"there is no place like here"
Every now and then you hear a song that is so utterly dense in it's otherworldly dreams, so divergent in it's tones that it leaves an instant impression and a deep one, so deep that it moves, re-shapes your skin in the form of goosebumps and while the dimpling by minuscule muscular contractions might be temporary, you will always remember what put them there.
Daylight Saving Time by Evil Astronaut is such a song. The electro-indie duo from Gothenburg, Sweden describe their music humbly as : "slow repetitive indoor music that goes well with rain and bus rides" and while that may be true, they left out the part about their exquisite electronic universe building. The synths here, for example, have such a beautiful edges, sharp and abrasive but then softening and rounded too. To me they almost resemble a heavy low cello string sound but as if that string sound was stacked and each clone was pitched or dressed in a different tone. Very, very dramatic, sort of sci-fi, sort of horror pop but also darkly dreamy. This synthetic atmosphere all over a percussive heavy bass tone that feels like a tom tom doing the work of the kick with the languid snare snap, both becoming a machine beat. The vocal aesthetic of Johan Clerhage cut's through all of this heaviness feeling rather organic within the dark mix. The vocal melody and some of Clerhage's sideways directions made me think a bit of Thom Yorke but not in an overt way, rather as a passing thought because Clerhage has his own beautifully sad lilt. The chorus with keys punctuating it's own melodies and embraced by layer upon layer of tones and voices make for a wonderful ascending experience. Stunning... and the goosebumps are once again skating across my forearms.
This is the first taste of a couple of upcoming releases from Evil Astronaut; two EPs that will be released this fall and early next year respectively.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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