- Release date:
- April 22, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- El Perro del Mar
- Record label:
- Control Group
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.elperrodelmar.com/
- Overall User Rating:
-
(0 ratings)
Why you should care: Finding a harmonious common ground between Motown, space-age bachelor pad music (think Stereolab) and late ‘60s AM radio hits, Assbring’s expansive and ornate tunes are as twee as they come, invoking images of an even more melancholy Camera Obscura getting nostalgic over old Belle and Sebastian records. Lovely enough to soundtrack a first-date milkshake with two straws, Assbring’s lovelorn lyricism is also caustic enough for morose college freshmen to weep to after getting dumped.
Verdict: This is what hardcore music fetishists dream about. EPdM’s sweet pop confections play like the Beach Boys making out with the Supremes in 1966. Expanding on the future-retroisms of her debut, Assbring gets boldly experimental here, conjuring up such beat-free tone poems as “Inner Island” among skippy pop tarts like “Somebody’s Baby” and first single “Glory to the World,” which comes with a discordant flute melody. While not as immediately pleasing as her debut, “From the Valley to the Stars” is a challenging and ultimately rewarding foray into the furthest reaches of her sound so far.
X-Factor: EPdM’s last record label, Memphis Industries, is a small indie in the U.K. famous for releasing music by acts like the Go! Team, Tokyo Police Club and the Pipettes.
