The List is loaded with a blast of sonic bliss today. You’re going to experience some psychedelia, a little dreaminess, a dash of the experimental, and a splash of darkness. Just another Friday.
Bayonne — “Multiphase”
It’s not enough to throw some arps at one’s ears to see what sticks. Bayonne knows this implicitly. The Austin-based artist layers on Steve Reich-style minimalism via piano and synths over ambient soundscapes, a determined drum set, and his dreamy vocals. The dynamics create a journey not unlike a pocket symphony. The lyrical content is fairly mournful, owing to a host of losses he’s said to have endured recently. However, he somehow manages to make the instrumentation sound concurrently wistful and hopeful. Quite the feat. Out now on streamers via Nettwerk.
Icelandia — “Closer”
This cut kicks off with an epic wash of synthscapes packed with divine ablution. Floating above are tender vocals and beautiful synth melodies. This Canadian project excels at creating sacred sonics laced with true emotion, and on “Closer” they have not lost sight of this. Out now on streamers.
Traitrs — “Dream Drowning”
“Dream Drowning” is a compellingly cinematic post-punk track that is concurrently straight out of the dampest basement tapes of the 1980s and the digital doom of today. I think of it as a profoundly grimmer take on the epic goth of Disintegration, but with krautrock energy. Perhaps because of that mix of energy and deep, dark emotion, it can be helpful to think of Traitrs as dealing in horror where The Cure merely dwelled in melancholia. The song is off the Toronto-based duo’s upcoming album, Possessor, which releases on March 13 — and which you can pre-order right now in physical and digital forms on good ol’ Bandcamp.
Lunar Bird — “Blue Chamber”
Lunar Bird (Eliseo Di Malto and Roberta Musillami) make a kind of dreamy indie-pop that feels almost nostalgic now, given how far along we are in this complicated century. They’ve appropriately titled this particular single, because more often than not it unfurls like a delightful chamber pop number. The Italy-born, Wales-based duo have crafted a stunningly gorgeous song filled to the brim with elan and wonder, the kind of blend that inspires you to pick up and fulfill your dreams and which gives you the energy to actually do so. Between Musillami’s compelling vocals and the lush instrumentation, there’s no stopping you from living in this song a great many times. It’s out now on streamers, but do watch the video. Di Malto is also a visual artist and it clearly shows.
Komok — “Quasi-Human[e]”
The Italian musician’s off-kilter onslaught of delectable synths kicks off with an unsettling time signature that gives way to a blast of stadium-ready acid house as if translated through Guy-Man and Thomas. The extended builds that store up energy before releasing it in a sea of light remind me of progressive house, but the tightly wound intensity, dirty synths, and active filters that bathe the squelch feel straight out of Alive 2007. (Relatedly, the drum machine has a massive sense of space that definitely would be comfortable at late-2000s Coachella.) This gem is off the upcoming album, Protopia.
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