Out now on Bandcamp, via Shore Dive Records is the debut ep – Youth Retirement Club, by French Dreampop/Shoegaze/Electronica duo, Tender Tones.
This ep starts with, ‘In Dreamed Lives’; a pulsing Electronica-driven tune with hypnotic synth guided phasing and luscious multi-voice vocal delivery, setting a sense of mood and onward direction. The beat is pulsating and musically, these mellow meanderings and vocal hooks have a sense of the retro and of the contemporary. As an ep starter, it’s strong, layered, yet unhurried and memorably poppy.
‘Strangers From Ultra’ is a more guitar-dominated song, with stabs of solo and dual vocals, evoking flavours of The smiths and Cocteau Twins. There’s nicely discordant warbles, as the music phases in and out; reminiscent of ‘Loveless’-era My Bloody Valentine. This tune has a big sounding synth-beat, which gives the tune a massive clout of character.
‘Red Lovers’ is a gentle synthpop song, with soft screeching guitar, underpinning an unearthly, yet infectious pop tune, with hints of the mid-80s UK Indie scene.
‘Pay More Pray More’ is a synth-beat-heavy tune, with a gnarlier edge than the other tracks. It’s fast paced and owing to the combination of dirty bass, big beats, snarly guitar and slightly more fiery vocals, evokes the spirit of 90s bands such as Garbage, Prolapse and Rude Club.
‘Still White Noises’ is a groove-risen slice of Electronica. Vocal and synth-dominated, it’s the most dance/club orientated track on the ep. It’s also the most hypnotic.
The final track, ‘Tournee au Japon’, a gentle French language track, finishes the ep. It’s musically understated, effectively giving the vocals space to really shine. It’s a relaxed and stylistically beautiful way to end the ep.View more
