The further into the past that the 80s sink, the more we forget what we’d come to hate about the decade. Instead we can revel in what we loved about it – and not in a Duran-Duran-are-a-guilty-pleasure way. This is the decade that took punk and twisted it into a drone of feedback, turning the lights out and deafening us. It also gave us synthesizers, and that’s something we can finally be thankful for.
Echodrone’s ‘Bon Voyage’ starts with that very instrument. ‘Under An Impressive Sky’s intro sounds as if it has been lifted from Cliff Martinez’s excellent score to last year’s Drive. Then the guitars kick in on top, and the symbols crash, and electronic 80s meets underground 80s with an attention demanding intensity. This is contemporary shoegazing on a par with The Radio Dept. And when Meredith Gibbons’ fuzzy female vocal kicks in, it brings back memories of Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, though at times, when the album veers into dream-pop, you’d be forgiven for thinking Joy Zipper’s Tabitha Tindale had made an appearance.
This is the San Francisco band’s third release and there is a maturity throughout it where every sound is fully justified, adding complexity without veering into overkill. The guitars are never over aggressive and the vocals never too soft. It’s all the more impressive then, to learn it’s produced by drummer Mark Tarlton.
Guitars reverb over the start of ‘Cold Snap’ like boundless braids and Gibbons’ harmonies with Eugene Suh give complementing warmth to the track, which talks of the world being “so cold without you”. In fact, it’s fitting that ‘Bon Voyage’ is slated for an autumn realise – it has that post-summer transitional whimsy about it from start to finish.
The pace picks up on ‘Pure Nickel’ before an acoustic guitar provides a surprise on ‘Infinite Arms’ – a strained Suh-sung ballad, that sees Gibbons join in for more heart-melting harmonies on the chorus: “Hold me with infinite arms, hold me while we’re together.” The vocals and simple guitar contain enough power and emotion to create shivers. All of this segues perfectly into the searching instrumental intro to album closer ‘Constant,’ which has echoes of M83 running throughout. “The only constant is you,” continuing the theme of the power of love – which leads us nicely back to the 80s we want to forget. Thankfully, this album channels everything good that has grown from that early shoegazing scene, and it’s entirely memorable.
Sometime’s music helps you do what you’re doing and sometimes it makes you stop what you’re doing entirely. ‘Bon Voyage’ falls into the latter category.
Available now through Bandcamp.
Posted by Kevin Scott.
