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Blending electronica with R&B sounds is definitely a popular route to make waves in the music world nowadays, but it’s not like Vondelpark haven’t been going at it for several years. That being said, their new effort, Seabed, manages to create an LP of songs that drift slowly into your subconscious without ever boring you.
Seabed opens with one of the album’s shorter tracks, “Quest,” and immediately the table is set for the rest of the record. Singer Lewis Rainsbury floats atop the opening lines, just before a shimmering guitar line smoothly moves in and out of the track. If you listen carefully, you can hear faint references to the IDM genre…it’s perhaps the band’s secret weapon. Those distant IDM/trip-hop touches allow the group to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack, even though the emphasis revolves around the soothing vocal appeal. You can really hear this on the opening moments of “Dracula,” which eventually unfolds into a foray of experimental electronic bliss. This is easy listening for people with good tastes.
One of my favorite Vondelpark tracks on this effort has to be “Always Forever.” It begins as much of the songs due, inching its way towards perfection. Yet, just after the 30 second mark the song sees a bit of classical guitar sampling and an increased pace. The vocal performance is perhaps the best, and the most emphatic, especially when the vocal is looped just behind the main vocal. It’s dreamy, still, yet oddly energetic, considering the style of music the band composes. It’s placement in the middle of Seabed also makes way for a nice little digression in “California Analog Dream.” Guitar work takes a more prominent role here, as do the drums. For my ears, it’s the most sonically experimental track, melding all the various components present into one unique blend that moves beyond mere bedroom R&B. Together, these two tracks have been played the most through my dozen or so listens.
But, the group doesn’t just rely upon Rainsbury’s singing to leave their listeners in awe; just check out “Bananas (On My Biceps)” and its use of a vocal sample. At first, I struggled to find the merit of this track; it deals with lots of empty space in varying parts. However, the more time I spend with this record, the more that I’ve grown to appreciate the tune. There’s warm washes of atmospheric electronics, and the aforementioned vocal sample seems perfectly placed. Like much of the LP, mysteries unfold within and continue to impress your ears.
For me, Vondelpark seems perfectly fit to take the lead role in the emergence of this genre. Their sampling and IDM work are an homage to a purer time of trip-hop, while every vocal seems perfectly timed and tuned to fit the song. Seabed might not be your everyday listen, as it definitely sets its own mood, but it will reveal itself to be a stunning listen if you allow it some the appropriate time.
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock here in Austin, you’ve likely already heard BOAN, or at least I hope you have. The duo is made up of Jose Cota (of Ssleeperhold) and Mariana Saldana, and they’ve been working to create their minimal electronic music for some time, and finally are ready to share their new album, Mentiras, with you. While not all the group’s songs go this route, the usage of Spanish in the lyrics pays a bit of homage to the cultural heritage of the duo; it adds a bit of international flare to the budding electro pop they’ve carefully been crafting. Personally, I love the dark turn this track takes on in the second half. Holodeck Records will be releasing Mentiras on June 9th.
