August 31st, 2010 | by Kelly Scott | published in ambient, dreamwave/chillwave, shoegaze | 2 comments
O + S do a commendable job at creating encompassing sonic landscapes and amplified atmospheric texture. Generous, digestible, and best served with a stagnant and reflective afternoon, the self-titled O+S delivers.
August 25th, 2010 | by Caden Moore | published in dreamwave/chillwave, electronic, shoegaze | no comments
These days it seems like anyone with a Macbook and GarageBand can sample an 80s song, add reverb, post it to their tumblr and call it chillwave. One of these acts is Vancouver, Canada’s Teen Daze, a fairly new contender who seems to be offering more than other chillwave artists.
July 19th, 2010 | by Taylor Fife | published in dreamwave/chillwave, electro pop, indie pop, trip hop | 4 comments
Baths’ first full-length, Cerulean, is creative electropop features the shuffling, ratcheting rhythms of other L.A. experimental electronica and dubstep artists like Flying Lotus and Shlomo. But instead of wobbling basslines and peculiar sounds, Baths layers poppy synth hooks, catchy vocals, and easy to digest samples over his broken beats.
Beat Connection – Surf Noir EP
July 6th, 2010 | by Taylor Fife | published in dreamwave/chillwave, indie rock | no comments
The EP begins with summery surf pop before switching to dance oriented pop for the remainder of the recording. The release starts stronger than it finishes, and some of the production and electronic composition is a bit amateurish, but all-in-all Beat Connection deserve big ups for the effort put into these eight tracks.
June 1st, 2010 | by svotel | published in dreamwave/chillwave | no comments
Every now and then I come across a song that I really hits me and I have the damnedest time explaining what’s so great about it. Take, for instance, Sunvisor’s “Sky Dive,” a song that I’ve been hanging out with pretty steadily since the duo sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been struggling with my review because I can’t get much past a list of all of the things I like about the song: the vague clang of the snare, the woozy synths, the way the gentle background vocals waft across the track, the way the bassline recedes as the layers pile up, the reverb blurring and smearing the vocals.
May 22nd, 2010 | by thismusicwins | published in dreamwave/chillwave | 3 comments
It’s been a busy year for the lo-fi artist, who’s Summer Holiday 7″ was just the beginning of a steady ascent to recognition for the Virginia based musician. Typically, hushed vocals can barely be heard beneath the sonic haze Tatum undertakes, one which sees fashionably murky recording styles in full use to emphasise general melody above individual arrangement. Splurges of chorus coincide with the overwhelming feeling of semi-ambient summer nostalgia – in particular on guitar heavy “Summer Holiday” and tracks such as “Live In Dreams”.
Preview: The Depreciation Guild – Spirit Youth
April 5th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in dreamwave/chillwave, shoegaze | 3 comments
What makes this different to anything else that’s been put out in the past? Well, it’s the clash of classic shoegaze and modern synth-laden, drum-machine dreamwave. Sure, they’re using real drums, but let’s be honest: half of what’s on this recording has been tweaked to living hell. It’s modern electronic production meets the old-school shoegaze we know and love. I guess that makes it simple then, doesn’t it?
April 4th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in dreamwave/chillwave, electro pop, indie rock | 1 comment
Delorean’s excellent “Stay Close” is just another sunny diversion from the gut-wrenching reality of our situation. The song works partially because it never quite settles into a groove. It bounds forward with reckless abandon, adding and shedding elements as it moves. But the song is anchored by that indelible house vocal sample. For a song about the unbridgeable distance between people (“Where can I reach you?”), Delorean manage to make “Stay Close” about as upbeat as a day at the beach.
February 22nd, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in dreamwave/chillwave | 5 comments
What is chillwave, you ask? It’s a relatively new form of music (with its origins in shoegaze) that’s heavy on the synths, looping, downtempo disco beats, and heavily filtered vocals with simple melodic lines. Those at the forefront include Toro y Moi, Memory Tapes and Neon Indian. Add Memoryhouse to that list, and you’re set.
February 19th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in dreamwave/chillwave | 4 comments
Rather than singing about the seasons and emotional dwellings of the winter month’s thoughts, MillionYoung seems a far more danceable character than the former; his remix of MemoryHouse transforms the ambient electronica arrangement into an ecstatic and pulsating dreampop/dance track, and you only have to take one look at his collection of upcoming shows to tell he’s all for hipster dancefloor filling this summer.
