I'm kind of surprised that the long play debut album from the American Fawning isn't hyped that much as it deserves. I remember discovering their EP Too Late and how big it sounded to me back in 2019. Now we can finally listen to more of their fascinating take on shoegaze on Illusions of Control.
The duo Cheyenne Avant (known from Night School) and Devin Nunes (Whirr) make music that strikes with the ethereal atmosphere from the very first seconds of the intro in At Fault. Traditionally for dream pop projects, it is achieved by the exceptionally subtle and airy vocals, it's the kind that conveys mostly atmosphere and emotions and less so the melodies. And this is the best kind. It is accompanied by slow-paced music with the main roles reserved for synthesizer sounds blending into electronic haze that fills the space all over the place.
The songs here have a very melancholic flavour, especially for this kind of electronic dream pop genre. Although the synths can be pretty lively, the overall sadness of the release simply brings it down and drowns with melancholy (especially when joined by these weirdly nostalgic saxophone sounds in Nothing Matters). It is further underlined by beautiful ambient-like passages between the songs and in the final track, and even if there are livelier tracks here (like You're Not One to Cry most notably), I would say it's one of the saddest albums I heard this year.
Illusions of Control costs 7 USD.
Check: Linger
Country: California, US
Genre: synthwave dream pop
Label: Graveface Records & Curiosities
