“Battles,” the latest single off the duo’s highly-anticipated dull-length debut Crayon Soul is a cinematic track with a soaring and anthemic hook paired with a shimmering and breezy melodies and plaintive vocals to craft a sound that’s reminiscent to Moonbabies and M83. As the band’s Jonathan Graves explains in press notes, the recently released video for “Battles” is a scene from a larger movie in its creators’ heads. “Every piece of artwork we make is a snapshot from it. Nothing you see is in order as far as the story, but it’s more fun that way. You have to put the pieces together yourself.” And as you’ll see the animated video is a mesmerizing, futuristic epic adventure with some gorgeous and trippy visuals.
Tag: dream pop
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
With the release of their 2014 debut EP, Magic, the New York-bsased dream pop/electro pop duo Paperwhite, comprised of sibling duo Katie and Ben Marshall exploded into the blogosphere; in fact, they earned the title of “Most Blogged About Artist” twice — and that shouldn’t be surprising as their (highly contemporary) sound pairs lush melodies and anthemic hooks. Building on the buzz that they’ve received a few years ago, the New York-based duo’s forthcoming EP Escape is slated for release this spring. And the EP’s first single “Unstoppable” will further cement the duo’s reputation for pairing lush melodies and anthemic hooks with Katie Marshall’s ethereal in a way that’s contemporary as it’s reminiscent of St. Lucia and yet is also reminiscent of radio friendly 80s synth pop.
Interestingly, the single as the duo notes is a “reminder to find strength in the chaos and beauty in the unknown.” Certainly, considering life and its brutality and wonder, it’s something that we all need to remind ourselves at some point — while dancing with a bunch of sweaty kids in a club, right?
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.
Most Americans would be familiar with Stockholm, Sweden‘s capital and largest city; however, over the last decade or so, Umea, Sweden’s third (and most Northern) and Malmo, Sweden’s twelfth (and most Southern) that have emerged with reputations for being some of Scandinavia’s most exciting creative hotbeds as an increasing number of artists and bands from Umea and Malmo have started to receive international recognition. Some of those acts have been profiled here — including the Malmo, Sweden-based lo-fi rock quintet YAST.
Now if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of months, you might recall that I’ve written about the Southern Swedish quintet before. The band can trace its origins to when its founding members Carl Kolbaek-Jensen, Tobias Widman and Marcus Norberg met in the steel town Sandviken in 2007 and started writing and playing music as a way to escape a dreary life in even drearier environs. By the following year, Jensen, Widman and Norberg relocated to Malmo which has developed a reputation for a growing dream pop and indie rock scene. Some time later, Markus Johansson and Niklas Wennerstrand, who were both members of Aerial were recruited to flesh out the band’s sound.
With the release of their self-titled debut released in 2013, the Swedish quintet started to receive attention both in their native Sweden and internationally, and as a result they’ve opened for renowned psych rock acts including TOY, The Drums, Tame Impala, DIIV, and they’ve made appearances at several large festivals, along with a UK tour, which suggests that the band’s international profile is growing — and rapidly.
The band’s sophomore album, My Dreams Did Finally Come True was released earlier this year through Adrian Recordings to international attention with the release of the album’s first two singles — in particular, “Together Forever,” a shimmering guitar-based pop song that managed to channel 120 Minutes era alternative rock. Building on the buzz they’ve received from their first two singles, My Dreams Did Finally Come True‘s third single “I Don’t Think She Knows” and its B-side “My Dreams” will further cement the band’s reputation for shimmering and slow-burning shoegaze-leaning guitar pop with anthemic hooks and an earnest, aching heart at its core — all while being remarkably buoyant and ebullient.
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
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
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Summer Heart is the solo dream pop recording project of the Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Alexander. Summer Heart has received attention for a nostalgic, 60s psych pop-leaning, lo-fi sound that bears a subtle resemblance […]
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