Quest For Dream Pop ? Simple Best Solution

Quest for Dream Pop? Allow me. Continuing which music I’m trying to stay on top of. We have an LP that came out late April but it is a gem. If things aren’t confusing enough for my dinosaur reptilian brain, this band’s name, Beachy Head. Keep in mind I’m trying to differentiate between Beach House, Beach Fossils and c’mon guys who else?

Not to fret though, I can remember this band because it contains Christian Savill. I know Christian’s work back in the 90s from the band called Eternal. Eternal was on Sarah records.

Sarah Records bands, including Eternal, shaped and formulated my love for the ethereal and jangly indie rock that was soon to follow. Christian’s also in Slowdive. I don’t really need to say more.

However if you’re in your teens, or out of the Slowdive loop at any age, Slowdive is essential. It’s just not open to debate.

This project also contains Ryan Graveface (Dreamend /Casket Girls) and Steve Clarke ( Soft Cavalry). Interestingly enough special guests Matt Duckworth of Flaming Lips (percussion) and the one and only Rachel Goswell ( Slowdive / Mojave 3 / The Soft Cavalry/ Minor Victories) added a few vocals to Beachy Head. If you’re in the market for more collaborative work that features Neil from Slowdive, tap click this https://meatsheetfanzine.com/mary-lattimore-new-album-silver-ladders-ghostly/ Get some ocean , salty, fresh air of this here https://graveface.bandcamp.com/album/beachy-head

Sauntering back over to musical content of self titled Beachy Head. This album is a variable and balanced soundscape fit for fans of indie pop, shoegaze, and whatever catchy titles the young ones are adhering to this type of stuff.

First out the screened in porch that leads to ocean and sand is Warning Bell. On this song and the second Michael I hear what seems to be natural human drummimg and a synthesized high hat. Whether it is artificial or acoustic percussion is irrelevant, the songs are bangers either way. On Warning Bell the extended sustained hiss of the hi hat reminds me of an abbreviated air brake. Cotton candy like vocals, airy , but not containing full sugar. The sweetness is tempered with mids, lows, and overall lushness.

I can assure you, even with digital assistance or not, there is plentiful organic humanness and warmth to the entire album.

Distraction slinks in with a watchful eye over an object of desire. The entrance is an airy, triggered flurry of arpeggiated blips strung together. The vocals stalk the crowded room and exit mysteriously as they appear. The shower of blips comes back to see Distraction out as if the fog has dispersed. All Gone is the most melancholy. The sun rising or setting with no one to watch it with you. Thank goodness for the other uplifting numbers. Conversely, All Gone is not poorly done. It does tug at my heart strings. I feel safe to admit it. The keyboard has a sheen and luster that intensifies the mood. It fades like an apparition leaving me in a cathartic like state.

Next is Looking For Exits. This is the crunchiest yet jangly guitar driven song on Beachy Head, followed by October. October is brimming with echoing strums. The mood is definitely an unseasonably cool October.

Complete with barren trees and longing to curl up with a special someone, October hovers like a harvest moon over this LP.

On the other hand, Hiddensee stands out in the sense the tempo and beat have an acceleration that the other tracks do not. It’s hyper. Like a teen who slams one of those guarana , taurine energized drinks. Said teen then goes to play Just Dance or equivalent dance games. Not to worry the backdrop is more indie rock than pure dance or electronica. Any talented DJ or producer worth their salt would have a field day making this into a club mix. Hiddensee by itself? It’s a bubbly pop song.

Last is Destroy Us. Picture this, you’re laying in the surf and the tide washes over you only in addition to the tide there is also warm analog synrhesized vibrations. As you gaze skyward you stare at the nearly cloudless sky. Only that cloudless sky is full of guitar and synth subtlety and interaction like seabirds playing with each other in air. The sun is the perfect temperature and warms but not burns your skin ( guitars). That is the subliminal yet 4-string bass undertone in Destroy Us.

I commend Beachy Head for closing the album with this. It resolves the album perfectly like when you pack up your stuff and head back home from a stellar day at the beach feeling relaxed. It’s very much like that.

Even though I am late to cover it I have to not shame myself so much. I slept on discovering this somehow. Speaking of that , this record is not to be slept on like some cheap cot. It is more like covered outdoor bed in the tropics. It is made to be relished and enjoyed. So all you dream pop fans, grab only the necessities and head for that coast and don’t forget to bring this LP.