Honeyslide: Drippin’/Deep Architecture

honeyslide-drippin-deep-architectureLooking to relax to some shoegaze? Honeyslide’s wall of sound and soothing mix of vocals might be just what you’re looking for. If you liked what you heard on the London-based trio’s debut EP, odds are that you’ll also enjoy their latest release, Drippin’/Deep Architecture. This double A-side EP features four tracks, one of which (“Drippin’”) was featured on their first release.

This time around, “Drippin’” has been remastered. It starts with a simple, melancholy guitar but the wall of sound moves in with vocals and indistinguishable lyrics. This shoegaze track matches well with its B-side, the vocal-less, ambient “Untitled #240.” Distorted guitars and samples create a soft, muddied backdrop for a simple guitar melody and extraterrestrial-ish sounds (to me, it sounds like a flying saucer is zipping around while aliens with high-pitched voiced have a conversation among the other sounds.)

“Deep Architecture” and “Sugar Routine” make a good A-side, B-side pair as well. The two feature less distortion and less of the wall-of-noise of shoegaze. The lyrics are tough to make out though they are far clearer than on “Drippin”.” On “Deep Architecture” it becomes apparent that there is a male (guitarist Moses) and female (bassist Meytal) vocalist. In the other songs, the vocals blend together so smoothly that it could have easily been just one vocalist singing the different parts. Even in “Deep Architecture,” Meytal’s vocals could be a haunting echo of Moses’. Their smooth combination will keep you guessing who is contributing each part. “Sugar Routine,” the most upbeat song on the album, it has a hint of surfer rock to it.

Now I normally wouldn’t recommend an album with the occasional screeching guitar as something to relax to, it might jolt you from sleep, but its slow, steady beats and wall of distorted noise can be soothing. This shoegaze done right; Honeyslide makes distortion sound pretty. And speaking of pretty, the Drippin’/ Deep Architecture 10” is translucent purple vinyl. I think that is a perfect reason to purchase a physical copy of this EP instead of just a digital copy.

Rating: 7.1/10
MP3: Honeyslide “Drippin’”
Buy: iTunes

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