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Tour De Vaap

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Tag Archives: dream pop

December 13, 2012 Widowspeak – The Dark Age

Widowspeak almanac

Widowspeak can be fuzzy and dark, driving forward with distorted rock guitars and pounding drums.  But there’s also a dreamy vibe that floats through their melodies.  Singer Molly Hamilton, croons, “keep me, somewhere in the dark with you” asking not for illumination, but rather for a darkening.  It adds a certain desperation to the song.  It’s a quiet plea for both pleasure and a veil.  After releasing a great debut album, Widowspeak are getting set to release their next, Almanac, in January.  Check below for a taste

-M. Kauf

Widowspeak – The Dark Age

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November 26, 2012 The Mary Onettes – Evil Coast

80s New Wave?  Maybe a new, bizarre Yes album?  Close, but it’s actually The Mary Onettes (get it?), a dream pop band from Sweden.  Their sound is heavily influenced by sounds of past decades, but they definitely inject their own sound style into the mix.  On their latest single, “Evil Coast,” lush waves of synths and guitar burst through the speakers as the song begins and continue to the end.  Wind chimes glisten like the fading sun on a vast ocean.  While their beachy album Hit The Waves, their first full-length in several years,  isn’t due until March this song is already keeping me warm in this cold northeast climate.  Check it out below.

-M. Kauf

The Mary Onettes – Evil Coast

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July 27, 2012 The Mast – Seas Across Your Mind

The Mast returns! The Brooklyn-based duo recently released their new single, “Seas Across Your Mind”, on their bandcamp. Following their trance-pop, “UpUpUp”, this new song slows things down with some strong bass, wavy backward guitar loops and soothing accordion. This dreamy electro-pop song is comforting and great for some late-night contemplation. You can find this song and more at The Mast’s Bandcamp or on iTunes or Amazon starting on July 31th. Enjoy! – D. Gold

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July 10, 2012 Bravestation – Giants & Dreamers (Album)

July 10th is a great day for music.  Today we saw the release of Positive Force, Confess and Swing Lo Magellan.  But today was also the release of Bravestation’s debut album, Giants & Dreamers.  And I’m telling you that this is the album you want to hear (as good as those other albums are).  Giants & Dreamers is a strong full length that pulls influences from 80s New Wave and dreamy tropical pop and sounds a bit like a mix between Yeasayer and Depeche Mode but with a twist all their own.  Perhaps what makes the album so unique is it’s fluency.  Each song flows seemlessly into the next one in terms of mood and style as the album moves from the dreamland opener “Tides of the Summit,” leading the listener into a strange new land, to the closing ballad “Future Love,” full of deep bass drums.  And, in between, the journey of a tribe.  We hear the Bravestation tribe as they struggle to find their place in a confused and corrupt world.  Sometimes they seem to fight back as in “Amaranthine,” a strong yet ethereal song about resistance.  Other times Bravestation seem to call for unity like on, what is probably the strongest song on the album “Signs of the Civilized.”  Throughout, you’ll hear familiar instruments, like booming drums, eeirie high-pitched synthesizers, and quacking electric guitars and around strong lead vocals.  These sounds serve as the perfect vessel for transportation to a new world, something unusual yet somehow familiar.  A bit of tropical deja vu on distant shores.  If you’re looking for a summer album that will really take you places, look no further than Giants & Dreamers, out today on Led Astray Music.

-M. Kauf

Bravestation – Western Thrills

Bravestation – Signs of the Civilized

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March 11, 2012 Beach House – Myth

Beach House, the awesome dream-pop duo from Baltimore, recently announced that they are teaming up again to release their 4th album, Bloom, on May 15th. In preparation for their new LP, they have released their first single of the project entitled “Myth.” The track keeps the iconic dream-pop vibe that Beach House is known for, but switches it up a little to show that this group has done their share of evolving. Sticking with the polished studio sound of their popular 2010 Teen Dream, this one track is more upbeat and rock-n-roll than their previous releases. Never-the-less, this track shows great promise for the album released in only a few short months. Take a listen below and enjoy. – D. Gold

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January 19, 2012 Vows – Winter’s Grave


Here’s a great new indie outfit from New Jersey named Vows.  This duo of the Crystal Mountain Music Collection somehow manage to create an all encompassing sound that reminds me a little of Okkervil River’s newest album.  Their music is full and welcoming, drawing the listener into their dreamy vibes of jangly guitars and romance.  Their debut album, which came out last April showcases these musical skills as it shifts from loud and heavier tunes like “parallel” to quiet love songs like, “Two Sunrises.”  Though released in the spring, this is a great album to brighten up your dark winter days.  Check out a few of my favorites below and be sure to give Winter’s Grave a listen.

-M. Kauf

Vows – Parallel

Vows – Queen Baby

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January 6, 2012 Memoryhouse – This Will Be Our Year (The Zombies)

It’s a new year and with it come new experiences and opportunities, a chance to start fresh.  In that spirit, dream pop group Memoryhouse have released a cover of The Zombies “This Will Be Our Year.”  Their cover is a sweet and nostalgic one that still sounds faithful to the sounds of the original version’s time period, though the band changed up a lot of the instrumentation and style from the original.  This canadian duo is set to release their debut, The Slideshow Effect, this February on Sup Pop.  I can already tell it’s going to be a good year.

-M. Kauf

Memoryhouse – This Will Be Our Year (by The Zombies)

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January 4, 2012 Orange Blossom Flyover – Hearsay in Paradox Lust

Orange Blossom Flyover have mastered the subtle sound of droning guitars, trippy beats and hazy melodies that have become so prominent in this decade.  That and Ryan Scally’s Bradford Coxesque vocals make this Massachusetts band one to watch.     O.B.F. seem heavily influenced by by 90s Shoegaze music and make excellent use of their influence by creating some beautifully bleached sounds meant to wash over you as you listen.  After hearing the album worth of demoes and tracks this band has to offer, I can’t wait to see the first official album from this band.  Currently signed to I Had An Accident Records, O.B.F. is about to release a split debut with electronic band Daytime Television.  Check out one of my favorites, “Hearsay in Paradox Lust” below for a taste of what this band can do and be sure to check out their bandcamp for some free downloads.

Orange Blossom Flyover – Hearsay in Paradox Lust

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May 20, 2011 Wild Beasts – Smother

I’m not really a fan of grandiose indie music: complex orchestration in rock music shouts hypocrisy. This is not to say that lo-fi is any better, with literally hundreds of bands passing off generic songs as art by adding reverb and recording on a four-track from the 1980′s. Wild Beasts fit into neither category, combining catchy guitar hooks with layers of challenging percussion and a driving bassline to create music with real presence. But they don’t use cheap tricks to mask a lack of musicianship; rather, they make the listener work to appreciate their sound. Though at first the lead singer’s voice may be off-putting, after a few listens Smother rewards handsomely with a solid set of tracks that don’t lose their sheen after even a few weeks of dedicated playtime. – B. Orwin

Wild Beasts – End Come Too Soon

Wild Beasts – Bed of Nails

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