Soft Dreams, their newest EP, is a shimmering slice of dreamy rock music. Peppered with jangle and drenched in reverb, the songs are sonic landscapes, surfy and dreamy and not quite of this world. Opener ‘Moment of Clarity’ is the aural equivalent of a faded film of vacation snaps, bleached by light or time or both so that all blemishes are removed, while ‘All The Outs Are Free’ is like Nirvana on a tropical cruise, the vocals decidedly low against the soaring instrumentation.

‘Alive’ is fast paced shoegaze with a Britpop flavour, all wrapped within a lush curtain of nostalgic noise, while the title track is similarly sensuous, the wistful vocals suspended in the thick swirl of synths and guitars and percussion. As with all the Dear Tracks songs, the soundscapes conjure something colourful and bright, wide open expanses through which we can wander free of whatever mental baggage we lugged to the door.

Soft Dreams is out on 10” vinyl, cassette and digital download on Furious Hooves (who have violet vinyl) and Track & Field Records (who have mint green vinyl). Also, the band are currently touring the US. Check the dates below to see if you can make it to a show:

Artwork by Ryan McCardle

The post Dear Tracks – Soft Dreams appeared first on Various Small Flames.

He has a new track out as part of Track and Field Records‘s Summer Compilation Vol. 2, a collection from the Portland label featuring Dear Tracks, Azul Toga, Cemeteries, Lost Film, Jimmy Pop and loads more. Orchid Mantis’s offering, ‘It Was Gone’, is a perfect fit for the summer vibe, with nostalgia-drenched vocals and the blissed-out pop sound conjuring warm, carefree evenings and hot sticky nights – think Toro Y Moi meets Ricky Eat Acid.

Whilst we are on the subject of Orchid Mantis, we might as well take a quick look at his most recent EP. To Get Back There, released this July, is more experimental than ‘It Was Gone’, the songs built from layers of electronic instruments and ambient noise and washed in a tape hiss so that each forms its own dreamscape, heavenly versions of earthly lands. The majority of the record is instrumental, any vocals doing no more than providing another instrument (see the ooohs on ‘Covered In Moss’), but ‘Ivy Trees’ breaks the mould with its cryptic lyrics which float through the music with an imprecise sense of purpose, like life wandering through a dream:

“Break me
break me
i have tried so many times

safety comes easily
trapped behind these open eyes

can i see you
can’t i just see you
i won’t feel better till i tell you
it’s all my fault”

You can buy the EP (and all of his previous releases) via the Orchid Mantis Bandcamp page, and Track and Field Records Summer Compilation Vol. 2 is available over on their Bandcamp page.

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