CD Review: Garlands – “Garlands”
Dreamy waves of gentle synth assimilated with delicate electronics
litter the shoegazed landscape of the self-titled debut from Garlands, a group
which features Lisa Light (The Lovemakers, El Elle) and Mikael Johnston (Mephisto
Odyssey, Dresden & Johnston). Light’s entrancing cradlesong vocals cut
through Garlands’ haze of miasmic
ambiance, permeating the psyche with one affluent earworm after another (“I Saw
God,” “Please Come Again,” “The River”). Layers of vibrant sound abound on Garlands (“Ohh La La” is a contextual
tour de force thanks to its infectious rhythms, “The Ratio” presents more of a contemporary
sound, one that could find a home at alt-rock radio, “If If” conjures up images
of Florence and the Machine, spellbinding closer “Cold Dark Storm” is the
literal definition of a lullaby). Garlands
sparkles. This is one hell of a debut.
Grade: B+
Go Download: “Hallucination Healer”
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