Category: dream pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of founding member Brazilian-born and now Los Angeles, CA-based Samira Winter (vocals), Matt Hogan (guitar), Justine Brown (bass), and Garren Orr (drums), indie dream pop/shoegaze act Winter can trace their origins to when Winter along with the band’s co-founder Nolan Ely started the band in Boston. After the release of their 2012 debut effort Daydreaming EP, Winter relocated to Los Angeles where she recruited the band’s current lineup to flesh out the project’s sound.

As a newly formed  quartet, the members of the band went into the studio to write and record their full-length debut Supreme Blue Dream, which Lolipop Records released last year. With material written and sung in both English and Brazilian Portuguese, the album thematically was designed to connect the listener to their inner child while writing shimmering and ethereal pop that interestingly enough sounds as though it could have been released by 4AD Records.

The band is working on their forthcoming sophomore effort Ethereality while making a number of tour dates, which you can check out below. But interestingly enough, the Los Angeles dream pop act’s latest single “Dreaming” was originally written in 2013 and was presumed lost when the band’s laptop was stolen on tour. However, the members of the band recovered a version of a song found on a backup hard drive — and the single will further cement the band’s growing reputation for crafting shimmering and ethereal pop in which Winter’s ethereal melodies are paired with shimmering guitar chords played through reverb pedal, a sinuous bass line and propulsive drumming. Sonically, the song evokes being woken from a pleasant and revelatory reverie.

Check out the aforementioned tour dates below.

Tour Dates:

October 18 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater *
October 21 San Francisco, CA – Slims #
November 5 San Diego, CA – Blonde Bar ~
November 6 Fullerton, CA – Continental Room ~

* = w/ Ducktails, Ablebody (Record Release), Wyatt Blair
# = w/ Picture Atlantic
~ = w/ So Many Wizards

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past two or three months or so, you’ve likely come across a couple of posts about Chasms, a San Francisco, CA-based duo comprised of Jess Labrador and Shannon Madden that specializes in crafting sparse, minimalist (and moody) dirges that feature Labrador’s hauntingly ethereal vocals accompanied by her shimmering guitar work paired with propulsive and pummeling drum programming, swirling electronics and bursts of feedback and industrial clang and clatter — and in some way their sound and songwriting approach draws from shoegaze, drone, dream pop, doom metal and ambient electronica simultaneously.

Now, over the course of the past couple of months, the duo have released two singles off their soon-to-be-released full-length debut On The Legs of Love Purified — the slow-burning and smoky “We’ll Go,” which under the seemingly placid surface reveals a sense of unease and discomfort and the shimmering and gauzy “Black Ice.” The album’s third and latest single “Beyond Flesh” much like the album’s first single “Black Ice” sounds as though it could have been released during 4AD Records heyday as the duo pairs Labrador’s ethereal wails with shimmering power chords, layers of stormy feedback and thundering drum programming — all feed through a bit of reverb. And while stunningly beautiful, the song possesses an aching yearning.

The duo will be embarking on a tour through October and November, which will include a November 16, 2016 stop at Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates

10.07 Portland, OR @ Lovecraft %  
10.08 Seattle, WA @ Blue Moon
10.09 Eugene, WA @ Wandering Goat 
10.10 Sacramento @ Press Club # 
10.11 San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout ^ 
10.13 La Puente, CA @ Bridgetown DIY ~ 
10.14 San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop *
10.15 Long Beach, CA @ 4th St. Vine 
10.16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (Part Time Punks) + 
10.29 Berkeley, CA @ KALX (Live Session + Interview)
11.08 Indianapolis, IN @ State St. Pub
11.15 Providence, RI @ Machines with Magnets
11.16 Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium =
11.19 Chicago, IL @ TBA


% w/ Sean Pierce, Patricia Hall 
# w/ Odonis Odonis 
^ w/ Silver Shadows, Sirena Victima, DJ Nako & Cash Askew
~ w/ Second Still 
* w/ Black Marble 
+ w/ Black Marble, Ritual Howls 
 = w/ Holy Wave 
> w/ Merchandise, Gun Outfit

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Darkly Surreal Visuals and Shimmering Shoegazer Rock of Dead Leaf Echo’s “Lemonheart”

“Lemonheart,” will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting lush and shimmering shoegazer-like dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive — or in other words, layers upon layers of shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of reverb, a propulsive motorik-like groove paired with ethereal and wistful vocals.

The recently released video for “Lemonheart” employs a surreal and nightmarish logic as it features a beautiful young woman selling lemonade at a child’s lemonade stand, cutting lemons for lemonade, and occasionally sucking on a lemon when she encounters a man dressed as a lemon mascot, who’s devastated upon seeing the carnage inflicted on his fellow lemons. Running away, he encounters a female lemon who captures his attention and they return to get revenge on our lemonade stand girl.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lower Dens’ Moody and Gorgeous Visuals and Sounds for “Real Thing”

The recently released video was produced by SSION and employs the use of hazy early 80s synth pop videos as the song has Hunter performing in an empty studio as the video cuts to hazier and hot florescent lit footage of couples and other folks dancing at a club, and of Hunter playing guitar and singing, sometimes in different colored suits. Interestingly, Hunter sings the song’s most devastating lines to herself in a mirror, which emphasizes the song’s loneliness while also emphasizing the fact that the song’s narrator is faced with a difficult decision.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Ryan McGroarty, Cheylene Murphy and Aimee Williamson, the Belfast, Northern Ireland-based synth pop/dream pop trio Beauty Sleep have quickly received attention from The Irish Times, The Sun, several blogs and airplay from BBC Radio 1 for a sound that’s been compared to Washed Out, Teen Daze and Summer Heart. And as you’ll hear on the trio’s latest single “Living Right,” you’ll see why as the trio pairs gorgeous and ethereal melodies with shimmering synths, reverb-filled guitars, a propulsive rhythm section and an upbeat, anthemic hook in a carefully crafted song that’s summery and extremely radio-friendly — but with a subtle and underlying wistfulness at its core.

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Beach House Performing “Rough Song” on Charlie Rose

Interestingly, although released last October, Thank Your Lucky Stars was recorded during the same two month period as its predecessor Depression Cherry and continued an ongoing collaboration between the band and co-producer Chris Coady. Naturally, both albums build upon similar aesthetics, making them inseparably companion albums. Now you may remember that I recently wrote about “The Traveller” off Thank Your Lucky Stars. The duo were recently on Charlie Rose’s show where they performed a gorgeous and aching version of “Rough Song.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of two critically applauded EPs, We Are Sound and Everything You Imagine Is Real, the New York-based electro pop duo Corbu received praise from the likes of NYLON, Stereogum, The Guardian, NME and others for a sound that’s heavily influenced by the Warp Records roster, sci-fi imagery,  psychedelia and their own dreams. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of weeks you may recall that I wrote about the cinematic “Battles,” one of the first singles off the duo’s highly-anticipated, soon-to-be released, full-length debut effort Crayon Soul; a track that has the band pairing a soaring and anthemic hook with a shimmering and breezy melody and plaintive vocals in a way that’s reminiscent to Moonbabies and M83.

Crayon Soul‘s latest single “Better Better Off” is a lush and shimmering psych pop, psych rock track that has the duo pairing angular guitar chords fed through gentle reverb and delay pedals, layers upon layers of gorgeous harmonies, shimmering synth cascades,  a soaring and anthemic hook, and a propulsive rhythm section in a song that sounds indebted to trippy 60s psych rock as much as it does to the likes of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy and the dream pop of the aforementioned Moonbabies, Summer Heart – but with a palpable bittersweet wistfulness under the song’s breezy surface.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of signer/songwriter Max Greenhalgh, multi-instrumentalist Bryce Outcault and a revolving cast of musicians and collaborators, San Diego, CA-based project Inspired and the Sleep emerged locally and regionally with the 2015 release of Eyelid Kid, a collection dream pop; however, with “Sweet Company,” the Southern California-based duo have turned towards a breezier and lighter sound with the band returning to self-production combining electronic production techniques with live instrumentation. And in fact, you’ll hear a buoyant melody and hook paired with layers of shimmering and gently undulating synths, Greenhalgh’s plaintive vocals, subtle layers of guitar to craft a song that feels both wistful and yet deeply appreciative over both the good and bad times of one’s life and how they all influence and inform one’s life; after all, even in the most miserable of breakups, there was something positive — those relationships and their heartaches taught you something about yourself and what you want,  and even the lingering ghosts of those past lovers can serve to remind you that even if you’re not in love now, you had been and you will be again.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Alexander and his solo dream pop/electro-pop Summer Heart has received international attention for a wistfully nostalgic, 60s psych pop-leaning, lo-fi sound that compares favorably to Caribou‘s earliest material, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others; in fact, his 2011 Please Stay EP received praise from The Guardian and The Star topped Hype Machine‘s charts. In his native Sweden, Alexander has a reputation for being a pioneer of Sweden’s burgeoning dream pop movement, a movement that includes Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.

Interestingly, Alexander’s international profile has grown as several of his songs have appeared in TV series — including the NBC series, Whitney, which brought him the attention of millions of American TV viewers. Now, if you were frequenting this site last year, you might recall that I wrote about “Nothing Can Stop Us Now,” a song that consisted of jangling guitars, washboard-led percussion, layers of ethereal vocals and cascading synths with a warm buzzing summer afternoon warmth. His latest single “The Forbidden” off his forthcoming EP also named The Forbidden is a slow-burning and shoegaze-leaning single that pairs Alexander’s ethereal cooing with shimmering guitars and synths played through gentle amounts of reverb  and jazz-like drumming. And although the song evokes the sensation of waking up from a pleasant dream, just underneath its placid surface is a wistful melancholy that will remind the listener that all things will eventually dissipate.

Alexander along with a backing band featuring some of his dearest friends will be making Stateside appearances at SXSW and Williamsburg Brooklyn’s The Knitting Factory later this month. Check out tour dates below.

 

SXSW:

Wednesday 16th March

The Townsend – 1:05am

 

Saturday 19th March

Icenhauer’s – 1am

 

NYC:

Wednesday 23rd March

Live In Brooklyn – The Knitting Factory –

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=6437785

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Austin Knecht, Tamara Simons, Crystal Napoles, Kai Dodson and Joey Felkins, the up-and-coming Ventura, CA-based dream pop quintet Curtsy have started to receive attention across the blogosphere with the release of “One Less Thing,” a shimmering bit of guitar-led pop  that pairs a driving rhythm with anthemic hooks and gorgeous, ethereal harmonies that manages to sound as though it draws from classic shoegaze and 120 Minutes-era alt rock. Sure, their sound is warmly familiar to my ears, and it will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s — but they manage a heart wrenching sincerity that will likely bring back memories when we are all a bit more idealistic and a lot less cynical.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Forming back in 2003, Stockholm, Sweden-based electro pop act Baron Bane have developed an international for a sound that explores the contrasts between cold and warmth; digital and analog; acoustic sounds and electronic sounds; and for a live show that employs the use of visual displays based around their sound. The Swedish act’s sophomore effort LPTO was released to critical praise from several major media outlets, including Uncut Magazine, who had compared the act to ABBA and Morrissey and adding to a growing international profile, LPTO album singles “Orchids,” and “Love.Cure.All” received airplay  on British radio and interestingly enough, “Love.Cure.All” was also named as a Single of the Week iTunes Japan. Additionally, “My Show World” appeared on an episode of MTV’s Awkward.

The Swedish electro pop’s act’s forthcoming third album III is slated for release in early 2016, and the album’s first two singles “By The Waves” and “Fire Play” have received international attention — “By The Waves” was praised by the Berlin, Germany-based Scandinavian music blog, Nordic by Nature, PopMatters and A Heart Is A Spade. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year, I wrote about “Fire Play,” a chilly and tense song comprised of layers of cascading synths and propulsive, forceful beat paired with a gorgeous pop-orientated melody that belies the dark, subtly seductive nature of the song.

III’s latest single “Hail To The Night” is a slow-burning single comprised of atmospheric synths and precise metronomic drum programming paired with Ida Long’s dreamy, unhurried vocals that evokes a chilly winter breeze blowing on your face and snow falling into your hair. And interestingly enough, the song manages to celebrate the winter solstice — the longest night of the year while cementing their reputation for crafting chilly electro pop that manages to be both brooding and yet ethereal.

 

 

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

 

The up-and-coming Winnipeg, MB-based quartet Living Hour can trace their origins to basement jam sessions, writing dreamy songs inspired by the cinematic sky of their hometown. And as a result their sound, which possesses elements of shimmering guitar pop, swirling synths and ethereal vocals draws equally from classic shoegaze, dream pop and chillwave is both stunningly gorgeous and dramatic, as you’ll hear on their  latest single “Seagull,” a single that sounds as though it could have been released during 120 Minutes-era MTV — in particular think of Mazzy Star‘s “Fade Into You” and you’ll see exactly what I’m getting at.  (In other words, it’s the sort of song that would have been the soundtrack of an intense and fervent make out session — or would have been the soundtrack of a teenaged breakup.)

It’s been a busy year or so for the Canadian quartet. They contributed two songs to Family Portrait II, a vinyl compilation released by the London/Bristol-based label Art is Hard Records back in April and released a limited run cassette tape of their self titled debut effort through Bloomington, IN-based Tree Machine Records. But 2016 looks to be a breakout year for the band as they signed with Lefse Records, and will be releasing their full-length debut on February 19, 2016, which will be followed by a tour to support the effort. Check out some of the early tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES:


March 3    Winnipeg, MB    The Good Will Social Club
March 4    Fargo, ND    The Aquarium
March 6    Des Moines, IA    Des Moines Social Club
March 7    Rock Island, IL    Rozz Tox
March 9    St Louis, MO    Foam
March 11    Denver, CO    Lion’s Lair
March 13    Phoenix, AZ     Trunk Space
March 18    Santa Barbara    CA    FUNZONE
March 19    Fresno    CA    Peeves Pub
March 22    Santa Cruz    CA    Bocci’s Cellar
March 25    Davis    CA    Third Art Space Collective
March 29    Portland    OR    The Analog Cafe
March 31    Bellingham    WA    Loudhouse
April 2    Rossland    BC    The Flying Steamshovel
April 3    Kamloops    BC    Zacks Coffee
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Finish electronic music act Husky Rescue have developed a reputation across both their native Finland and Scandinavia for a songwriting approach that focuses on restless experimentation — and for material that sonically and aesthetically walks a very careful tightrope between anxious tenseness and childlike innocence.  The band’s last album The Long Lost Friend will be re-issued worldwide on December 11 as a double album — the first album is comprised of original album’s eight previously released tracks; however, since the initial recording sessions and release of Long Lost Friend, vocalist Johanna Kalén left the band because of health issues, so the second album consists of material written by Marko Nyberg (vocals and production), and Antony Bentley (composer and musical director).

Now if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past month, you may recall that I’ve written about Husky Rescue and Long Lost Friend‘s first single “Deep Forest Green.” But some backstory may be a little necessary: According to press notes, there actually is a real story of a long lost friend that informs the material on original album. As the story goes, the long lost friend in question was someone Nyberg was particularly close to throughout most of his childhood — in fact, the two played music together and had a deep mutual understanding that comes from very close friendships. Sadly, the two friends lost touch with each other through most of their twenties, but while Nyberg was writing the songs on Long Lost Friend, he had regained contact with this dear friend. Reportedly, the material as a whole blends the literal and metaphorical, so the material manages to be about more than just one individual friendships — but varying states of emotional intimacy and how difficult and confusing it is to attain them.

Whereas album single “Deep Forest Green” seemed to sound as though it owed a sonic and thematic debt to the work of Bjork, Talking Heads and others, the album’s latest single “Far From The Storm,”pairs Kalén’s lovely yet ethereal vocals with gently strummed guitar chord sample, twinkling keys and gently undulating synths. The song concludes with coda that’s one part psychedelic and one part ominous as it features a towering and buzzing guitar solo. Sonically and structurally, the song seems as though it draws from Moonbabies fantastic Wizards on the Beach and Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” — or in other words, cinematic dream pop with an even breezier nature and catchy hooks.