Crystal Eyes - The Sweetness Restored (2022)

Five years after their debuting album The Female Imagination, the Canadian Crystal Eyes are back with another super catchy and dreamy release. The Sweetness Restored makes me think of Pia Fraus and other bands that marry the oneiric with the fun.

The band says it's a "feel-good self-help record for the age of existential dread" and that fits nicely with the twee pop kind of indie music that fills the release. The music is certainly not overwhelming, the guitars are subtle and give the way to the bass lines and its melodies. I love that the compositions here blend in various super weird instruments, including "the Hammond C3 with Leslie speakers, a string quartet, a choir, an out-of-tune piano, analogue synthesizers" and more. This adds some of the psychedelic chaos to the tracks (as in I Still Believe in Love for example). But in the end, it is mostly the background for the beautiful, dispersed vocals that are both melancholic and filled with sunshine.

The Sweetness Restored costs 8 EUR (10 CAD).

Check: I Still Believe in Love

Country: Canada

Genre: psychedelic indie pop

Label: Bobo Integral Records

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Letting Up Despite Great Faults - IV (2022)

I remember Letting Up Despite Great Faults from my younger years, going head to head with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart as one of my first connections to dreamy/noisy genres. After their third album, the Americans disappeared for 7 years but now they are back with the new album entitled, obviously, IV. 

Their ethereal music has some of this innocent lo-fi/twee pop vibes with dance-inviting tunes and light-weight arrangements. It's all about fun and ease of listening, especially that the music has some tropical vibes to me too. It's definitely sunny and mellow. This is only strengthened by the shy, delicate vocals by Mike Lee. The album is not long and it feels even shorter as the pop flow is strong here and ready to trap you within this dreamy torrent.

And as one could anticipate, the lyrics are mostly about love and the process of falling in love as well. The theme, however, is handled pretty tastefully with focus put on more interesting and deeper aspects like getting to understand the other person ("Did you put up a concrete wall cause you finally found someone/ I try to run across but the meaning is lost /I want to be so close to you and catch you standing there" in Gorgeous) or providing support and acceptation ("I love that you're always the one around to say it's okay/ I hope you know even my friends feel the same about you" in Gemini). Classy stuff.

IV costs 7 USD.

Check: Softly, Bravely

Country: Texas, US

Genre: dreamy indie pop

Label: New Words

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VIM - Waiting (2020) EN

The Australian dream pop band VIM caught my attention with the Waiting single. So it shouldn't be a surprise that they appear on my blog with the release of the EP entitled exactly the same.

The quartet make a chilled out and laid-back airy twee pop. Their music consists of swift melodies and relaxing compositions combined with the airy, ethereal vocals by Nat Chippy. This never-hurried pop is well fitted to the convention of dream pop but the element of twee pop is undeniable - the quality of the sound doesn't matter, what matters is the joy and pleasure brought by the sole fact of making music.

An exception here is the last song called Krautro. It's the only one lasting well over the standard pop song time and it ends with a beautiful finish made of mesmerizing and psychedelic guitars.

Waiting costs 6 EUR (10 AUD).

Check: Krautro

Country: Australia

Genre: twee gaze

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VIM - Waiting (2020) PL

Australijski dream popowy zespół VIM wpadł mi w ucho przy okazji wydania singla Waiting. Nic dziwnego, że z okazji wydania EP-ki zatytułowanej dokładnie tak samo, muzycy pojawiają się na moim blogu.

Kwartet tworzy bardzo wyluzowany i nie oglądający się za siebie eteryczny twee pop. Ich muzyka to lekkie melodie i relaksujące kompozycje połączone ze zwiewnym, ezoterycznym wokalem Nat Chippy. Ten lejący się, niespieszny pop niezwykle pasuje to konwencji dream popu, jednak niepodważalny jest tutaj element twee popu - mniejsza dbałość o jakość dźwięku, a fokus położony raczej na zabawę i przyjemność z grania.

Wyjątkowy jest tutaj ostatni kawałek zatytułowany Krautro. Jako jedyny ciągnie się ponad standardowy czas popowej piosenki i kończy się przepięknym hipnotyzującym finiszem na psychodeliczne gitary.

Waiting kosztuje 27 złotych (10 AUD).

Sprawdź: Krautro

Kraj: Australia

Szufladka: twee gaze

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