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Stills
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Barnes and Noble
Stills
Current price: $14.99
Barnes and Noble
Stills
Current price: $14.99
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Size: CD
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For
, the Chicago by way of Colorado duo
traveled to Portland, Oregon to record with
(
). Inspired by the grey weather of the winter and by alternative rock from their teen years, the songs by singer/guitarist
and drummer
continue to be gloomy, but manage to avoid the pits of goth and industrial by incorporating pop hooks worthy of a
soundtrack. Here, on
, the two do a nice job of recapturing the sound and feel of '80s retro groups by using vintage synths and drum machines, and in doing so give the songs a lasting nostalgic impression. "Simple" shares the plucky guitars and shiny synthesizers of "Let's Dance"-era
, and "Bad Apple" might bring to mind
or
. These are shadowy, lo-fi takes on '80s musicianship, but they fall closer to the source than on 2010's
. The guitar parts are razor-sharp, sprinkled with the chorus and delay effects commonly found in new romantic acts, the vocals are reverbed in the same cavernous wash as
, and with the group moving on from the thudding 808 kicks and pulsing side chain compression commonly found in witch house and chillwave, this album doesn't seem to be as much a product of the time. Instead, with practically no dependence on laptop recording tricks,
sounds completely lost in another era, and all the darker and truer for it. ~ Jason Lymangrover