dream pop
Premiere: Ipswich instrumental magicians Coalfalls provide us with an exclusive listen to their new EP ‘Pieces’: a shimmering sonic temple
Ipswich band Coalfalls achieve something remarkable for a band that plays instrumentals: they create the most evocative and lush soundscapes that speak volumes without words. We introduced the band last year with their double singles Coalfalls and Stephenson Street evoking a layered shoegaze/dream pop vibe. There is an abstract expressionism in their pieces that sparkles …
Track: All India Radio emits another bright ray of sunshine with the shimmering atmospheric track ‘El Cielo’
Martin Kennedy’s All India Radio released the magnificent album ‘Afterworld’ earlier this year and it still resonates with a shimmering and haunting aura – read my effusive review here. All India Radio has now released a new single from this epic album, ‘El Cielo’, with maestro Gareth Koch on board. Gareth Koch is a multi-talented …
EP Review: Oceans washes a dream pop shoegaze fugue over us with the epic ‘Come So Far’
‘Come So Far’ is an immersive and epic debut from Melbourne’s Oceans (the moniker of Thomas Lee): four tracks that shimmer and sparkle with an iron spine and a dreamy disposition. Lee says of the EP: This is my debut EP recorded for my solo project Oceans. It encapsulates the last 5-7 years of my …
Premiere: Skybelly’s ethereal ‘The Rhino, The Tiger, The Emerald Dragonfly’ is a silky, sensual dream pop reverie with a message.
We are pleased to premiere the new single ‘The Rhino, The Tiger, The Emerald Dragonfly’ by Melbourne’s Skybelly, the nom de plume of artist Sara Nelson. This is a slinky, smooth and textural piece of music is off Skybelly’s forthcoming EP ‘The Drama of a Lava Lamp’ due out on 4 June 2021. Skybelly has …
Track: Pastel Coast – ‘Distance’: summery dream pop from the Calais coasts
HAILING from the shores of Boulogne-sur-mer, on the French north coast, Pastel Coast are on land, looking out over the waves; as the Cocteau Twins once said with dreamy ecstasy, “Sea, Swallow Me”. Led by Quentin Isidore, the band have one maritime-inflected album under their belts, 2019’s Hovercraft, which is bookended by the title track …
Track: Catbells – ‘Fade – Rainy Day Demo’: a bright new talent from rural New England with a feline mask and dreampop delight
WE DON’T know who it is that figuratively and physically dons the mask of Catbells; but we do know that she is rather lovely. Born and raised in New England, we know that the singer-songwriter was introduced to the piano aged 5; and that by seventh grade she was playing the guitar and writing songs …
See: The stop-motion animation for Semihelix’s ‘Recoil’: a dreamy Texas take on the Flying Nun sound
DREAMING guitar pop dreams on the vibrant Austin, Texas scene, the fine trio Semihelix are bidding for love with their new track, “Recoil”, which comes accompanied accompanied by a quirky stop-motion involving bejewelled beetles, reel-to-reel tape, toy cars and ladybirds; go have a looksee at the end there, it’s a lovely thing – and it’s …
EP Review: Prudence releases the haunting and enigmatic EP ‘Untitled’ and announces launch gig
When he isn’t providing the bottom line for DMAs, Sydney’s Tom Crandle is Prudence – a dreamy solo project that is ethereal and shimmering. We reviewed his single ‘Heart Sways’ this time last year and Prudence has followed this with the EP ‘Untitled’: a natural progression that sees his song writing craft developing and becoming …
Album Review: The Chills deliver an emotional and shining masterpiece in ‘Scatterbrain’
Deep within the fabric of the lush material in ‘Scatterbrain’, the new album from New Zealand legends The Chills, is an indelible and poignant thread that binds the album together – wry observations on the temporality of life and the transience of existence; delivered with a poetic simplicity and compassion. It is no wonder such …
Track: The Crayon Set release the blissfully bucolic ‘Don’t Step Back Too Far’: indie pop delivered with a graceful majesty
Dublin’s The Crayon Set have just unveiled the utterly gorgeous single ‘Don’t Step Back Too Far’: a fey, wistful track that is delicate and pastoral. Intriguingly built on a bubbling, liquid electronic surface, the vocals are melancholic and haunting with a melody that is intricate and holds fast. There is a tension between the message …