ARTIST:
LESANDS


ALBUM:
SWEET SKIN


KEY TRACKS:
GLOWING
SWEET SKIN
RESTLESS LOVER


"baby you're glowing"




Last week I reviewed an 80's album...this week  feel like I'm doing the same.  LESANDS is everything the 80's were, but in a perfectly packaged 2011 EP.  I have to say, for 5 tracks, this EP is an immensely satisfying listen.

Originating in San Diego, LESANDS is the brainchild of Austin Tirado and has been pumping out heavy synth-laden beats for only a few months.  That's right, months.  This band is a little over one year old but they sound like they've been doing this awhile now.  Most listeners would classify this newly christened project a product of the new chill wave generation.  I beg to differ.  Although sometimes sounding similarly to Ernest Greene of Washed Out, LESANDS have branded a music that it all their own.  This isn't exactly music I'd want to chill to...but not  really dance to either.  Instead is walks a delicate line between the two.  It just simply is.  


Pretenders is the album's opener and relies heavily on 80's beats but then a synthesizer is added to the mix creating a uniquely modern sound.  Okay, Tirado's vocals are a bit chill wave here with all the long and drawn out notes.  But there's sustenance and emotionality here that you won't hear from Ernest Green - at least not in my opinion.Tirado's vocals stand out from the instrumentals, rather than blending in as an additional layer of music.   


Restless Lover is reminiscent of Bear in Heavens Lovesick Teenagers with it's bouncing back beats.  Yet, there is a hopefulness here, most evident in the chorus, that is very uplifting.  Tirado's high notes here are quite lovely.  Sweet Skin and Glowing are another tracks that showcase Austin Tirado's dynamic vocal range. 


Anyways, what's most exciting to see here is the duality that's present here.  The combination of dance pop and chill wave.  It will be interesting to see what direction LESANDS takes...if they even take one at all.  But things are very very new here so anything is possible!  Also what's exciting about new bands is that their music is FREE!  You can download LESANDS entire debut album here for free.  Take a listen and see what you think.

LISTEN:  GLOWING  |  SWEET SKIN  |  RESTLESS LOVER

NEXT WEEK:  WILD FLAG |  WILD FLAG

ARTIST:
WASHED OUT


ALBUM:
WITHIN AND WITHOUT


KEY TRACKS:
BEFORE
AMOR FATI
SOFT
FAR AWAY


"chasing all your thoughts, you know that you'll be all right in time"


This is ironically the first time I've listened to an album where the band name really, I mean really, represents the music they produce.  There is a truly a sound quality from frontman Ernest Greene that really is bleached....or washed out!  

In the weeks leading up to this review, I was really looking forward to hearing this album.  Not because of it's acclaim, but because Ernest Greene seems like such a nice guy!  I saw Washed Out at a festival last year and unfortunately they were plagued by technical issues.  However, Washed Out was considerate enough to play as many sets as they could (while apologizing incessantly) and just handled the situation really well.  They ended up playing their songs acoustically, which for an electric-chillwave group is virtually impossible.  However, that's what they did and they still sounded excellent.    


Anyways, upon first listen I really enjoyed the electronics in their full effect.  Greene has an interesting way of blending his voice into the music so that it sounds more like an additional instrument instead of lead vocals.  It's quite nice throughout the album but there were times where I was left wanting to hear some stronger notes from Greene.  But such is the essence of chill wave music, you don't hear other similar artists like Neon Indian, Electric President, etc. howling out their vocals.


Also another inevitable characteristic of this genre is that sometimes all the songs kind of blur together into a bland pulp.  Unfortunately Washed out does at times embody this characteristic.  However, Greene distinguishes himself at times with subtle effects to bring the flavor back into the music.  


The case in point is my favorite track on the album:  Before.  Why this particular track?  Hell they all sound the same so why even one track in particular?  It's all for that little voice manipulation at at 0:43.  It brings life to the track in a series of beats, bass, and transient vocals.  This to me is the freshest track in the mix.


Amor Fati is the darling of the album though and is what has been most highly ranked from critics like SPIN, Stereogum, and Pitchfork.  It's a solid track, but I think that there are better ones on the album, personally.  This is evident in the track Soft.  I really like the backing instrumentals in this one.  It's one of the mildest on the album and is a good backing music for productivity.    


Lastly the track Far Away really caught my attention because for me it's the only song that actually suggests an emotion other than relaxation (if you can even call that an emotion...).  There's a melancholy here that isn't anywhere else on the album.  And although I'm not a huge fan of sadness in music, I really enjoyed hearing some diversity in this genre.  


Overall, this is not the last we'll hear of Ernest Greene and certainly not this new "chill wave" genre.  With all those Neon Indians, Toro Y Mois, Memory Tapes, and everyone in between I think chill wave may be the next (cringe!) dub step.  However if this is the case, I wholeheartedly welcome it.  I'm a fan of chill wave over dub step ANY day.  

LISTEN:  BEFORE  |  AMOR FATI  |  SOFT  |  FAR AWAY

NEXT WEEK:  FOSTER THE PEOPLE  |  TORCHES