped up at time and a half (I like to experiment with music on my computer).  (http://lakeradio.bandcamp.com)

            8. "I'm Not Perfect, Are You?" by The Silence of a Whisper, from The Past, The Future, The End (2011)

            This is a moody and pensive instrumental track from Swedish artist The Silence of a Whisper (Jerome Engström).  It reminds me of the kind of dusk when it's getting dark-blue outside; like a rainy day spent in a tub surrounded by the atmosphere, and a soft yellow light.  As much as that isn't in musical terms, it really defines the sound to me.  "I'm Not Perfect, Are You?" is one of the slower and non-distorted tracks off the largely post-rock/metal The Past, The Future, The End.  Starting with a deep bass drone, and soft nostalgic melodic electric guitar fed through reverb, the track takes on a beauty reminiscent of Sigur Ros, or some of the softer early Pumpkins tracks ("Luna" comes to mind a bit).  Drums are as evocative as the rest of the track, and the whole track has a kind of relaxed, resolved sound that is almost completely unique.  The Silence of a Whisper has since released 2 new singles, available at the same link (http://thesilenceofawhisper.bandcamp.com/)

            9. "Downtown" by The Shipyard [single] (2012)

            This is a nice nighttime-ish alt-rock track from Polish band The Shipyard.  This track is upbeat and catchy, as well as being sophisticated and mellow to a point.  Great lyrics and singing are complimented by perfectly equalized and processed drums, loads of heavily melodic guitars, a chorus-processed bass, and synths that sound like a new beginning for popular music.  "Downtown" has the great quality of being moving without being overdramatic, and catchy without being annoying; it's a slight chillwave influence on top of a post-rock/pop-rock style that seems to do the trick.  And the ending is just how I wanted it to be, before I heard it.  It's also featured on the new album by The Shipyard, We Will Sea, under the name "Downtown 2012". (http://theshipyard.bandcamp.com/)

            10."a smoothie robot for my moon mansion" by Ricky Eat Acid, from (2011_demos) (2012).

            The final track of this imaginary mixtape is a somewhat ambient track, with a sweet beat, and beautiful piano, accented with delays, and other soft synths on top.  It's a rich atmosphere of contemplative melancholic contentment, as uplifting as it is nostalgia-inducing.  An instrumental, it reinforces the power of instrumentals to evoke the same amount of emotion that non-instrumentals do.  The track sounds like Air, but mixed by someone like Brian Eno, maybe with help from Nigel Godrich, and a lo-fi/chillwave producer as well.  Beautiful sums it up well.  (http://rickyeatacid.bandcamp.com/)

            Overall, this is an eclectic mix of genres, from different albums, from different countries, and they all bring great sound to the table.  Now just see how that can work, physically.

Indie Gaze: Imaginary Mixtape 1/3

 

            This is the 1st imaginary mixtape on this blog.

 

             Well, it’s Friday the 13th, but if you like Track-By-Track, today will be a lucky one.  For September, since it’s a kind of new-beginning time of year, instead of reviewing albums or EPs, I’ll turn you on to 10 great tracks each week, from different albums and compilations I’ve found over the years, for the duration of the month.  Don’t worry, I’ll return to album/EP reviews in October, time willing.

            I realize I’ve been giving the whole of indie music a bit of a hard time so far. Many of these tracks have indie influences, and they sound great because of it; so don’t think I’m against the genre, I’m just against it being where it doesn’t sound good, like any other genre.

            Here's my TBT:

            1. “Dreaming” by Adam & The Amethysts, from the compilation album Foreign Trade - A Music Exchange Between Minneapolis & Montreal [CJLO 1690AM (Montreal) & Radio K (Minneapolis)]

            Dreaming is a soft new-wave/old-school dream pop track.  The lyrics are great, with a storyline about some kind of archeological site.  A slow, relaxed beat mixes with soft guitar and bass, and natural, harmonized vocals.  No extreme processing of any kind, but the style sneaks up and relaxes, like a chillwave take on 80s ballads.  Adam & The Amethysts are from Canada, which makes them the first band I’ve reviewed from my homeland, astonishingly.  What sounds like a sax brings the end home, and makes the over-six-minute length seem short and worthwhile.  “If it seems like I’m dreaming, don’t wake me.” (http://cjlo1690am.bandcamp.com)

            2. “Flourish” by Jesper Lundager, from I Could Fall in Love Again EP (2011)

            This is an old-school dream pop (very little synth, more guitar processing) song, very reminiscent of 90s dream-pop band Cocteau Twins.  Despite what might be a dark tone lyrically, it’s uplifting musically, and really otherworldly with acoustics heard through chorus processing, and soft, unusual, and fitting vocals.  There’s either a slide guitar, or a synth that sounds like it, that really drives the emotion in the song, and as bass and bass synths soothe, a certain sadness also comes through the nostalgic and upbeat song.  Lundager is now in another band, Tusindfald and I can’t wait to hear more from either.  “See her candle light calling out for you.” (http://jesperlundager.bandcamp.com)

            3. “Double Vision” by Hunting Club from Mosaic (2013)

            And now, this is what I call new-style dream pop.  There are definitely indie influences in the track, and at times it reminds me of Arcade Fire’s “No Cars Go”.  Vocals are like pop vocals, pre-pitch correction, with enough warm, resonant reverb to really get that indie feel.  The beat is fast, guitars are repetitive and Summery, bass creates the real base of the melody, and the synths show why digital, done right, can be just as good as analog.  “I cannot forget with double vision.” (http://huntingclubmusic.bandcamp.com/)

            4. “Know Me Right” by The Sorry Shop from Mnemonic Syncretism (2013)

            “Know Me Right” is definitely shoegaze, but indie comes through as well.  Awash in reverb, the track starts off with over 40 seconds of shoegaze guitar, bass, and drums (and tambourine).  Then comes the pitch-treated vocals, which emphasize a kind of Jesus and Mary Chain atmosphere already hinted at with the music.  Fortunately, lyrics are included, so you can understand a kind of agoraphobic story nicely playing with the static and energy of the song.  “Why will I ever need anything from the outside when it’s so good in here”. (http://thesorryshop.bandcamp.com)

            5. “Headcleaner” by Hypermagic from Sugar (2011)

            “Headcleaner” is an instrumental shoegaze/drone/ambient track by Hypermagic, that mixes the sound of heavily-driven tremolo-effected guitar, soft vocal trails, an interesting and kinda syncopated beat, and great resonant sounds all around the ears.  It’s drone in a way, because it doesn’t change the main chord structure, yet it also reminds me of ambient tracks, and shoegaze, with a very slight touch of indie in the vocals and mixing.  Hypermagic has since released more music, with their newest 3 track EP, Of Marsh and Mallow. (http://hypermagic.bandcamp.com)

            6. “Saint Étienne” by Abiku from Techincolor (2011)

            Where would my blog be without great Italian music?  Well, let’s put aside that scary rhetorical question, and look at this track.  Abiku’s “Saint Étienne” opened my heart through this song so much, that I wish I knew more Italian than what digital translations tell me.  It has a rich sound like a fine wine, or perhaps something finer, and both relaxes and invigorates.  There are touches of indie without being overbearingly so.  Beautiful vocals, a perfect and prominent bass, and warm textured synths in the beginning make it very warm and sunlit.  Drums bring out the energetic side, and just when you think it’s set in a certain sound, distorted and inverted-sounding guitars enhance the mood.  There’s really no way to describe the full sound, but needless to say once you’ve heard it, it’s bliss.  (http://abikuband.bandcamp.com)

            7. “Alpine” by Apollo Vermouth from Burning in Heaven (2012)

            It was hard to choose which song off Apollo Vermouth’s Burning in Heaven release I wanted to review for this imaginary mixtape.  “Untitled” was a runner up, but “Alpine” took the cake for its strong shoegaze sound.  “Alpine” is an instrumental shoegaze/drone track.  Through its repetitive drone nature, and huge distortion, a relaxation sets in, like a kind of obliteration of the senses (or at least one).  It’s like a My Bloody Valentine coda, and a bit like their “Sometimes”, in the way of relaxing distortion that most people would use in harsher rock.  You can tell some of the indie edges in the track, even through its meditative and pensive overall sound. (http://apollovermouth.bandcamp.com)

            8. “I’m Not Talking” by AC Newman From Shut Down the Streets (2012)

            AC Newman released Shut Down the Streets last year, and “I’m Not Talking” starts the album off on the right foot.  The beginning has some great analogue-sounding synths, and soon the song explodes with the full energy that’s throughout almost all of the song.  The beat has lots of 60s-style tambourine, and the song screams indie done properly.  It’s warm and full of heart, with great harmonies, and an overall great focus on melody.  The classic sound of acoustics and bass, give the song retro flair, and I’m happy that this sound was made in Canada.  “I Like the way things are, I say abandon the search, for an author of small work.” (http://www.acnewman.net/)

            9. “Sunlight” by Yuno [single] (2012)

            “Sunlight” is another alt-rock song with great melodic sense.  Vocals with heavy reverb, layered guitars, warm bass, and an addictive beat.  The song is nostalgic and hi-frequency tones make it sound both back and forward looking.  It’s definitely a hit, but like a like a lighter, more shoegaze or dream pop style version of an older one.  (http://yvno.bandcamp.com)

            10. “Untitled” by Sea Oleena from Sleeplessness (2011)

            The last track by someone from my homeland in this imaginary mixtape, is a song titled “Untitled”, by Sea Oleena (writer/performer Charlotte Oleena, produced and mixed by her brother Luke Loseth).  It has both background noises that enhance the track’s indie/lo-fi vibe, and music that sounds professionally constructed.  The writing and style reminds me of Leonard Cohen, which is a big plus lyrically and musically.  It has a certain sparseness, enhanced by guitars (acoustic and processed) and soft evocative vocals sung through airy reverb.  The bass is addictive, just like the beat, made up of strange sounds sometimes with interesting delays on them.  “Untitled” is from Sea Oleena’s second release, Sleeplessness, which I highly recommend for ghostly alt-acoustic tones. (http://seaoleena.bandcamp.com)

            Overall, these are inspiring and amazing indie-alt-rock crossover songs that you should check out right now.  I mean it, right at this moment.

Pink Elephants: The Good Kind of Hallucination

 

            This is a review of Pink Elephants’s eponymous EP (2013), and the 16th Review (and 2nd bonus review) here on Track-By-Track.

            Pink Elephants (teenage solo artist Bradley Coy) released the Pink Elephants EP this year, and after finding it, I loved the somewhat nostalgic-yet-modern sounds.  Cooper's music has an interestingly 80s retro vibe, but done in a modern way, a bit like M83.  As with most good modern dream-pop, It’s like glide-guitar (pitch warping) has been taken straight from My Bloody Valentine, and applied to synths.  The vocals are generally very airy, with loads of reverb, and the great synths drive this EP.
           Generally, the release is on the technological side of dream pop (new-style dream-pop), though it isn’t a complete turn away from the laid-back alternativeness that paved the way in the pre-'00s.  Sometimes I felt like digging out my old Sega Genesis, because some songs sound like classic video-game music running through loads of pedals.
            Here’s my TBT:

            The first track, “I Think I Know” is pretty great new-style dream pop.  It has some basic drum samples, but the atmosphere created by the synths, bass, guitar, and vocals, make up for them in spades.  It’s like if Priums were remixed by Cocteau Twins or Echo & the Bunnymen.  Cuts are abrupt and sometimes disconcerting, to good effect.

            “Iridescent” has classic synths, and some pop-style ducking, with an equalization that washes everything in an ocean of digitally created waves.  This is the hit song on the EP.  The drums are more classic than low-end, which is a plus for this EP.  If there will be singles from the EP, this one should lead.  Great vocal harmonies accentuate the drifting feeling of the song, which is just like what I’d expect a producer from the 80s would die for.  It's ridiculously addictive, and the major glo-fi/chillwave sound helps with that addictiveness.

            “Lemmings” overpowers with bass, though the drums sound very Garageband despite their great beat (near the end they don’t seem too distracting though).  Vocals and synths are very dream-pop.  The sound, though lo-fi is addictive and harshly ethereal.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Cooper was out of breath after every take, or even every line, because they’re wonderfully breathy; seething with understated emotion.

            The 4th track, “The Flying Bandstand”, starts with the one word that can be definitely discerned from the vocals on this entire EP:”F**k”.  The synths are very classic-sounding, and it almost sounds like great vocals put to great video-game music.  Just like the rest of the EP, discernible words are sacrificed for the sake of atmosphere; we of the shoegaze ilk don’t mind that, but non-gazers might not understand.  It makes me think of a large circus tent at the end.

            “When I Will Learn” sounds like the vocals were either recorded backwards, or sung to sound backwards.  It’s the folk song on the EP, and the guitar is kinda indie-lo-fi.  I can’t figure out the lyrics completely, though “when will I learn” is part of the chorus.  It’s like all the seams of the melodic structures from the previous songs have been whittled down, and we’re left with the sound of unwound threads, scattered by a skilled artist while slightly under some unknown influence.  Or, in musical terms, good guitars and lo-fi vocals.

            Overall, a good dream-pop EP, and I can’t wait for more.  I’m hoping that in the future, Cooper will play with more drum samples, or live drums, to perfect his sound.  You can check out Pink Elephants at http://pinkelephants1.bandcamp.com, and stream and download this EP for a pay-what-you-want price (as of writing this).  After taking a listen, if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to see more Pink Elephants in the near future (pun intended in a good way).

Anastasia: Water and Warmth (the good kind)

            This is a review of the album Anastasia (2013) by Spirits of Leo, and the sixth review here on Track-By-Track.

            I found Spirits of Leo during a frantic and nearly-depressing search for shoegaze through the annals of the badly-keyworded and morbidly under-produced Internet.  Fortunately, I found the Spirits of Leo release, Anastasia, and was lifted out of the near-depression by its very watery and melodic shoegaze/chillwave tones.
            I was surprised by Spirits of Leo being a solo-project, though I did think the band was in surprisingly good synch, both melodically and conceptually.  California-based Ryan Santos Phillips wrote, produced, and performed the entire album.  Despite a few blips, the mastering is of an extremely high quality; and blips are barely noticeable even at the levels I poured the album into my ears.
            With that mental image in mind, here’s my TBT:

            “Woodland” is an instrumental introduction track, reminiscent of early Pumpkins, which continues to grow into a shoegaze track (Slowdive-style), with soft layered vocals and guitars.  The pitch-treated guitar is a bit like old metal intros that were too-quickly interrupted by the main parts of the songs.  I’m happy to say this one doesn’t get kicked out by drums before it’s had its chance to create ripples of emotion.  It leads into the next track.

            “The Pendant You Wear” has some deeply melodic vocals, and starts with drums like “Tonight, Tonight”, but quickly changes into a more modern-sounding, .  It’s an atmosphere with a strong hair-metal-esque beat, and abundant vocal, guitar, and bass beauty.  Vocals and the overall tone are like M83 meeting U2 and Love and Rockets.  Guitars lift, and bass glues in place, with some low-in-the-mix but equally uniform synths at the end.  Every listen enhances the enjoyment of the track to surprising heights.

            “Dead Limbs of Winter”, an instrumental track, comes next, and thankfully, the gapless format of the first few tracks doesn’t end here.  It’s plaintive and pensive, and almost an ambient track.  Winter definitely comes to mind while listening to it.  Soft chorus-effected guitars, and an ambient synth landscape below, bring out and lead up to other layers.  Bass comes next, with a certain warm strength, and vocalizations and drums finish the track’s progressive etherial structure.

            “Ghost Story” is faster, with a slight chillwave influence.  It’s like an 80s track, but put through a reverb chamber.  The vocals are extremely low in the mix, but the lyrics, fortunately, are provided.  There’s a ghostly atmosphere, though the drums at times are a little loud.  It’s about atmosphere, like the rest of the album.  There’s a heart to it unseen in most songs on the modern hit channels.

            “Raccoon” is the next track, and it breaks up the gaplessness from before.  It only has four short lines of lyrics, but the upbeat atmosphere and sparse vocals make them stretch to the fullest.  Bass and guitar combine well, and the central riff is well-worthy of a Brit pop band like Trash Can Sinatras.  It’s catchy and happy, without forgetting the overall watery and warm tone.   It very slightly leads into the next track.

            “The Fog (Angels)”, the 6th track, is a slower one, with a longer intro, and clearer vocals.  I’d liken it to Slowdive, because the guitar, bass, and drum tracks have that watery, softly complimentary quality.  Short but great lyrics sung expertly through modulation give the track a sound like returning home (or a comforting place like it).  The lyrics, and the way they’re sung, have an unusual and otherworldly, yet ancient-sounding structure.

            “Idle Talk” is the hit song, despite how good the rest of the album is.  The bassline and guitars are catchy and the lyrics fit the track perfectly.  It sounds like a song to walk outside in the fog to, surrounded by neon and streetlights.  A great positive return after an emphatic lull in the track, and harmonies to the extreme bring out a kind of loving yet cold warmth.  The drums are old-school, but not simple 808s.  And the ending is classic.  Brief strange sounds lead into the next track.

            “Elysian Fields” is definitely like big ‘80s/early ‘90s pop, with some retro industrial drums forming the beat, and the fast guitar-lines often heard back then.  It transcends with vocals and synths, and later guitar, all chillwavey and Summer-style.  Santos Phillips has somehow structured every one of the songs on Anastasia to a perfect length.  It’s unusual for me to find that all the songs on an album feel just right ending where they end, and in this case, I’m surprised.

            “Anastasia”, the penultimate track, is fast and upbeat, with a nice ambient/dream pop/chillwave genre-blend.  This song lives up to its own lyrics: “You are always in your prime” is a nice description of how this track just builds and creates.  It’s like it’s in a constant state of beginning, even in the ending.  Great basslines, melodic guitar combos, sweet synths, catchy drums, and succulent processed vocal harmonies make this certain competition for “Idle Talk” in the single-field.  The music seems to flow from it, without predictability, even though it could easily see airplay on any hit radio that has the intelligence to see its potential.

            “Spirits of Leo” is the last track, a mainly acoustic track, with great vocals, lyrics, and a melody a bit like The Smashing Pumpkins hit, “Perfect”, but only enough to sound like a slight nod.  The occasional harpsichord-like notes panned far to the right give it a certain ageless quality, and it’s a perfect ending to a near-perfect album.

            Overall, it’s summed up by the first word I said after listening to the album: “Wow”.  A soft strength resounds throughout the slower tracks, and some of the faster ones are dangerously catchy, without being too simple or standard to destroy the alternativeness that makes them unique.  You can stream and download Anastasia for pay-what-you-want, and more Spirits of Leo releases at: http://spiritsofleo.bandcamp.com (Bandcamp is my preferred music-download and finding site).  I can’t imagine the people Anastasia is dedicated to being anything short of proud.

(is it): It Is

            This is a review of Dead Mellotron’s newest (and possibly last) EP, (Is It) (2012), and the fourth review (and first bonus review) here on Track-By-Track.

            I first heard Dead Mellotron when I was searching for shoegaze and dream pop bands on Bandcamp.  I’ve found quite a few great bands that way, which is likely a main reason why the huge labels are scared of the digital era.  I was still really forming my ideas about what shoegaze and dream pop are when I found Dead Mellotron’s 2009 release, Ghost Light Constellation.  This EP just about confuses the two sub-genres further, but in a good way.
            (is it) is a great gapless EP, after which you won’t know what hit you.  Even though there are just four tracks, its emotionally powerful effect is enough to merit loads more poetry than I could write into this review.  I’ll save it for the next Eliot, or Whitman, or a different blog of my own (egotism intended).
            In the meantime, here’s my TBT:

            The EP starts with “Fade In/Out”.  The first thing I wrote about this track was: It sounds like the sun, if it could speak in music.  This is dream-pop heaven, with warbling synth pads, dreamy vocals, and hard yet loving drums.  Dead Mellotron has done it again.  The harmonies bring the song up, but the synths drive you straight above the clouds.  Even though there have been some great tracks from Dead Mellotron before, this stands out as an amazing musical achievement for Dead Mellotron, like R.E.M.’s “The Great Beyond”, but solidly in the dream-pop sub-genre.

            “Weird Dreams” is the second track, which has some great shoegaze guitars, within the scope and breadth of its total dream-pop.  It’s like there’s a string section, without the strings, with the way the guitars and synths compliment each other.  The lyrics are sparse, and almost lo-fi-style.  The vocals sound pitch-corrected, but I couldn’t care less with the atmosphere this track brings.  The deep bass drives it home, and the drums, though obviously samples, remind of My Bloody Valentine.

            The third track, “Vacation”, is a vacation from lyrics and vocals.  It’s heavily compressed and modulated to the extreme, yet without the stonewalling that most songs and remasters have now.  It’s like a coda by Kevin Shields himself, with synths and guitars, even though I don’t know whether there are any synths, or if this is a track in which there really was a labyrinth of pedals near the guitarist's shoes.  It leads gently into the last track.

            “Vacation II” is a continuation of the previous track, but by no means instrumental.  The vocals return, as feint whispers of a mood, without form to really give shape to recognizable words.  Great choral-style samples, and just enough echo, mixed with a strong drumbeat and ocean of guitar; and the deep bass is more noticeable when they cut out.

            Overall, it's like a great tape of music was left out in the sun, and was warped, and that somehow made it better.  It’s instantly replayable, and each listen brings some new part of it to light.  This whole EP solidifies Dead Mellotron’s place in the shoegaze/dream pop crossover that few artists exemplify as well.  Sadly, this might be the last we hear from Dead Mellotron (they've announced through Facebook that their last gig is in July), so this might be a kind of Abbey Road.  You can download this EP for pay-what-you-want, and more from Dead Mellotron, at http://deadmellotron.bandcamp.com.  Like a room filled with sunlight and warmth, outside a snowy mountain (like the one on the cover), it’s a secretive and warm EP, with qualities that defy explanation.  This is why I love dream pop.

Haunted: Far Beyond Dreams

            This is a review of the album Haunted (2013), by Another Green World, and the third review here on Track-By-Track.

            I don’t remember exactly how I found Another Green World’s music.  It might have been that I was searching for Brian Eno's album of the same name, or I might have been just randomly searching for glo-fi bands.  Whatever the case, I found the album In Dreams by Another Green World, which turned out to be the first album by Memphis-based solo-artist Alec West.
            Haunted marks a slight yet significant change in style for West’s project; a glo-fi/dream pop release, with some acoustic guitars, a more sparse sound, and a lighter equalization.  Though at times I miss the old pleasantly-muddled and nearly-stonewalled sound of Another Green World, this solidifies West’s progression towards a kind of high-end production that is at once addictive and more accessible to listeners.  Though not every track is catchy, the ones that are, are extremely repeatable. It goes beyond In Dreams, if not as a concept, as a more etherial and genre-defying album.
            Here’s my TBT:

            “Glowing” is an instrumental intro track.  Dream pop synths, and some lo-fi drums make it sound like a portable video-game’s title screen music.

            “Moment” is a slight break in style for Another Green World.  This time, some acoustic guitars, and surf-style riffs, along with the classic analogue noises and reverb-cushioned vocals that West developed his sound with.  It’s upbeat, and placed perfectly as a second track.  The lyrics (what I can hear of them) are sweet and dreamy.  It’s a chillwave/dream pop combo that’s upbeat from the start. The drums are light, and in that just right addictive equalization, and the ending is filled with a kind of nostalgic analogue atmosphere, only describable if you’ve heard old-school synth modulation, like West’s previous work.

            “Mosiac” comes next, with a darker tone more like In Dreams.  It feels a little long, but it’s in a very dreamy lo-fi/chillwave genre-rift, and the arcade-game noises are pleasing to the ear.  I still prefer the original heavily-compressed version on West’s Vision Quest EP, but it’s great as a sparser alternate version.  Synths abounds.

            The 4th track, “Blood”, starts with a sound like leftover brostep, and then pleasantly surprises with a totally surf/chillwave pastiche of upbeat acoustic guitars, catchy drums, and insanely catchy digital tones, all in mono (though the streaming version seems to be slightly stereo).  The vocals, as we of the shoegaze ilk are used to, are obscured; loads of reverb and delays make the track suitably and lovingly alternative.  It’s very Summery, and reminds me of Observer Drift’s Fjords (the first album reviewed here on Track-By-Track).  Oddly, what I think is the refrain: “Take my blood”, is in sharp contrast to the happy and optimistic tone of the music.  This is the hit on the album, despite the good quality of the whole album.

            “Memory” is a short instrumental.  It’s something I’ve found mainly with smaller and independent bands, that they still value (and rightly so) the instrumental and experimental songs, as well as the more-traditional ones with words.  This song is short enough to remember, and long enough to define somewhere in dream pop or glo-fi (which is what I regard as a slightly less upbeat and muddier chillwave, despite the standard definition which has them as the same sub-genre).

            “When” is the 6th track; gladly another Summery dream pop one.  The beat is very catchy, and it ends way too soon for my liking.  It’s addictive, and sounds like a Spring day, erupting with loads of atmosphere; loads of good ‘80s sounds, and a great ending.  The guitars are very slightly shoegazey, and the bass is definite dream pop.  It’s that song you hear on the radio in the old days, that you never knew the name of, and never did catch who did it.  Extremely etherial.

            “Scientific” is a chorus-pedal-driven song, and the beat, as usual with West’s work, draws the listener in immediately.  This one could do better with slightly less reverb on the verses’ vocals, but only from a lyrical point of view.  They create an atmosphere of uncertainty, within an otherwise grounding, certain, track.  It’s unusual for most bands to have reverb almost exclusively on the vocals, which is definitely a plus for anyone (like me) looking for originality.

            “Passion” starts off with old-school toms, and the vocals are at the forefront of this one.  It, like the rest of the album, is refreshingly non-pitch-corrected.  The lyrics are great, especially for a kind of love song, and really work with this style.  The chorus could have more elaboration, but it’s definitely a hook.  Classic new-wave guitars and synths make it a little nostalgic.

            “Forest”, the 9th track, is another instrumental, with more of that chillwave sound.  Loads of pitch modulation covered by reverb, or perhaps vice-versa.

            “Skyscraper” is slower, and a bit like Nexus Nooka from Another Green World’s earlier Nexus Nooka/Game Genie release.  This one has the clearest vocals, and more great textured drums.  The guitars make a great shoegaze-ish backing to the track, and when they are at the forefront, it’s like listening to a pool of guitar.

            As the penultimate track, “Geologist” is a return to that super-reverb sound.  This one sounds a bit like Yung Life (the second album reviewed on this blog).  It’s very 80s, and the synths are complimented by more surf-guitar.  It’s always refreshing to hear surf done right, and this fast-paced song is in that crossover between old and faux-old, in a good way.

            “Spectre” is the final track, oddly a darker instrumental in the glo-fi subgenre.  Imagine The Killers, with a dark-ambient producer.  It doesn’t quite feel like an end to the album, though it lives up the album’s name, unlike the album’s general optimistic yet otherworldly tone.

            Overall, this album has some pretty sweet chillwave/dream pop sounds, and some tracks pleasantly defy categorization in either of these sub-genres.  This is an experience in both sparse and textured sounds, and West is well on his way to amassing a new audience, at the same time as keeping older fans satisfied.  You can stream this album for free at http://synthrecords.bandcamp.com, and buy it in CD quality at that link; and for older Another Green World releases, you can check out http://anothergreenworld.bandcamp.com.  And for the full experience, play some old VHS tapes in the background, on a heavily magnetized tv.