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).

We Saw the Moon: A Starry Night

            This is a review of the EP We Saw the Moon (2013), by Swedish duo Hearts of Black Science, and the tenth review here on Track-By-Track.

            Though almost half-a-year old, this EP was new to me when I heard it recently.  It’s a lot like deservedly well-respected bands meeting equally talented lesser-known bands, musically.  Observer Drift (whose latest album was my first review on this blog) definitely comes to mind, as well as electronic artist Liars, goth staples The Cure, and U2, among others.  The EP is engineered, performed, and written, like a band at the top of their game.  And that’s exactly what they seem to be.
            What really surprised me was the ability that Hearts of Black Science -- the Gothemburg-based duo of Daniel Änghede on vocals and physical instruments, and Tomas Almgren on production/mixing, digital instruments, and more-than-fitting album art -- has of blending goth tones and themes with lighter and more atmospheric genres.  It’s really the combination of Almgren’s and Änghede’s two different perspectives on music that makes We Saw the Moon not only unique, but uniquely enjoyable.  This is a release that lulls and swells with mood and emotion, and mixes a nighttime atmosphere with different takes on that theme.  Great music conveys emotion, and this is a softly-lit warm reminder.
            Get out your candles; here’s my 10th TBT:

            “Winter In Tar Garden” starts the EP, with a decidedly chilly atmosphere.  A pleasantly dark track, with processing all over electronic bass, piano, and a modern drumbeat.  It reminds me of milder songs from the ongoing genre crossover (and continual miscategorization) of black metal and shoegaze, but done properly with wafts of electronic and mildly ambient tones.  There’s enough time to get the atmosphere of the track through instrumental breaks between the sparse vocals, and the vocal-lyrical combination give it a whole other level of mood.  The vocals are processed to perfection (in the alternative-music sense, not the pop-music sense), and great synths are just loud enough to almost totally mask some great guitars.  This obscuration somehow makes the track better than if the guitars were at the forefront, like the generally obscured or low-volume vocals in shoegaze proper.  Synths bring out a dark atmosphere, but in a way that's like a dark Van Gogh, rather than a depressing or unpleasantly dark movie.  It reminds me a bit of Curve's song “Coast is Clear”.

            “College Dreams” comes next, and it’s a definite 80s-style hit.  It’s probably my favourite on the EP, and it has loads of glo-fi with some hints of dream-pop throughout.  Great synths, and vocals with classic lyrics are sung, processed, and harmonized, like a collaboration between U2 and Duran Duran at their best.  It sounds nostalgic, and there’s definitely a chillwave sound to the track.  Drums are in that addictive eq, and guitars are very 80s.  Though on first listen, I wasn’t huge on the mid-range-bandpass-equalized vocal cuts, by the second listen, I was looking forward to them like a long-overdue release from The Postal Service (as if such a thing were ever announced).  It’s heartening that such a happy-sounding track has mildly foreboding lyrics, such as: “For now we’re young and we’ll never die”.

            “Icon” is the 3rd track, and though it starts with a lo-fi electronic goth sound, it quickly becomes an electronica anthem.  This one has the least prominent guitars yet it fits the scheme of the EP by being smack-dab in the middle.  Guitars are mainly underneath loud bass synths and old-school drum samples, and let’s not forget the classic chorus-effected-piano, and choral samples.  The vocals once again are amazing, and emotive without fault or over-production.  There are definitely parts that remind me of The Cure (especially the better tracks of their 4:13 Dream album), and Peter Murphy’s “Cuts You Up”, among other great goth progenitors.

            “Fathoms” is the penultimate track.  Some glitchy drums and tremolo-processed synths are the perfect backing for what sounds like Slowdive meeting The Unforgettable Fire-era U2, and it interestingly becomes a goth glo-fi/chillwave track, which I never thought could ever mix , let alone so well.  The drums are slow, and guitars appear in odd places, as well as providing a great atmosphere for the vocals (in all their modulated and harmonized glory) to drift on.  Bass takes a back-seat, but still remains important in keeping the darker tone of the song.  And somehow, somewhere, a string section (or samples of) make their way into the track, and seamlessly blend with guitar through heavy reverb.

            The title track puts it all in perspective.  Although all the tracks are well-done, this is a major contender for the airspace “College” also deserves.  I must say, I wish I knew where the vocal sample at the beginning comes from, but it escapes me.  The track sounds like both a total acceptance of the night, and darkness itself.  I love anything that captures that true energy and atmosphere of a warm dark starry night, and this delves in and presents the auditory and lyrical equivalent of that feeling of walking in such a night.  It’s a bit like a stripped-down Adore-era Pumpkins song, and retains the positivity of chillwave even through its warm and slightly dark tone.  Guitars set it up, drums drive it on, “1979”-esque synths lift it upwards, bass tethers it to the ground, and vocals bring it home.  And it ends on a perfect note -- literally, like Nine Inch Nails’s “Right Where It Belongs” played by “1979” chorus synths.

            Overall, an amazing atmospheric EP, upbeat and dark in all the right places.  Almgren and Änghede have good reason to be proud of their latest fully-new release (they’ve since released their first volume of B-sides and remixes).  You can stream We Saw the Moon for free at http://heartsofblackscience.bandcamp.com, and purchase CD-quality downloads of their music at that link.  If this EP is any judge, the moon must look pretty great in Gothenburg.

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.