The Radio Dept., The Rice Twins, Asobi Seksu, Pia Fraus
Time for some dream pop, the kind of hazy, frenetic shoegaze that plays like orange-pink clouds reflecting off the mirror in your room back in the late 80’s or mid 90’s. The light refracts and illuminates your collection of casio and swatch wristwatches to be worn on both hands, the jewel on your treasure troll’s belly, the stack of cassette tapes you onto which you recorded your favorite songs off the radio.
The Radio Dept. – Closing Scene – Freddie and the Trojan Horse
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is this wild ensemble from Lund, Sweden, which has apparently been together since 1995, but much of their material available now came out in the last few years. You gotta love the ringpop-sweet kitsch of this tune, the same sort of appeal found in m83 and Phoenix can be found here, I love the unique lo-fi feel of this song, the swells and swoons of the synths.
The Radio Dept. – David (The Rice Twins Remix) – David EP
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Fellow Swedes, , took on this sick remix of The Radio Dept. on their July 2009 release, David EP. I love the main stab that resonates, it radiates deep blues, vibrant greens, and cloudy whites, it sounds like some sort of grandiose kite or hot air balloon festival in a wide-open field. The subtle toms in the background give the song’s slightly syncopated rhythm a little structure to go on, controlling the tune just enough without tying down the windy free-flying flutter of the vocals.
Asobi Seksu – Transparence – Hush
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How about a classic tune from ? The lead singer, Yuki Chikudate, has a hopelessly hip soothing quality, that timeless sort of tone in her voice. It makes many of Asobi Seksu’s songs so much more realiable and appealing, even after a considerable change in the instrumental side of the band’s music between their 2006 release Citrus, and 2009’s Hush. The result is a smooth transition between two different, yet equally stylish approaches to shoegaze and dream pop.
Pia Fraus – Mute the Birds – After Summer
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I started digging deeper into Asobi Seksu’s similar artists on Last.fm and came across this awesome tune from , get this– Estonian shoegaze. Shoegaze has to be one of the most internationally-friendly scenes ever, as you’ll surely see if you take a deeper…gaze…into the genre. The harmony of male and female vocals in this track is what has me, there are so many subtle layers that you can just barely tell apart.
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