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).
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